Mario Kart is stability — it’s that aunt and uncle who live down the street. You have dinner at their house every week, and know you can call them for anything you might need. But Kirby Air Riders is that bizarre uncle that you only see at holidays, who’s always got some crazy story about when he went to Burning Man, or a souvenir from his trip to Australia. You don’t know him very well, but you always have a good time seeing him.The original Kirby Air Ride released all the way back in 2003 on the Nintendo GameCube, and we never saw anything else from the “Air Ride” idea, until now. At the same time, it’s been more than two decades since Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Kirby, has actually made a Kirby game — as he’s been locked in on Super Smash Bros. duty. Kirby Air Riders marks a grand revival of both those things, and it’s a wild and eclectic racer that only Sakurai can make — ridiculously dense and complex, but undeniably engrossing. Although it has a lot of similarities with Mario Kart, I don’t think Kirby Air Riders will have the same kind of mass appeal, though the people who love it are going to really love it. This new game, more than anything, feels like a complete realization of what Sakurai wanted to, but couldn’t, do with the original.Hitting the GasAt first glance Kirby Air Riders, will look very similar to Mario Kart, but it quickly feels like a much different experience. | NintendoThe best way to describe Kirby Air Riders is like Mario Kart with simpler controls and the intensity and speed ratcheted up to 11. It’s an interesting blend that might make this game seem “simpler” at first glance — but in reality, I wouldn’t hesitate to call Kirby Air Riders more of a hardcore racing game than Mario Kart. And the main reason for that is how the game handles complexity and its wide array of different modes.In Air Riders, you don’t need to press a button to move forward, your machine goes entirely on its own and you need to focus on steering, drifting, and fighting your opponents. That instantly gives Air Riders a different feel from most racing games, which only compounds with a variety of other mechanics layered on top.A big part of the mechanics revolve around drifting, which lets you get around corners more easily but also builds a boost charge, letting you shoot forward when you release the button. Power-ups and enemies also litter each track — and defeating enemies gives you a momentary boost as well, while power-ups let you more effectively attack opponents. Then there’s the fact that every single character in the game has a different Special Skill, usable once your gauge fills during a race. If that’s not enough, there are more than 15 different machines to choose from in the game, all of which have wildly different strengths and effects. For example, the Paper Star is lightweight and can hit high speeds but is brittle and has low health, while the Vampire Star grows more powerful if you attack other racers.While this is a racing game, there’s a major emphasis on combat and quite literally destroying your opponents’ machines. | NintendoI know this is a lot to keep track of, and there is a legitimate learning curve to Kirby Air Riders — it doesn’t have that same pick-up-and-play quality that Mario Kart does. Luckily, the game does have surprisingly comprehensive tutorials to guide you through the whole process.Those initial hours with the game can feel overwhelming, as you blast through dazzlingly colorful levels and whiplash around corners. It’s almost like being in one of those 4D roller coaster rides, but someone hit the fast-forward button. It’s a lot to take in, but once everything starts to click together, there are hidden layers of joy to be found — especially in the core variation between characters and machines. But it can equally feel exhausting to play for extended amounts of time because of that high intensity. The remedy to that is an array of smartly different modes.A Veritable SmorgasbordYou can see the influence of Smash Bros. in almost every facet of this game, from its reward system to the menu and UI designs. | NintendoKirby Air Riders essentially has four main modes to choose from: Air Ride (standard races), Top Ride (a top-down view smaller race), the Road Trip story mode, and the bizarre but shockingly fun battle royale-esque City Trial. All of these modes, outside of Road Trip, were in the original GameCube game but are significantly enhanced in this sequel — even including all of the tracks from the first game.Air Ride has all the trappings you’d expect with a selection of tracks, time trials, and even a free roam option that just lets you soak up the scenery. City Trial is where things get drastically more interesting, as up to 15 players duke it out in a massive open city environment. You have five minutes to roam around, find new machines, and gather stat boosting items. These stat boosters are essential, raising everything from top speed and boost, to weight and turning ability. But as you race around, random events will happen that can significantly shake things up. Maybe a battle zone appears in the middle, where players will duke it out for rewards. Or maybe meteors start falling from the sky, putting you in imminent danger but leaving valuable power-ups in their wake. There’s a huge array of things that can happen, which makes each City Trial match feel variable and unique.The overall goal of the mode is to power up your machine enough and compete with other players in a variety of arena challenges at the end. At the finale of each match, you can choose to compete in one of four random challenges, which sometimes will benefit the machine you’ve built and sometimes not. For instance, you might get stuck with challenges that require good gliding skills, and if you’re stuck with a heavy machine, you’re in trouble. But that element of randomness to City Trial is genuinely a big part of what makes it so much fun — a mad dash where you’re trying to make the best build you can and crushing other players along the way. It goes without saying that this mode is the most fun with a group of friends or even other players online, although you can play everything with NPCs as well.City Trial is absolutely the highlight of Air Riders, fully embracing the game’s spirit of chaos. | NintendoThe odd addition here is Road Trip, a strictly single player affair that, like City Trial, has you building the stats of your machine, although it’s doled out in more of a level format this time. As you drive down a seemingly endless road, you’ll have to choose which opponents to face and which rewards you get for winning. There’s a loose story that connects everything together, complete with some shockingly impressive cutscenes. And it actually feels quite similar to the World of Light from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, both in terms of format and actual narrative. I don’t know that Road Trip is my favorite part of Kirby Air Riders, but I don’t regret playing through it — almost as a fun kind of side dish to the main game. It event has a pretty phenomenal finale and final boss, both of which have a hilariously huge set of stakes and scope. It feels a lot like the final boss of Splatoon 3’s campaign in how it harnesses these big bombastic set pieces that make really smart use of the game’s core mechanics.Road Trip has some pacing issues but is an interesting single-player mode with a truly bizarre story. | NintendoAdmittedly it’s good that Air Riders has this selection of modes, as the core racing simply doesn’t have the longevity of something like Mario Kart World. I think that will be a common criticism that you’ll see against this game, but I also genuinely don’t think Air Riders wants to be Mario Kart, despite the obvious similarities. This isn’t the kind of game that wants to keep you invested for the next two years — but something you enjoy for a set amount of time and move on. And honestly, I respect that about Air Riders. Sure it might have some problems with variety and learning curve, but I respect the game’s vision for creating this kind of battle-racer experience but not trying to tack on frivolous elements simply for the sake of it.Doing Things DifferentlyAir Riders has just enough variety to keep you invested — and can be especially fun with a group of friends. | NintendoWhat’s really fascinating about Kirby Air Riders is how you can see Sakura’s design ethos with the Smash Bros. games perfectly distilled here. The game’s art style and user interface feel remarkably reminiscent of Smash Bros., and that translates to the core experience, selection of modes, and bizarrely evocative story. At the same time, like Smash Bros., this feels a lot like a celebration of Kirby’s history, with a smorgasbord of songs, characters, Easter eggs, and more.It’s fascinating to see a designer like Sakurai land on a style that can be used across multiple games. And ultimately, Kirby Air Riders’ biggest strength is how relentless it is in pursuing the vision of the original game, not compromising in any way in terms of complexity or intensity.Kirby Air Riders is absolutely not going to be a game for everyone, and it doesn’t want to be. And it won’t be a constant in your life either. But like that weird uncle and his larger-than-life stories, it’s probably an experience you’ll remember fondly now and again. And in a world where video games are obsessed with occupying your time and stringing you along for weeks, months, even years — that’s undeniably refreshing.8/10Kirby Air Riders launches Nov. 20 exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2. Inverse was provided a copy for this review.INVERSE VIDEO GAME REVIEW ETHOS: Every Inverse video game review answers two questions: Is this game worth your time? Are you getting what you pay for? We have no tolerance for endless fetch quests, clunky mechanics, or bugs that dilute the experience. We care deeply about a game’s design, world-building, character arcs, and storytelling come together. Inverse will never punch down, but we aren’t afraid to punch up. We love magic and science-fiction in equal measure, and as much as we love experiencing rich stories and worlds through games, we won’t ignore the real-world context in which those games are made.