Donkey Kong Bananza Reviews
Donkey Kong Bananza is an incredible iteration and spin on the Odyssey formula creating another incredible first-party experience. The world destruction did rob some of the challenge of the world, but it was a smaller percentage of the time.
Donkey Kong Bananza is nothing short of a revelation and revolution about what DK can be as a character and how his games can be different from Mario's, Kirby's, and others of his platforming ilk. He and Pauline are the epic "dynamic duo" that Nintendo can rally around to start the Switch 2 age, and you'll love this game from start to finish…then go back for even more.
Donkey Kong Bananza is a groundbreaking 3D platformer from the Super Mario Odyssey team that pushes the genre to thrilling new heights.
Donkey Kong Bananza marks the first major first-party release from Nintendo since the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2.
All in all, Donkey Kong Bananza is an excellent return for the leader of the DK Crew. In the same way that Mario Kart World or Breath of the Wild felt like all-new takes on a classic formula, Bananza feels like it’s doing the same in two ways – for the Donkey Kong series itself, and as a guidepost of what we can expect from the Switch 2.
Smashing and crashing his way to a new generation, Donkey Kong is well and truly back with Donkey Kong Bananza. Each layer is an absolute joy, with largely destructible environments that are jam-packed with secrets and hidden goodies. It's visually stunning, too; incredibly colourful and a true showcase of what the Switch 2 is capable of, with lots of variety. With so many collectables to find and a lot of nostalgic nods to D.K.'s long history, it's a must-have platformer that nails the brief and lives up to the legacy of Nintendo's greatest hits.
With Donkey Kong Bananza, DK is back in a big way. It blends new tech with old-school Nintendo charm for a destructive experience that is both intoxicating and addictive. While Pauline's storyline is underdeveloped, this is easily Donkey Kong at his absolute best. Regardless of some minor blemishes, Donkey Kong Bananza deserves a place in any self-respecting Switch 2 owner's library and, much like Super Mario Odyssey before it, sets an incredibly high bar for all that will follow.
Despite some of its flaws, Donkey Kong: Bananza perfectly fills a niche hungry for a colourful, joyful adventure, which provides a lot of unrestrained fun. The game draws extensively on the ideas from Super Mario Odyssey, with the addition of great mechanics of dynamic destruction. I have my fingers crossed that further games designed for Switch 2 will prove equally successful.
Review in Polish | Read full review
This is the killer app on Switch 2, thanks to snappy controls, imaginative art direction, a mysterious "journey to the center of the earth" premise, rousing music, rewarding exploration, and the intelligent, thoughtful deployment of voxel technology, which provides players exhilarating navigational and problem-solving freedom.
Words barely do justice to how impressive Donkey Kong Bananza truly is. With near-perfect sandbox design, a fully destructible terrain system, and a transformation mechanic that redefines exploration, it's an astonishingly complete experience. The game even embraces sequence breaking with deliberate design allowances. This is a monster of a title-Nintendo-level brilliance at its most terrifying.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Donkey Kong Bananza is a beautiful next-gen chapter of a gaming legend!
launch support, DK and Pauline adventure is already a great game at day one, albeit too simple even for Nintendo standards. A triumphant level design and a mesmerizing destruction rage will accompany both veterans and newcomers to the center of the earth.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Donkey Kong Bananza is a game so committed to its premise you can't help but revel in the gorgeous, destructive genius of it all. Constantly building to a spectacular finish and incorporating the most comprehensive post-game experience I have seen in a Nintendo game to date, this is a proper benchmark of brilliance for what a first-party Switch 2 title should be. The world is your oyster – so why not punch it into pieces.
Donkey Kong Bananza is a beautiful technical marvel that revels in letting players unleash their inner animal and get crazy, but still takes the time to create situations where you must stop and think before you leap.
Astro Bot and Super Mario Odyssey are mixed together. Lots of bananas are thrown in, it's placed in a bowl full of monkeys and gorillas, and the fun is turned up to the max! All we have to do is experience this joy and join an unforgettable adventure in one of Nintendo's most entertaining and hilarious games.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Donkey Kong Bananza is a worthy successor to the sublime Super Mario Odyssey and a very impressive new entry in the DK series, in general. It’s jam-packed with creativity that will keep players coming back for more, and a huge supply of fantastic nods to past entries that make the whole experience a thorough delight. Despite the moderately disappointing soundtrack, framerate issues faced, and craziness of the camera at times, there is enough tantalising adventuring, hidden discoveries, and even intriguing RPG elements within to cover any cracks.
The relationship between DK and Pauline develops into something pretty heartwarming by the end, and the story goes places I wouldn't have dreamed. I don't want to spoil anything here, but the phrase "oh hell yes" was shouted multiple times by me during the final hours before rolling credits. Donkey Kong Bananza tries a lot of new ideas, and the vast majority of them not only work, but revolutionize the idea of a 3D platformer. There are definitely problems along the way, and it is a long way from perfect, but I can't argue with how much pure fun there is to be had in playing Donkey Kong Bananza.
With its diverse ideas, worlds, and gameplay, this experience is one of the games that is worth buying the Switch 2 for, enjoying the adventure, and enjoying it.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Donkey Kong Bananza, however, is a fantastic production that shows how Nintendo can take advantage of the new platform's capabilities to provide great fun.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Donkey Kong Bananza is the perfect launch window title for the Nintendo Switch 2. It highlights the kind of creative whimsy that Nintendo can achieve with its new hardware, demonstrates that the Switch 2 really is more than a slightly bigger Switch… and is just a very fine game on top of all of that. Donkey Kong has finally appeared in a 3D platformer worth a damn.