Twenty minutes was all it took for me to be all in on Donkey Kong Bananza, the latest DK-release coming to the Nintendo Switch 2. From the very first moments, this is a game that gives off Super Mario Odyssey energy, and we all know just how good that turned out to be. I had a feeling it was going to be great, and it did not disappoint.
Following a brief tutorial area that teaches the basics of traversal, as well as the fact that the world can be broken into tiny pieces using your simian strength, I was free to roam the first huge open level of Donkey Kong Bananza. Your primary objective is to find and smash crystalline bananas, much in the same way that Moons or Shines from the Mario series games are collected, even down to the title of each banana and the mini-cutscene that plays after grabbing each one.
Some are fairly obvious, clearly marked on your in-game map. But others can be found in secret bonus levels, hidden behind walls, or buried deep underground. It’s a world that rewards exploration in the form of myriad collectibles, and it’s been a delight to try and seek all that I could in the time that I had.
In contrast to Mario’s nimbleness, DK is all about destruction. His primary interaction with the world being to punch it to pieces, smashing his way through anything that’s in his way. Movement feels grounded and weighty, your favourite lumbering ape very much a part of the world whether climbing sheer rock faces, surfing on lumps of rock torn from the floor, or bashing his way straight through the floor at his feet in an effort to find more secrets.
When chucking pieces of granite around to clobber enemies, it became the most natural thing in the world to make use of gyroscopic aim to pinpoint a throw easily. With the option available to use the Joy-Con 2 in a more classic controller style or whether to opt for motion controls, this is a game that feels just right in the hand. Speaking of enemies, the ones that I have faced so far being Crockoids, smash satisfyingly: their outer rocky hides cracking open and giving way to spindly skeletons underneath ready to be launched by a well-timed punch or huge thrown slab of rock.
I was gobsmacked by just how good Donkey Kong Bananza looks, bright and vibrant, with even the map screen being a joy to behold. It’s bold and cartoonish, the perfect match to the on-screen antics of my favourite hairy hero. In our short time with the game, I’ve gone from underground caverns full of gold and lava spewing geysers to open quarries with huge rock faces and grassy hillsides, all of which has just left me wanting for more. The levels shown were large enough to warrant having multiple save points scattered about, as huge tuning forks stuck into the ground, so my mind boggles at just how much there will be hidden away for us to find in the coming months.
I was blown away by what I have played so far. It’s absolutely spectacular. As a long time Donkey Kong fan, I knew that this would be one of my highlights during the Nintendo Switch 2 preview event, but this was beyond even my expectations. “That’s game of the year sorted, then”, I turned to my colleague at the event and said, and July simply cannot get here quick enough.
Donkey Kong Bananza is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17th.
