Today’s Kirby Air Riders Direct introduced us to the game’s City Trial mode, which Director Masahiro Sakurai called “the main event” of the presentation.
The sandbox mode is set on a new area called Skyah, a giant floating island featuring many different and distinct areas. It can be played solo or with others.
City Trial is a returning feature first introduced in predecessor Kirby Air Ride, a GameCube title launched in 2003.
Skyah promises to be much bigger and can host a larger number of participants than before. Up to 16 players can compete in City Trial through local wireless multiplayer or online play. Local play supports up to eight players, but you can add AI-powered players to bring the total player count up to 16.
Players begin by selecting a rider to drive freely around Skyah, but can not choose which machine to start with. Instead, each competitor will be assigned the Compact Star – an easy-to-handle but weak machine – with the objective of finding a better machine to switch to.
The next step is to gather as many power-ups as possible to boost attributes such as Boost, Top Speed, Turn, Glide, Offense, Defense, and more.
Players can also participate in various events across the map in order to win more power-ups. These include Short Race, wherein participants race through the city within a sectioned-off area of the map, and Dustup Derby, where competitors battle each other.
Other random events may cause meteors to rain down, secret rooms can open, huge pillars can rise from the ground, and more. There are also boss fights, including the giant, birdlike Dyna Blade from the previous game, and the spiny, cloud-shaped Kracko.
After five minutes, players will head to the Stadiums. Each Stadium is a minigame wherein the overall winners are decided. Participants can choose from a small selection of them to decide which they want to compete in.
- Kirby Melee: Defeat as many foes as you can!
- Air Glider: Launch off the jump ramp and fly as far as you can!
- Drag Race: Ride straight ahead as fast as you can!
- Target Flight: Hit the score panels and earn points to match!
- Dustup Derby: Defeat as many rivals as you can within the time limit!
- Skydive: Dive quickly by Boosting. Aim for a high score!
- Gourmet Race: Gobble up as much of the feast as you can!
You can watch the City Trial segment of the Direct below, which starts from the 49:15 mark and runs until the end of the video. Sakurai also demonstrates and narrates his own gameplay of the mode.
Kirby Air Riders will launch worldwide on November 25th, 2025, exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2.
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Written by Reece Heather
A lifelong Nintendo fan and a longtime editor at Zelda Universe, Reece will forever be grateful that he somehow dodged the Naughty List of Christmas 1998, when Santa delivered the life-changing gift of a Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Mario Kart 64. When he's not playing games, Reece is usually reading Punisher comics, delving helplessly into the weirdest depths of anime and manga, or spending time with his cocker spaniel Gracie -- the goodest girl ever!
