Donkey Kong Bananza is a constant series of pleasant surprises. From things like new gameplay mechanics and power up growth to callbacks to past games and revelations about lore, there’s always something astonishing to take in as you play. I absolutely love it. This is exactly what I wanted a Switch 2 launch window game to play. It shows exactly how much more powerful the console is both in terms of presentation and technical capabilities.
Things start out in Donkey Kong Bananza with DK working in mines alongside other primates. They’ve discovered bananas! Or gems! (They’re Banandium, technically. DK eats them.) After a strange rock falls from the sky, he investigates to find it’s a strange, purple, talking rock that runs from him when it sees he’s an ape. He gives chase and rescues the creature from some monsters, at which point Oddrock warms to him and travels with him. It’s then that we find VoidCo mining company Void turned Pauline into Oddrock, wants to force her on his side, and is on a mission to steal all the Banandium with his cohorts Poppy and Grumpy. It’s up to DK and Pauline to head to the center of the planet to grant their wishes for bananas (DK) and to go home (Pauline), while also fixing the messes VoidCo cause to civilizations on each layer.
I want to avoid any and all spoilers here possibly related to the story. However, I will say there are many moments that left me absolutely buzzing. I can’t exactly express how much excitement and joy I derived from certain plot points, callbacks, and tidbits here. It’s amazing, and I honestly can’t wait to start seeing how everyone reacts as they go on the journey.
Ahead of Donkey Kong Bananza’s launch, there was a lot of talk about how folks from the Super Mario Odyssey team worked on it. While it definitely feels like a different and unique game on its own, it fills the same sort of niche on the Switch 2. It takes us to a bright, vibrant world. There are tons of different locations, each with their own sorts of biomes, challenges, and denizens. The vibes are immaculate in each space, with every layer feeling like it is encouraging you to interact with environments and terrain types in different ways. For example, muck like mud is going to slow you down. Going into a layer lets you know how “hard” the terrain is, to give you an idea of the effort needed to bust through stuff. Some spots are especially conducive to grabbing a chunk of rock and riding on it.
The nature of it also means there’s tons of freedom. Each layer is filled with little collectibles like fossils you can find to trade for outfits, Banandium you can trade for items and hideaways, records that can be played in your hideaway jukebox, clothing that affects DK and Pauline’s abilities, DK color schemes you can buy, Challenge stages, and of course the big bananas you bust up to earn skill points. In addition to gold and treasure chests being around, it’s just plain fun to destroy terrain and see if there are “secret rooms” in the hollows of dirt.
Each of the Bananza forms in the game also feels really great and like they add to the experience. These are forms you unlock after encounters with Elders of the communities on certain layers, and they’re triggered by Pauline’s singing. While they’re designed to really handle specific situations in their home layer, they do end up returning in later ones for specific moments. Like you can use them at any time, but I found some do feel a bit more useful than others. Like I expected Ostrich Bananza to be my favorite, due to the gliding and ability to “bomb” enemies from above. And it is good! But early on, Kong Bananza establishes itself as one of the standout ones and remains so useful throughout so many layers for exploration and enemy encounters.
Those fights against enemies are also pretty great, by the way. There are so many approaches to dealing with them. Smack ‘em with DK’s fists? Rip out some of the ground and start swinging? Grab some Banandium and throw it since it explodes on contact? (Should you really be eating that DK?) Trigger one of the Bananzas and start swinging or attacking? There’s a lot of freedom and, given that some enemies may start to be made of tougher terrain types or involve inventive or evolving sorts of movesets tied to new compounds or traits you learn about, experimentation is wise!
The boss fights get as varied too, and I swear there’s so much Splatoon campaign DNA in them. The character designs, approach to attacks, and sounds surrounding them all got me thinking about that. They’re a constant flurry of motion as you use DK’s destructive abilities in Donkey Kong Bananza to tear up the environment, deal with potential hazards, break down elements, and use all of his resources to take folks out. Most of them really feel solid and like they don’t wear out their welcome, while also using things you might have learned in the layer where they appear to tie in with the theme and put your knowledge to good use. They’re inventive and technically impressive, due to exactly how much is happening at any given time during these bombastic moments against major foes.
As inventive as some Donkey Kong Bananza fights are, I encounter two opponents I found both infuriating and a little unfair. No spoilers here, of course, but the nature of said encounters made me feel like the team intended to show off what it could do and try to push the system to the edge without thinking about whether or not survival in that specific instance might come down to dumb luck. It’s also why I’m convinced some designers behind the final Splatoon 3 fight played a part in this game’s development. (No other bosses in Nintendo history inspired such fury in me as that last Hero Mode foe.) This might just be a personal pet peeve, as I didn’t feel any of the other major opponents were unfair or unbalanced in any way.
And, like I said, the boss fights in Donkey Kong Bananza pair with general stage construction and destruction to show exactly how powerful the Switch 2 is. It’s something that comes out throughout the game, due to how much damage we’re doing and the possibilities. But in these fights, it’s really clear. There are particles everywhere! Tons of different types of textures are on screen at once. Explosions! In some instances many opponents also on-screen at one time and active! But there’s never any lag or issue, even in Handheld Mode. Really, I feel like it’s magic sometimes.
The only flaw I can think of is that sometimes, as you’re burrowing through terrain as DK, it might get a bit difficult to see where you’re headed in Donkey Kong Bananza. You may find yourself needing to fiddle with the camera a bit to get the right view to figure out where you are, if you should head up or down, and how to get out. There are some automatic quality of life elements already in effect, with the perspective and terrain going invisible in spots to highlight things. Plus the radar comes in quite handy, especially if upgraded. I got used to it after a few layers, so I expect others will as well.
Donkey Kong Bananza is my new favorite DK game, due to its fantastic gameplay and how well it shows exactly what the Switch 2 can do. I loved the story. I loved the environmental design. I loved the worldbuilding. The gameplay is fantastic, save for that one jerk opponent. This is a stunning example of what this new system can do. Donkey Kong Bananza is not only one of the best Switch 2 games in 2025, it will be one of the best titles released this year on any platform.
Donkey Kong Bananza will come to the Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17, 2025.
10
Donkey Kong Bananza
Explore a vast underground world—by smashing your way through it! Bash through just about anything with the raw power of Donkey Kong! Crash through walls, carve tunnels with your fists, punch straight down into the ground, and even tear off chunks of terrain to swing around and throw in groundbreaking exploration—the more you smash, the more areas open up for you to move through. Switch 2 version reviewed. Review copy provided by company for testing purposes.
Donkey Kong Bananza is a constant series of pleasant surprises and shows exactly what the Switch 2 can handle.