Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo Switch 2) Review

Donkey Kong Bananza marks the first major first-party release from Nintendo since the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, and it is the first Donkey Kong game in a long time to be developed in-house, not by Retro Studios. As a result, it is one of the most anticipated games of the year for Nintendo fans, but does it live up to the hype?

When I look back on my favourite games available on the original Nintendo Switch, Mario Odyssey comes to mind as a wholly original and exclusive title that has graced the platform, something that becomes clearly evident when playing the game. Thankfully, Nintendo has enlisted the minds behind Odyssey when designing Donkey Kong Bananza. This is a game that successfully reintroduces players to Donkey Kong in a fully realized 3D world, one that eclipses his last full 3D outing on the Nintendo 64 by several orders of magnitude.

Of course, besting an early 3D-era platformer from over 20 years ago isn’t all that impressive, which is why I’m happy to report that Donkey Kong’s latest adventure is so much more. Donkey Kong Bananza is an evolution of the simian, the missing link between 2D and 3D, one that can stand tall and beat its chest next to Mario. In fact, Bananza delivers a game that has the potential to coexist alongside the DKC titles, giving fans of both styles a lot to look forward to in a way not dissimilar to the likes of Odyssey and Wonder.

Donkey Kong Bananza is an open-ended platformer in the same vein as the aforementioned Mario Odyssey, with the game featuring 16 distinct levels or layers, which feature up to 3 sub-layers that make up the biome or level. In other words, there is a lot of content to get through during your time with Donkey Kong Bananza. My initial playthrough of DK’s latest adventure lasted roughly 35 hours, not including the post-game content left for me to complete. In terms of pure numbers, Donkey Kong Bananza features a whopping 777 Bananas to collect, on top of a wealth of fossils, banana chips and gold thrown in for good measure.

“Donkey Kong Bananza is an evolution of the simian, the missing link between 2D and 3D, one that can stand tall and beat its chest next to Mario.”

Secondary collectables, such as fossils and banana chips, can be exchanged at various NPC stores peppered throughout the game and act as currency towards unlocking new cosmetic items for both Donkey Kong and Pauline. Outside of the various fun and colourful dyes DK can purchase, costumes for Pauline and ties for DK also include special buffs, such as extra healing or powering up one of DK’s many Bananza forms.

Donkey Kong Bananza is unlike anything that has come before it. With its voxel-based terrain, the game emphasizes terrain deformation, encouraging players to unleash their inner Kong by dishing out destruction. Thankfully, the game manages to balance the reckless fun of destroying everything in sight with a monsoon of challenge and bonus levels that can often be excavated by exploring the sub-layers that make up the world of Donkey Kong Bananza.

Starting with the bonus stages, which are less frequent than the challenge levels, players familiar with Donkey Kong Country will feel right at home. The bonus stages in Bananza feel like modern interpretations of the gold rush collect-a-thons present in those games, giving players the opportunity to quickly accumulate some extra cash, restricted only by a short timer.

Challenge levels, on the other hand, are overall much more substantial and offer players a wide gamut of interesting and often experimental level designs to engage with. Challenge levels come in two flavours: timed gauntlets that simply ask DK to eliminate all enemies in a room, and unique and often over-the-top platforming levels that take advantage of Donkey Kong’s various Bananza forms. Enemy gauntlet-based challenge levels usually net the player with a single banana, while level-based challenge zones hide three bananas, which, more often than not, require the player to think outside of the box if they wish to find all three.

On the topic of Bananza forms, Donkey Kong Bananza features five unique transformations for DK, which I won’t touch on in detail to avoid spoilers. Still, readers can rest assured in knowing that each of the five unique Bananza forms present in the game all feel unique and add meaningful augmentations to the moment-to-moment gameplay sequences in Donkey Kong Bananza.

“Donkey Kong Bananza is unlike anything that has come before it.”

In fact, maybe the biggest issue I have with Donkey Kong Bananza lies in its over-the-top Bananza forms for the titular primate, which, at times, can feel overpowered, resulting in most boss encounters lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute, outside of perhaps the last couple of fights. Boss fights, in general, are the weakest aspect of Donkey Kong Bananza, with the latter half of the game resorting to repeating fights that never feel that much tougher than their initial encounter. Even still, Donkey Kong Bananza is a blast to play, breathing new life into the beloved property.

Other minor issues that should be mentioned are the performance dips present in the game, which thankfully don’t detract too much from the experience, but can be noticeable when collecting gold or when transitioning between cameras while talking with NPC characters. Portable play is also on par with performance during docked segments, perhaps a bit better due to the VRR kicking in, which made the overall game feel smoother than when docked.

In terms of extras, Donkey Kong Bananza features a fun co-op mode where another player controls Pauline, reminiscent of Player 2 controlling Cappy in Mario and is the perfect mode for those with young children or non-gamers wanting to join in on the fun. DK Artist mode is also available from the start screen of the game, which feels reminiscent of the Mario 64 start-up, but this time, giving players the ability to chisel and hack away at various character models from within the game. DK Artist is a great showcase of what can be achieved using the Joy-Con 2 in its mouse orientation, and it will be interesting to see what people come up with in the future.  

Finally, on the topic of story and lore implications, I won’t delve into the nitty-gritty. Still, for those who care about Donkey Kong’s legacy, Nintendo has done an excellent job of making sense of the canon, including plenty of surprises that long-time fans will appreciate.

Donkey Kong Bananza is a must-play for owners of the Nintendo Switch 2 and a worthy prequel to Mario Odyssey, making it yet another essential first-party Nintendo release.

Donkey Kong Bananza releases on July 17, 2025, for $69.99 USD/$99.99 CAD.

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