Nintendo debuts Kirby's new "Mouthful Mode" mechanic, chaos ensues

It's not often the announcement of a new mechanic sends the industry into overdrive, but that's exactly what happened last night when Nintendo revealed Kirby and the Forgotten Land will deliver a series first: Mouthful Mode.

The tantalizingly-named mechanic allows Kirby to become the physical embodiment of seemingly innocuous objects, huffing them into his yearning, void-like maw with maniacal glee.

Kirby has garnered a reputation as something of a glutton, but whereas the hungry blob normally inhales enemies to copy their abilities, Mouthful Mode allows him to take on new shapes and forms to unlock weird and wonderful new moves.

A gameplay trailer showed Kirby swallowing everything from cars and vending machines to traffic cones, light-bulbs, and water-balloons. "Kirby can even weaponise a mouthful of water," explained a disembodied voiceover person, before cutting to a shot of a gigantic undulating Kirby dousing enemies with liquid life.

It's a silly thing, really, but it's always worth highlighting how video games can spark joy in the most unconventional of ways. Kirby and the Forgotten Land from Hal Laboratory and Nintendo is due to release on March 25, 2022. Take a look at the trailer below to see Mouthful Mode in action.