A Sanrio partner for everyonein Hello Kitty Party Land

Pompompurin is a trampoline in Hello Kitty Party Land. In Saiga NAK's June preview, players bounced on the Sanrio character to gather star candies, then landed on one another to reach higher ones. The game counted everybody's haul together. It's a lovely use for a famously pudding-shaped dog, and a useful introduction to a party game whose sampled minigames reward helping the people beside you.

Sanrio Games' debut arrives on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on 29 October. Official listings confirm one to four players, local and online play, more than 45 minigames and a separate Board Game Mode. The character count is bigger still: over 145 Sanrio characters appear, with 16 available as playable partners. Those two numbers describe different things; the enormous guest list isn't a promise that you can control everyone.

Your avatar has company

You create an avatar, adjusting its appearance and clothes, and choose a Sanrio companion. The official game page says you can play as either your avatar or your teammate, and unlock more customisation items as you progress. That gives the character collection a personal foothold. Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll and Kuromi are among the familiar faces in the official artwork, but your own little resident has a place alongside them.

Saiga NAK's reporter chose My Melody, who welcomed their avatar with collectible stickers and followed them around Party Land. Their session allowed access only to Game Park. The report describes three cooperative minigames, including fishing for moving stars with timed casts and swinging at Cinnamoroll's baseball pitches as the tempo increased. It's an encouraging sample of simple actions with room for better timing, rather than evidence for the difficulty or variety of every game.

Something to do between turns

The board-game component has its own appealing detail: Nintendo says you can play quick Petit Games while waiting for your turn. That is a concrete answer to the downtime built into taking turns. The official press screenshots show characters on a colourful board with branching paths, as well as a sticker album. They establish the look of those activities; they don't explain every board rule, reward or way to win.

The multiplayer arrangements are clearer. Nintendo's current Switch 2 page lists up to four players on one system or online, and says each local player needs a compatible controller. Online play requires a Nintendo Switch Online membership. Neither that listing nor the short hands-on establishes how solo partners behave, so anyone buying chiefly to play alone has less evidence than a household planning to gather around one screen.

The strongest invitation is for Sanrio fans who want a shared activity with their favourite characters. Customising a resident and collecting stickers gives that affection somewhere to go between rounds. The cooperative games Saiga NAK sampled offer a particularly friendly starting point: another player's successful jump can help yours, and the score belongs to the group. That's a specific reason to bring friends along when Party Land opens later this month.