Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush

Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush, we might say with reasonable safety, marks the titular pink blob as the champion of arts and crafts for Nintendo. That might not be something you felt Nintendo was in need of, but here he is nonetheless. And it's not because of the rainbow paintbrush of the title, either. No, the first thing you'll notice when you fire up Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrushis that the entire game is fashioned from clay. Or programmed to look that way at least, anyway.

It follows on the heels of Kirby's Epic Yarn, which saw the little chap with the big appetite leaping around a world made of fabric.

This time, the world has been robbed of all its colour by a pair of giant hands (that might look familiar to Smash Bros. fans). Fear not, though - you won't be playing through a world the colour of mud. No sooner has this calamity occured than Kirby, Waddle Dee and his new friend Elline jump through a hole in the sky into a series of very colourful, vaguely familiar landscapes.

However much or little sense you might find in the plot, however, it's really about serving up what may be the cutest title Nintendo has ever made. The game looks familiar at first glace - side-on platforming with a claymation twist. It's actually controlled in quite a novel way, however. Using the Wii U gamepad, players draw 'rainbow ropes' to guide Kirby through the landscape. Beyond that, players can tap to make Kirby spin dash and tap and hold to make him do a super spin dash. Aaaand... that's it! But, as you might expect from a Nintendo platformer, simple controls bely a range of rewarding gameplay options.

For those looking for a more traditional experience, however, fear not! The multiplayer enables one character to use the gamepad to control Kirby, while one to three others play in a more old-school platformer fashion.