Donkey Kong Bananza Review

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Fast Facts

Still a Launch Title?

It has felt a lifetime, but has in reality been just 6 weeks since the Nintendo Switch 2 delivered the biggest games console launch in history. During this time, I’ve been pining for something I can really sink my teeth into, and something that felt built for the amazing new hardware I have in my hands. Enter Donkey Kong Bananza, the very first 3D platformer from Nintendo to bring us into their new age of Console gaming.

You’d have to be living under a rock to not know about this one. Switch 2 owner or not Donkey Kong Bananza has been dominating gaming media for weeks/months and speculation had been high regarding which team had been leading the games development here. Many saw DK Bananza as the spiritual successor to Super Mario Odyssey and flagged the incredibly talented dev team behind this Switch 1 classic had to be the same. After a spell of silence this was finally confirmed to be the truth in an early access preview right at the start of July 2025.

An A-peeling Change

Story wise, we start DK Bananza with a relatively simple mission. We are venturing underground to capture as many Banana Crystals as possible and to stop the evil Void Company. Void Company is a large mining organisation comprising of Grumpy Kong, who is the director of manufacturing. Poppy Kong, director of intelligence and lastly their gremlin like leader President Void Kong. They are all fun additions to this world, and follow the typical rhythm of brains, brawn and a Lord Farquaad like leader at the helm.

As is a classic formula for Nintendo the world is divided into zones that each present their own assortment of enemies, environments and weather systems. There is of course an abundance of skills you are required to unlock to be able to navigate these layers successfully. Things aren’t as bleak as you may think however, with each layer a living and breathing ecosystem. It brings personality and has its own vistas and sky. It’s stunningly beautiful throughout, graphically head and shoulders above anything so far on the Switch 2. For this reason alone it’s important to just pause for a moment to look up every now and then.

DK Bonanza draws its inspiration from so many other games, but also from literature and fantasy. As you burrow your way through the layers and layers in your pursuit to the core it feels almost like a whimsical version of Alice in Wonderland in its pursuit. Only this time the Cheshire Cat is in fact a 14 year old child version of Pauline, the musically talented Mayor from Super Mario Odyssey.

As you work your way through the 20-30 hours ahead, DK Bananza expands into this wonderfully epic story, that is classically good vs evil. It becomes a world saving endeavour with the only footnote being DK wants all of the bananas, and nothing else really matters to him.

A Fruitful Mission

The flagship feature for DK Bananza is the implementation of a destruction mechanic that allows you to destroy almost everything around you. You can tunnel, dig, burrow, pummel and hunt your way through much of the game. I think for most players you really have to find what’s right for you in how you choose to utilise such power. In the opening sequence, you start the game in a bit of an introduction cave area. I like most players spent a solid 10-15 minutes just bashing away at the walls around you in this first experience. There is a compulsion to keep digging, and you may get lucky and find a chest, a fossil or even a banana to reward your efforts.

What I quickly realised, is for completionists they are going to be doing an awful lot of this, and honestly for me it got a little thin. Seeing someone on Reddit spent 45 minutes just destroying this opening cave to earn a banana had me quickly realise that 100% completion was not in the realms of consideration for my play through. It is very impressive to see your destruction preserved in each layer, and will remain in this state for the rest of the game. Unless you make use of the option to reset the terrain, thus allowing you to choose differently next time.

When it comes to burrowing and carving out the tunnels, you are likely to see some performance issues and frame drops along the way. At times camera angles can be worse than Resident Evil Directors Cut on the PS1. I quickly made my peace, that I’m tunnelling only when mission critical to do so, or if needing to build my gold reserves.

A Whole Bunch of Options

DK Bananza, is packed to the rafters with RPG elements that are colossal and incredibly well implemented. A skill tree is available to help you hone skills in your Bananza transformations as well as increase your life hearts or the power of your punches. These are of course earned by collecting bananas along your travels. Fossil collecting helps you to purchase outfits and new style options for both DK and Pauline. Gold allows you to purchase items such as rescue balloons and apple juice. All of which help you to be more resilient in the differing climates and world environments around you.

There are so many small details that borrow from other IP along the way. You’d be mistaken for feeling at times like you are playing Zelda – Tears of the Kingdom, with Shrine like side quests and Guardian like enemy encounters. Digging, harvesting resources and enemy encounters can often feel very Minecraft. There are even Luigi’s Mansion like moments of vacuuming environments around you that come a little later into the game. In fact there’s so much more that I can’t even share in this review, you’ll need to find for yourselves.

Genius – Simplicity

There are ways that DK Bananza, just absolutely stole my heart. The controls for one, are just incredible and bring a simplicity that is incredibly cathartic in how you play. B,Y,X are directional punches for DK, and A is jump. As you strafe with the thumb stick it feels so connected and organic in how you make your moves. Once these controls have been quickly conquered you’ll find there is more complexity to unlock as the game progresses.

Next up, the ability to build getaway homes, crops up throughout the game. For a small fee, you can have a butler that morphs to the store you need (outfits, items or token trade ins to buy bananas) and also gives you a bed to get your head down for the night and regain your hearts. There are even bonus stars available to provide an added boost when you have multiple getaway homes in the same layer. Another Zelda reference of course. Oh.. and don’t forget to tip your butler!

A Bananza?

So with all of these wonderful details along the way, how does the gameplay stack up? It’s wonderful. Truly the execution of its platforming elements, are second to none. It feels very Super Mario Odyssey at times, but it’s a lot more than this. Puzzles range from simple to very complex. The difficulty builds in a really clever and intentional way throughout. The soundtrack is buy the Vinyl levels of epic, and support characters are helpful, funny and thoroughly interesting.

There were moments in the middle I felt like DK Bananza was a very good game. Sure at times things felt a little flat and the story a little thin. However after the closing 5 hours…. I felt a shift and have to say it’s an utterly superb game. DK Bananza truly lives up to the responsibility as the flagship launch(ish) title for the Switch 2 and if you own the console, it’s an absolutely must buy to own this game!

Rapid Reviews Rating

4.5 out of 5

4.5

Donkey Kong Bananza is available to purchase on the eShop here