Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Reviews
Considering all the amazing Wii U games still yet to come to the Nintendo Switch, I could have happily seen Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze moved much further back in the queue. It's simply an average 2D platformer that doesn't deliver the level of fun or excitement you'd expect from a Nintendo-exclusive title – particularly one featuring some of the company's most iconic mascots.
A well-designed and well-executed platformer which is mechanically sound; the problem comes when you realise you feel nothing and are playing for playing’s sake rather than because you’re enjoying it.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a usually fun, too-often frustrating, and always beautiful game. Being the first HD entry sets it apart somewhat, but if Nintendo intends to keep iterating on this series, it needs to fix some legacy issues and study which stages work to make the entire experience more pleasantly consistent.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze's unimaginative level design saps the fun out of this retro-inspired platformer.
[T]hese enemies aren't simple stock obstacles, they are characters, and each has personality inscribed on its very design. There is no dialogue, no developing relationships, no other holding cell for these creatures' beings other than the way they look, move, and react. And yet each feels whole, even as it serves its sole function: to be jumped upon, avoided, or hit by a barrel.
If you're one of the many gamers who missed out on the Wii U and want to delve into this enjoyable and charming platformer for the first time, it's definitely worth giving a go.
We just wish it felt more like a proper sequel and less like an expansion.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a solid, if occasionally frustrating platformer.
Nintendo's bounding ape returns again in a thumping, enjoyable but unambitious platform game.
Tropical Freeze does little to justify the Wii U's existence, but it's still mostly a fun, challenging platformer. Fans will certainly enjoy this difficult, beautiful romp through Donkey Kong's islands, but it will frustrate less-enthusiastic players.
Tropical Freeze isn't perfect by any means, but having run through it a second time, I feel like it's aged well in the last four years. The challenge can be soul-crushing, but it's satisfying to finally make it across that one jump or beat that one boss. There are enough tools available to make the journey a little bit easier this time around, but not so much to completely diminish the challenge outright.
This sort of game could have convinced some of the faithful to get on board towards the beginning of the console's lifespan, but it will have a tougher time today. This game will win few new converts, and for all its brightness, does not feel particularly fresh.
A highly competent 2D platformer, but one utterly devoid of any new ideas or any reason to buy a Wii U in order to play it.
Although a solidly good game, the pedigree of those behind its creation and the precedent set by previous games makes Tropical Freeze more than a little disappointing.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a solid, if at times frustrating platformer, but the inclusion of a couple new characters aren't enough to stave off the feeling that we've seen all this before.
The Wii U's latest exclusive is a well crafted trial of reflexes that rewards tenacity and endurance with the satisfaction of having achieved something far from easy.
Fun to revisit, but hardly essential.
DKCTF is a quality game that was released to both capitalize on the sleeper-success that was DKCR on the Wii and fill a gap in the Wii U's release schedule. While I cannot cite any glaring flaws in the game, the parts of the game that excite me most are more cosmetic than substantiative. Nevertheless, I do recommend this latest entry in the Donkey Kong franchise for fans of DK and platform games in general—just know that this isn't the next Mario Galaxy.
Tropical Freeze is another solid Wii U port from Nintendo and remains a perfectly playable, wonderfully designed platformer masterpiece, but it doesn't offer anything truly new.
Review in German | Read full review
Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is one of the premiere platformers that’s released in the past decade and it’s move to Switch is a welcome one. Despite a higher than normal difficulty level, it excels in most areas to present a game that currently stands as one of the best on the Switch.