Donkey Kong Bananza (2025)

I could not stand this game!

It was beautiful to see and hear, for sure, but the design is just atrocious. They took the worst parts of Mario Odyssey and taped a skill tree to it.

WHY DOES DK HAS SKILL POINTS TO INCREASE TINY BENEFITS!!! JUST DESIGN A WORLD PROGRESSION!

Level design is almost non-existent with the terrain setup, and your powers are very superfluous when they leave every situation so open-ended, and all rewards so unsatisfying. After 30 minutes I was ready to ignore all bananas, fossils, coins and everything.

Say what you will about DK 64, but getting stuff there meant something, and exploration didn't feel like a chore, literally sifting through sand.

I absolutely enjoyed this game! Being a big fan of the Donkey Kong series, the ending was everything I could have hoped. I just wish they brought back some other Kongs as well. And even though it makes sense for the story, I wish I could have seen more of K.rool earlier on.

The only major sin this game commits is not including the DLC. It's a scummy business practice releasing it immediately after the game comes out with a $20USD price tag. And I bet things will only get worse with this crap in the years to come.

The gameplay is incredibly fun, even though it's basically more about smashing terrain and bashing enemies than skillful platforming. Plus, there are more Layers than I initially expected. They are creatively designed and varied, the Bananzas are unique, and there's something new to discover everywhere.

Bananas are everywhere, maybe even too many. Sometimes it feels like the goal was just to provide constant mini dopamine hits, since the bananas aren't tied to progression, apart from abilities in the skill tree.

The OST is more on the atmospheric side with some very good tracks and remixes, but it's nothing groundbreaking. That said, the ending is an absolute highlight and sticks with you for a long time! You should definitely experience it spoiler-free.

The smashing is extraordinarily cathartic. It's visually spectacular to tear chunks from the world and satisfying and expressive how many different ways there are to do it. Everything branching off from that astonishing core is less successful. The unlockable animal powers and the time-limited way you use them feels a bit underwhelming. They, and their associated skill trees, offer superficial progression and empowerment but aren't very transformative or central. It feels like they're there to mask that the game is, while brilliant, a little one note.

But what a note! It's a wonderful explore-em-up. Even more than Mario Odyssey, which this feels like a pseudo sequel to, the emphasis is on constantly unearthing - in this case literally - surprises. But also like Odyssey, the relatively flat difficulty curve (bar the last boss!) is a little disappointing. There are some great side challenges but only some of them offer a hint of the escalating complexity and challenge of the kind in a Mario Galaxy level or old-style Zelda dungeon.

I had about 20 hours of complete joy, exclaiming "OH BANANA!" every time I collected one. Then a slight deflation by the end when the novelty wore off and it's limitations showed through.

I actually ended up selling it again because I found it so tedious. I didn’t care much about all the hype at first, but the many positive reviews did make me curious. Once I found out it was made by the same team as Super Mario Odyssey, I knew I had to play it — because I honestly think Mario Odyssey is the best game ever made. Seriously.

But I didn’t like it at all, and I don’t think those extremely high reviews are justified. In the end, it’s basically the great mechanics from Mario Odyssey expanded with terrain destruction — but you get bombarded with so many effects, visuals, and sounds that it’s almost unbearable. On top of that, there are constant rewards popping up every few seconds and tons of meaningless collectibles. It’s loud, exhausting, and feels like endlessly opening loot boxes.

I think the overwhelmingly positive reception is completely exaggerated, and I just hope the team tones things down for their next project. Super Mario Odyssey 2 would be the dream for me.

This game honestly had a lot going for it. If you've played Super Mario Odyssey, this game will remind you of it a lot. In short, I could describe it as an Odyssey copy if it were a lot easier, and that's my biggest gripe with Donkey Kong Bananza: this game is boringly easy.

My first impressions of the game were fantastic. Right out the gate, the graphics were really charming and the characters on the screen seemed lively compared to other Nintendo recents. It almost gives a Splatoon vibe with all the colors and how the environment can change so quickly. I was really excited seeing how much DK can destroy the terrain because it immediately encourage exploration and I am always down for that. It was actually too much at first; I wondered if I was missing stuff along the way (I missed a lot of stuff). I suppose that means they want you to go back and find more later.

DK, the Odd Rock, Pauline, really all the characters add life to the game. There's voice acting! ...almost! Pauline talks in cutscenes and that's about it. All the monkeys just mumble with subtitles? Was that planned? It felt so off hearing one person in a conversation and I really didn't get it. I was surprised to see there is a skill point system in the game. That's not usually Nintendo's style but I respected it.

I've covered about the first 5 hours of gameplay at this point. And I've mentioned almost all the good I have to say. This is when I started losing interest and it almost exclusively went downhill from here. I got tired of the motion controls, so I turned it off in the settings... and they were still on? Did I not save the setting? Yes, I did, and it just didn't work. What? What were they thinking to only turn off some of the motion controls? Classic Nintendo. That's a very little thing to complain about, I guess. I have fought a few bosses by now and they were all "hit punch until done" and no strategy at all. I didn't even get the satisfaction of truly beating the boss, either. You didn't win, they just gave up and gave you what you wanted (a key, an open path, etc. ) At least let me take it from them, come on.

I have mixed feelings about the Bananza powerups. I will admit they are very creative without spoiling much. I like the animals and the there's a lot of charm in there, too. I just couldn't believe how overpowered they were. There is no enemy in the game you couldn't beat with your eyes closed while a Bananza was active. They barely even limited the use, either. By the time you ran out you've probably gathered enough material to just use it again. I actively tried to use it as little as possible just to make things the slightest bit more difficult.

As likable as all the different worlds were, the objective was the same. Another Nintendo characteristic that I'm started to get tired of. Most set a tone that I could get a good feel for and that helps. The enemies may have been braindead but the designs were really creative and endearing. The different powers they have were well executed, like the one that creates a giant rainbow path when you punch it into next Wednesday, which was necessary to traverse certain parts of the world. Very cool little details all around the universe.

More spoilers about end game:

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There was post game content, but I barely tried it. I think I need to stop playing Nintendo exclusives. I am outgrowing them. This game might be great for a kid, but I wouldn't know. It was a cute playthrough but I'm not recommending this to anyone with a high school diploma. 3 stars, and that's because I'm generous.

4.5/5 Donkey Kong Bananza is yet another mascot platformer by Nintendo that will go down as one of the greats. Made by the same development team as Super Mario Odyssey, there are many comparisons to make and the influence is unmissable. Unlike in Odyssey, the focus this time around is destruction of the environment. Donkey Kong can take these massive levels and with enough time, break it down to almost a barren wasteland. In destroying the environment, you'll come across many of the collectibles for this game that help progression as it feels like the collect-a-thons of Rare's prime. Apart from finding random collectibles from destroying the environment, you'll come across some puzzles from NPCs that can be solved for Bananas, or challenge rooms that range from combat challenges to puzzle and platforming. These I felt were where the game really shined as they were smaller levels that could really take advantage of creativity.

Similar to most Nintendo games from the last 15 or so years the base game itself will be relatively easy, with the real challenge coming in the endgame content. After returning from completing the main story, you will find additional challenges spread throughout the game. After completing these you unlock yet another challenge. These were more gauntlet like with minimal (or no) checkpoints and needing to complete in one go. While still mostly fun, the difficulty spike here was crazy to the point of frustration.

Overall this is a fantastic platformer that any Switch 2 owner should get. Especially given we're still waiting for more games to release...

474 Bananas, 25 hours

This has been getting a lot of justified comparison to 3D Mario games and rightfully so. It's essentially an evolution of that style and made by the Mario Odyssey team. While I can't say it's my all-time favorite platformer, it's so impressive in so many ways that it's hard not to love it. I'll get the bad out of the way.

-The Switch 2's performance does stutter from time to time, although it's amazing the 3D map keeps track of your destruction, it does slow the framerate down. Later levels too, when there's so much chaos going on, it does drop the framerate which is a shame on a brand new console.

-I could never quite the hang of throwing items, but I think that's more a skill issue on my part.

-Some specific platforming/bashing meant the camera was a bit wonky from time to time.

Those are my only complaints, and the good far outweighs the bad.

• Game looks great. The variety of locations and how you can sometimes go in any direction feels so good and freeing.

• ROLL JUMP!!!

• It sounds terrific. Fantastic sound effects and more than a few good songs (Zebra, the end theme, and some retro throwbacks are awesome).

• I freaked out when some callbacks where shown from the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy. I am a MASSIVE fan of those, so to hear and see certain things (won't spoil them here) made me smile from ear to ear.

• Core gameplay is fantastic. Abilities/transformations are fun to use, worlds are amazingly intricate and bashing stuff is just a blast. The notion that I can punch my way through a mountain isn't something I've ever seen in a game before.

• Pauline was great! Characters overall are silly, cartoonish and expressive.

• ELEPHANT ok sorry slight spoilers, you get to turn into an Elephant and this is the best thing in the game. Total destruction and I giggled like an idiot when I would suck up an entire hillside. When in doubt - ELEPHANT!

• Very fair design. You can go for secrets, but you also don't have to. I spent about 25 hours on the game, but some were closer to 18, others are 50+. That's a sign of a great game, in my opinion.

Overall a worthy successor and an early highlight for a system that I'm already a huge fan of. I'm not quite as high on the game as some others, but it's an easy 9/10, possibly higher.

A big 3D platformer release from Nintendo that is not Mario? That's just bananas. Or Bananza.

While Donkey Kong Bananza may not be a Mario game, the Super Mario Oddyssey vibes it carries are very strong. In Bananza, you wander around open areas and gather bananas – either by finding them scattered around the map or by doing little challenges. Much like Oddyssey but with larger areas. What sets Bananza apart more clearly is it's reliance on destructible environment, special 'Bananza forms' DK can transform into and a skill tree. In the skill tree, you can use the bananas you collect to unlock buffs or new skills. You can also equip different clothes for the two main characters, DK and Pauline, for additional buffs. It's a welcome addition to reward progression.

The puzzles and skills revolving around destroying the environment also give Bananza it's own distinct flair, and the level and puzzle design put the mechanics into good use. However, the gameplay gets a bit old as the game goes on. Luckily, the game has a real banger of a finale that leaves a good taste at the end.

Presentation-wise, the game sounds great and most often also looks gorgeous. I say "most often" since not all areas are as flashy as others and there are constant framedrops due to the crazy destruction and visual effects going on on the screen. The overall aesthethic of the game is also pretty fun with kooky character designs and a funky music theme. Maybe it could have gone even a bit crazier with its aesthethic but it's already different enough to separate it from... well... Mario.

I think I played the game for about 30-35 hours and completed most of what the game has to offer. I had a good time, simply put. I don't know if the game is a real system seller, at least in my eyes, but it's good, carefully made quality entertainment.

777 Bananas in a bit over 60 hours.

I don't think it dethrones the big Mario 3(SMG 1+2 and Odyssey), but it's the closest so far, and as much as I loved Astrobot, this one does a lot more innovating and breaks the 9.5 barrier for me.

Between this game and TOTK, my big conspiracy theory is that Nintendo is incorporating elements of Minecraft, the best-selling game of all time, into their games, and I think they're taking existing mechanics and making them better. TOTK made building/crafting more fun than any other game(at least for someone like me who's not the biggest fan of building), and this game makes destructible environments more fun than any other game.

I've seen discourse regarding the game being too easy, but the game does a good job of increasing difficulty as you progress, and some of the late-game sections are challenging without being too frustrating. The quality also increases as you go along, which is very refreshing these days.

I know Clair Obscure is going to win GOTY, and it damn well deserves it, but this game has a better fun factor, and I wouldn't be upset at all if it overtakes it. What an amazing year for gaming, and we're only a little over halfway through.

9.75/10

Several hours in already and I cannot stop smashing and exploring. I haven't been this excited about Nintendo since the N64!! The music is great, the visuals are great, and the controls and gameplay are spectacular. I never played Donkey Kong 64 but I've played all Mario's and Zelda games and I'm happy to say that Donkey Kong Bananza now fits right into Nintendo's masterclass of 3D platformers.

5/5 loving it, and it's worth every penny so far.

If you enjoy 3D platformers of any type you will enjoy this as well. SMASH SMASH SMASH!!!

After a thorough tour of the game, here is a preview of my forthcoming DK Bananza review that I'm working on:

Donkey Kong Bananza is a a huge step up from the DKC series for Nintendo, largely thanks to the transfer of the franchise to the much more capable internal Mario team, however it remains a safe and ultimately trope laden trek through some of what are clearly Nintendo's C-tier ideas rejected during Mario Odyssey's development cycle.

It's frickin AWESOME!!! Worries to rest about this game being ONLY a DK smash as much as possible. There is so much more. Nintendo's second amazing game following Mario Kart World.

The Switch 2 is off to a beautiful start, and I can't wait for Metroid Prime 4!!!!

Oh, and I really hope other people are experiencing this on a large OLED TV since the handheld is not OLED. The colors POP!