Let’s get this out of the way at the top: Donkey Kong Bananza is amazing. If you have a Switch 2, you’re doing yourself a disservice by not playing it. It’s the system’s first true killer app, and one of the best 3D platformers in years. I can and will gush about the game’s features, but if you’re at all interested, trust me, and go get it. My feelings won’t be hurt if you don’t read the rest of the review.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Developer: Nintendo EPD
Price: $69.99
Platform: Nintendo Switch 2 (reviewed)
MonsterVine was supplied with a Switch 2 code for review
Donkey Kong Bananza opens on Ingot Isle, with the discovery of giant crystalized bananas called Banandium Gems. Donkey Kong obviously has to get involved and dig, find, and eat these gems. This is the name of the game: finding and eating these bananas, and being rewarded with the sweet “Oh! Banana” jingle that comes with it. Thankfully for DK, they’re everywhere. With almost a thousand in the game! Some are hidden in the ground, others behind various puzzles, and some behind boss fights. So you must wonder, how does DK go about doing this? Well, kind reader, by simply smashing every bit of rock and dirt in his way.
Donkey Kong Bananza uses a terrain deformation system, allowing DK to punch his way through nearly every kind of material known to ape. Allowing him to tunnel underground, rip up chunks to throw them, or to ride on. It’s an incredibly fun system, allowing you to almost completely remove every bit of rock and dirt from a level, leaving only the unbreakable metal skeletons of what they once were.
How the terrain deformation and the platforming come together is what makes Donkey Kong truly special. In addition to his rock-breaking punches, DK comes equipped with the standard array of platforming abilities, jumping, a short dash, and climbing. Stringing these together with an environment that is almost completely destructible and reactive to players’ actions leads to creative puzzle and platforming solutions, like building a walkway out of dirt to climb on to avoid a platforming challenge. Or stringing turf surf and a series of jumps to overcome a large gap. The game rewards experimentation and out-of-the-box ideas. Allowing puzzles and challenges to have multiple solutions based on how you decide to go about doing it. It’s the greatest feeling in the world getting a banana in a way that is clearly not the intended solution.
DK also gains new abilities for his journey: Bananza Forms! These are time-limited transformations DK can perform, allowing him to turn into other animals with new abilities. Like a larger gorilla that’s stronger and can punch through tougher materials DK usually can’t; a zebra that allows him to run incredibly fast over crumbling platforms; and an ostrich that allows him to glide for a short period of time. These forms fundamentally change the game; you can switch between them at will, allowing more methods for puzzle solving and quicker traversal through the levels. By late game, you can even use them to circumvent entire challenges if you’re clever enough.
The journey begins on the aforementioned Ingot Island, but the evil mining corporation Void Co. sinks the island and begins tunneling to the center of the earth. DK follows after, and along the way finds a young girl named Pauline who has a strange connection to Void Co. Her singing can break their unbreakable seals and activate DK’s Banaza powers. The duo decides to work together to make it to the center of the earth, where they can supposedly make a wish to send Pauline home and get DK infinite Bananas. It’s a cute story that serves as a fun justification of DK’s travels underground, but leads to possibly the most insane ending in Nintendo’s long history.
Now the game isn’t without problems. The frame rate isn’t perfect, dipping when there’s a lot of destruction happening. There are also a few boss fights where there is so much happening on screen that the frames dip to almost inexcusable levels. There’s also some pop-in as you explore levels. These don’t affect gameplay that much, but being one of the first major titles for new hardware, you’d hope that there wouldn’t be any technical issues like this already.
Donkey Kong Bananza Is the Best DK Game in Decades
With all that said, I echo my statement from the start of the review: Donkey Kong Bananza is amazing. It’s one of the greatest 3D platformers in years, and likely all time. With incredible gameplay and deeply rewarding puzzle solving, it really doesn’t get much better. Who knew a gorilla eating bananas could be so fun.
The Final Word
Donkey Kong Bananza is a near-perfect 3D platformer, delivering groundbreaking mechanics, rewarding puzzles, and incredible creativity—only minor technical issues hold it back from absolute perfection.
MonsterVine Rating: 5 out of 5 – Excellent
