Donkey Kong Bananza Review (Switch 2)

Donkey Kong Bananza is many things. It’s chaotic, surprising, and most importantly, a huge blast. While a family-friendly platformer, any gamer will come out of it with a cheeky smile on their face. After all, you spend most of your time smashing stuff for the sake of it, and getting rewarded with coveted golden bananas in return.

Beyond mindlessly punching and crashing things, you discover that a more creative and engrossing layer lies beneath the surface of your experience. One that often challenges you to go beyond your comfort zone to hunt down collectibles, explore possible hidden and secret pathways, and brute force new ways of solving brilliant puzzles. 

If you were one of the folks waiting for Donkey Kong Bananza to decide whether Nintendo Switch 2 is worth buying, well, we have good news for you. Perhaps not the “it’s utterly outstanding, and a definite contender for Game of the Year” review. But an ultimately pleasant one that leaves you with no regrets for playing the title of your own accord.

Below, we dive deep into all of the exceptional mechanics you can expect from your galavanting through Donkey Kong Land. And perhaps a few kinks you might want to keep in mind before coming to a final purchase decision. Here’s our deep-dive Donkey Kong Bananza review for your reading pleasure. 

To the Planet’s Core

Donkey Kong Bananza might as well be Nintendo Switch 2’s signature launch title. And for that, gamers worldwide quite expected to be blown away. Happy to report that has been the case, especially when you dive deeper into all the game has to offer. At first, you’re met with a rather simplistic story of Donkey Kong and his unquenched thirst for golden bananas.

He’s accompanied by the sweet and adorable Pauline, who you might remember from the first game. And overshadowing their efforts to find the planet’s core said to grant you a special wish is the mining company VoidCorp. In a tight race for the planet’s core, a meteorite hits VoidCorp and gives them a formidable head start. So, now, Pauline and Donkey Kong have their work cut out for them to catch up, collecting sweet, shiny golden bananas along the way. 

Most Unlikely, Perfect Duo

Listen, Nintendo platformers have never had to come up with the most profound stories. Try to make sense of Donkey Kong Bananza, and your head might explode. Ultimately, the collectathon, boss fights, and platforming are often more than enough to make up for any loose threads. Yet, the story here does make an effort to stick with you. It features the most endearing characters with personalities bursting through the narrative.

Pauline is adorable, and surprisingly, not the most annoying companion. Even when all she does is sing, and sing, and sing –even when attacking enemies, she hurls her vocal musings at them. Donkey Kong remains a fascinating signature-red-tie powerful gorilla, whose physical strength has been best appreciated in Donkey Kong Bananza’s core “smashing terrain” mechanic.

And over time, the duo develops a sort of symbiotic relationship, one that will infuse deep emotion and charm. Donkey Kong comes to care for Pauline, while she helps keep the crazed gorilla in check. Even though the upcoming Donkey Kong movie isn’t shining its spotlight on these newfound charming duo, I’d settle for a sequel building further and deeper into their co-existence chasing stolen banana hoards. 

Chasing Sunsets

And thus the foundation for exploring Donkey Kong Bananza’s subterranean environments is laid. It’s all you need to begin adventuring across the layered Earth, digging your way deeper toward the planet’s core. As Nintendo stressed, the terrain here is almost all destructible. You can destroy nearly every surface: sand, rock, stone, and gold, the key here being the type of material you’re striking.

For the easy ones to punch through, several fists pounding will make quick work of creating a way through. Mostly, you’re creating a new path to a new area. Or are reaching for the Banandium Gem collectible hidden behind the wall structure. 

However, stronger material, say concrete or even lava, may require stronger attacks. And while your Donkey Kong fists are powerful enough, you may need to use explosives or throw stone slabs and whatnot. Ideally, you want a stronger material to throw at hard surfaces, which doesn’t just apply to destroying the terrain, but also in solving puzzles, platforming, and fighting enemies. And here’s where Donkey Kong Bananza begins to sink its fangs deeper than the surface.

At one point, you’re enjoying breaking stuff for the sake of it, and reveling in the consequent “punch” sound and rumble of your controller. Next, you’re made aware that breaking your way through Donkey Kong Bananza won’t cut it, at least if you’re to solve all of its brilliant puzzles, defeat stronger enemies, and achieve 100% completion. 

Mix and Match

Once you’ve gotten the smashing through rock out of your system, whether punching up, down, or forward, Donkey Kong Bananza introduces more abilities. The most exciting one is the sonar slam, which shows you where the most valuable gems are hidden. So, now, rather than destroy terrain aimlessly, you have focus and a way forward.

Meanwhile, you’re given the basic traversal moves: jumping and rolling forward. Later on, though, your movement options grow more complex, allowing you to climb surfaces, tear a chunk of the environment, and surf or double-jump on it. And later, later on, you unlock the fascinating Bananza Donkey Kong transformations. 

I’d argue it’s the most anticipated gameplay element of Donkey Kong Bananza, included in the title itself. Bonanza transformations unlock fun alterations of Donkey Kong’s design and features, including Ostrich and Snake Bananza. While the former allows you to glide in the air, performing aerial attacks and dropping egg bombs on enemies, the latter allows you to use your coiled tail to reach higher platforms.

All of the abilities unlocked for you at a steady pace don’t just make exploration easier; they also influence how you solve puzzles, platform your way through obstacles, and fight enemies. The stone slab you’ve just torn off the environment can be useful in surfing across lava pools, for instance. While Donkey Kong might fall through fragile platforms, Zebra Bananza easily speeds across them. 

Keep ‘em Coming

The point is, Donkey Kong Bananza never stops giving. It always has a surprise awaiting you when you dig your way through to the next underground layer. Much like levels in platforming games, the underground layers you descend through bring forth their own unique, creative, and exciting terrains, biomes, abilities, puzzles, enemies, and more. Even when certain abilities are familiar, they are mixed and matched in ways that you make use of them in entirely new, clever ways. 

However, there are ways Donkey Kong Bananza still keeps new stuff coming. Pauline, for instance, uses her singing voice to reveal hidden pathways and guide you to lucrative gold currencies. Meanwhile, some abilities harken back to the Donkey Kong franchise, like the barrels scattered throughout the world that launch you to distant locations.

And then there are the side objectives, often distracting in much-welcome ways. When you stray off the main story path, you might just run into hidden areas with side quests and fossils, a secondary currency for unlocking fun costumes, some of which give you passive buffs like more health. 

Every which way you go, you’re bound to be rewarded with secrets, fun diversions that reveal surprises like 2D side-scrolling challenges, treasure chests, gems,… the goodies and rewards simply never stop coming. So, no, Donkey Kong Bananza is not just about punching through destructive environments.

There are more creative and complex ways you can utilize your different destructive abilities to unlock hidden areas, bringing with them fresh puzzles, platforming challenges, and enemies. In fact, the stream of things to do and objects you can destroy becomes so overwhelming that the frame rate drops noticeably, and texture pop-ins become prominent. Perhaps not too hazardous to detract from gameplay, but definitely noticeable, and slightly disappointing on the supposedly next-gen Switch console.

Verdict

I realize I have wrapped up the review on a negative note, but it’s only to show why Donkey Kong Bananza has fallen slightly short of being a 10/10 masterpiece. Otherwise, this’ll be an outstanding must-play experience every gamer ought to try. And quite possibly a deserving winner of the Game of the Year award. There are a ton of things to do that are far from filler content. Instead, you can’t help delving deeper underground, hoping to discover more secrets, treasures, and rewards for your efforts. 

In Donkey Kong Bananza, you aren’t just going out of your way to explore “the more” that’s out there. You’re certain it’ll come with earned satisfaction and reward, possibly for the ongoing weeks and months to come. Do try out this platforming adventure for yourself, and if you can, with a partner. And perhaps challenge yourself to hit 100% completion. I can only warn you that punching your way through it won’t work; you’ll definitely need to put some thought into it and feel rewarded for it.