How Kirby and the Forgotten Land Emphasizes Environmental Storytelling

gamerant.com:

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is Kirby's first fully 3D game, which means that HAL Laboratory had to think about how to adapt numerous elements of the series. While this can be seen through many aspects such as how the game tackles copy abilities and boss battles, one element truly makes the world of the Forgotten Land stand out from the previous locales in the series. Kirby and the Forgotten Land uses theits rich, spacious world to tell little stories that add up into something much bigger.

It's a widely known idea that the best stories «show, don't tell» what the audience needs critical information. Environmental storytelling is one way to infer something in the story without using words or text. For a series like Kirby, which rarely ever uses proper voice acting, this is essential. However, Kirby and the Forgotten Land uses it far more than many players may realize.

Future Kirby Games Should Imitate Kirby and the Forgotten Land's Waddle Dee Town

The way the game places its enemies ends up looking like cute details, but it actually says a fair bit about the world at large. During the A Trip to Alivel Mall stage, Kirby can encounter Awoofies walking around and sitting in seats in the remains of the food court with food nearby; just having fun hanging out with a nice meal. There are several other incidents players can find as they go through Kirby and the Forgotten Land, such as enemies waiting in line for rides in Wondaria Remains. This helps make the world of the game feel alive.

The game very subtly alludes to King Dedede playing a role in the Beast Pack as well. Even though players know King Dedede is part of the Beast Pack through trailers, the game hints at just why he's with them. Almost as soon as players begin saving