Don't underestimate it. It might be cutesy, but it's fun you can't help but love at any age!
Let me just say I'm so pleased this game turned out to have a lot more hidden beneath the skin. Er, fabric, rather.
The story that sets up this adorable yarn-world Kirby finds himself in is that a sorcerer named Yin-Yarn has ventured out of Patch Land and into Dream Land. He plans on ruling over both worlds, turning Dream Land into an extension of Patch Land, transforming it and all its residents into fabric-and-yarn version of their former selves. So Kirby meets up with Prince Fluff and sets out to stop the villain.
The visuals here really are too cute not to love. Even the most hardened gamer has to concede this colorful environment is too bright to resist. Each new world that Kirby visits is so vibrant and unique, you will want to explore each and every corner of it.
Kirby purists will complain that the standard Kirby gameplay is not present. Technically, they're right. It's been pretty much confirmed that this game was supposed to be a new IP, but Kirby was thrown into it to give it some credibility. Fortunately, I am not one of those purists, and I don't mind this fact. Being made of yarn now, Kirby has similar abilities, being able to unravel his enemies rather than inhale them. He can't copy abilities but can transform into any number of different forms in pre-determined areas such as a race car, a fire truck, a space ship and so many more. It's a complete breath of fresh air for the series which all too often rested on its laurels if you ask me.
The biggest complaint I hear about this game is the difficulty. In a surprising move, you'll find that Kirby cannot die. Not at all. Most enemies don't even hurt him. There aren't even any time limits in the levels. Your goal is simply to reach the end of the level, collecting as many beads as you can. It is true that hitting certain enemies and obstacles and falling off an edge will make you drop some of your beads. If you move quickly you can pick most of them back up, but it will cost you your collecting streak, which earns you a better bonus in the end.
So it is indeed true that the game does not pose you much difficulty in the way of you getting to the end of the levels, and subsequently the end of the game. I suppose you could probably beat the game in single afternoon if you just powered through each level as quickly as you could. But here is the beauty of this game: It doesn't offer much difficulty, but it does in fact give you lots of challenges. Rather than breeze through the levels, try to get enough beads to earn a gold medal. Look for the three treasures hidden in each level. Find enough of the treasures and unlock bonus missions, which will have you replaying the levels with certain goals, such as race to the end, defeat a certain amount of enemies, or play hide-and-seek. These bonus missions are numerous and offer some of the difficulty you might have been missing from the main game.
Bottom line is, this game offers a lot of content you won't expect just from it looking at it. It took me more than 20 hours to earn 100% at it, and I enjoyed every second of it. That is when I wasn't frustrated by the bonus missions. If you think this game isn't hard enough, then you are the one not trying hard enough.