How to play co-op - Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Kirby and the Forgotten Land supports co-op between you and another player of your choosing. With co-op, Player 2 is assigned the role of Bandana Waddle Dee while Player 1 gets to play as Kirby. It’s fairly easy to toggle co-op on in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, though it also never hurts to run through an overview of what to do first if you have questions or are uncertain about anything pertaining to co-op.

How to play co-op in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Press + to bring up the game's menu, then select Play Co-op to set up local co-op in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

One of the easiest ways to play co-op in Kirby and the Forgotten Land is by pressing + while you’re in Waddle Dee Town to bring up the game’s menu. From there, select the Play Co-op option to begin the process of playing locally with another player.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land supports local co-op, so when you select Play Co-op you’ll be brought to a screen prompting Player 1 and Player 2 to press L + R on the controller.

Player 1 is assigned the role of Kirby while Player 2 gets to play as Bandana Waddle Dee in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

When both players are assigned, you should see Player 1 as Kirby, and Player 2 as Bandana Waddle Dee. If you’re playing co-op with your kids, it’s recommended you ensure the difficulty is set to Spring Breeze Mode.

Unfortunately, only one player can play as Kirby with access to his Copy Abilities and Mouthful Mode opportunities, so whomever is the most experienced should ideally be the one who takes on the role of Kirby. That said, the player who gets Bandana Waddle Dee will have access to his spear for combat and the ability to help Kirby out by acting like a turret when riding on the back of the Kirby car for example.

Bandana Waddle Dee will tag along with Kirby and can help him out by acting like a turret with his spear while riding on the back of the Kirby car.

If Kirby perishes in battle, you’ll be sent back to the last checkpoint you reached. If Bandana Waddle Dee perishes, you’ll have more opportunities to keep going as Kirby and bring Bandana Waddle Dee back.

Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee can also share food items to help one another heal up as needed. To share food items, simply have Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee approach one another and they’ll automatically share food by giving one another a cute little high five.

Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee can share food items to help one another heal. To do this, simply have both characters approach one another and they'll give each other a high five, after which you should see some of the other player's health increase.

Co-op in Kirby and the Forgotten Land is fully incorporated, so you and your Player 2 can not only tackle stages and boss battles together, you can also enjoy mini games together like Waddle Dee Cafe: Help Wanted! and Flash Fishing.

Co-op isn't limited to stages and boss battles as both players can participate in mini games like Waddle Dee Cafe: Help Wanted! and Flash Fishing.

Overall, co-op in Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a blast and highly recommended if you want to enjoy the game with a friend, or help guide your kids through harder challenges like boss battles.

For more on Kirby and the Forgotten Land, be sure to read through our full review of the game!