The adorable and ever-hungry pink puffball known as Kirby has become a beloved staple of Nintendo's gaming library, but over the years, Kirby games have touched on a variety of strange and sometimes dark themes. In the past, Kirby has gone up against otherworldly monsters that could terrify H.P. Lovecraft, wandered through what looks suspiciously like a post-apocalyptic Earth, and devoured all sorts of other cute little creatures. The upcoming Kirby and the Forgotten Land has recently been rated by the ESRB, and it appears that this new game will be following in the footsteps of previous titles.
Early trailers for Kirby and the Forgotten Land appear to place Kirby in a new environment that may be strange to him but could be eerily recognizable to many players. The game's world is uncannily similar to Earth, complete with recognizable bridges, buildings, and even escalators, all of which seem to be frozen and overgrown. Some fans have even compared the plant-covered city shown off in Kirby and the Forgotten Land to the post-apocalyptic masterpiece The Last Of Us, which is rated M.
According to the ESRB website, Kirby and the Forgotten Land will be rated E10+ for cartoon violence, making it suitable for players at or above the age of 10 years old. This isn't the first time a seemingly post-apocalyptic game has gotten away with a low rating - for example, the Splatoon games are explicitly set on earth after the end of human civilization. Even the earlier Kirby game Kirby: Star Allies got away with an E10+ rating despite featuring some horrific imagery and a terrifying cult connected to the already nightmarish Dark Matter. If this track record is anything to go by, being rated E10+ may not stop Kirby and the Forgotten Land from making the most of its post-apocalyptic premise.
While very little about the antagonists of Kirby and the Forgotten Land has been shared so far, the focus on the titular forgotten land may imply that players will fight the remnants of a lost civilization. Current trailers mostly show Kirby facing off against stylized wildlife, but previous Kirby games suggest this won't last. After all, Kirby Star Allies ended up pitting the tough pink puff against planet-destroying foes like Void Termina, a being whose design references the notoriously dark Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Reportedly, the Kirby franchise is getting ready to enter the next stage. Although it's unclear exactly what this means, one thing that is clear is that the current Kirby team has big plans. This may include raising the stakes for the villains Kirby will be facing off against, although since Void Termina was explicitly referred to as the Destroyer of Worlds, it's hard to say where Kirby's next fight will take him.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land releases in spring 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
Source: ESRB
