Gaming 9

Donkey Kong Bananza Review – An Ample Ape Odyssey

Nathan Birch • Jul 16, 2025 at 08:00am EDT

Game Info

Donkey Kong Bananza

July 17, 2025

Platform

Nintendo Switch 2

Publisher

Nintendo

Developer

Nintendo

Despite being the franchise that started it all for Nintendo, Donkey Kong has never been as meticulously managed as, say, Mario or Zelda. For decades, DK was largely entrusted to teams outside Nintendo’s core Japanese development structure, with the likes of Rare, Retro Studios, and the occasional third party offering their own varying spins on the franchise. That said, between a major role in the recent Super Mario Bros. movie and new Universal Studios attractions, it seems clear Nintendo is interested in returning Donkey Kong to true top-tier franchise status. As part of this, Nintendo is rolling out Donkey Kong Bananza, a new Switch 2 3D platformer from the EPD Tokyo team behind the likes of Super Mario Odyssey.

Does Donkey Kong Bananza see Nintendo’s ape swing to new heights? Or does this one go Donkey Wrong? Time to dig into DK’s latest…

It seems DK has become more of a go-getter since his last original platformer, as Donkey Kong Bananza opens with him leading a mining operation, as he uses his fists to dig up “Banandium Gems” (this game’s equivalent of Mario Odyssey’s Power Moons) and scads of sparkly “Banandium Gold.” Unfortunately, a villainous crew of apes, known as VoidCo, crashes a meteor into DK’s mine, sinking all its precious treasure (and DK himself) further underground.

DK initially teams up with a funny little creature named Odd Rock, although it’s soon revealed that the stony sidekick is actually Pauline (that’s not a spoiler, as Nintendo has heavily promoted her in trailers and PR materials). In previous games, Pauline has played the role of Donkey Kong’s unfortunate kidnapping victim and, later, the stylish Mayor of New Donk City, but here, she’s a somewhat naïve 13-year-old who dreams of becoming a singer. DK and Pauline soon learn that getting back to the surface actually requires them to go deeper, down to the “Banandium Root,” which is said to grant wishes. And so, a journey to the center of the planet, through many colorful and strange locales, begins.

I was quite surprised, pleasantly so, by how much attention Donkey Kong Bananza paid to its characters and story. The new DK and Pauline models are bursting with skillfully animated energy, and the two make a charming pair, both in big cutscenes and during more low-key moments. DK Bananza has a system of “getaways” where you can rest and recharge your heart meter, and each time you go down for a nap, you get to overhear fun, sometimes poignant, snippets of conversation between Pauline and her simian companion (DK sticks to grunts, but Pauline is fully voice-acted). Pauline even has a nice little character arc, starting out unsure of her singing abilities then gaining confidence as the game progresses.

And yes, while I’ll provide no spoilers here, if you’re perplexed about some of the mysteries Nintendo have presented, like, say, why Pauline is a precocious tween now, I can confirm some actual answers are offered. Nintendo has a history of simply shrugging at continuity, and while I’m sure there are things that still don’t fit, Bananza ties into other games and the greater Donkey Kong lineage in ways I think will satisfy and perhaps surprise fans. Donkey Kong Bananza is a fulsome celebration of the franchise’s long and storied history.

As for how Donkey Kong Bananza plays, our hairy hero doesn’t just use his fists to smash baddies anymore; he can now use them to plow into the terrain, with a large portion of most environments being destructible. DK can punch forward, downward, and up, as well as slam down from above after a jump. Additionally, he can grab chunks of rock and dirt to throw, swing, or use as a handy surfboard, and can clamber up pretty much any vertical surface. It's a versatile set of tools for traversing and shaping the world, which makes Donkey Kong Bananza almost feel like a mixture of Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Granted, it may take some players a while to get used to the feel of DK Bananza’s minute-to-minute gameplay. Bananza’s actual platforming is rather rudimentary, particularly in the early stages of the game. DK only has a single, relatively limited jump, and many of Mario's more advanced tricks, like wall jumping, aren’t present here. Really, the game is often more of a climber than a traditional platformer, with much of the game’s traversal revolving around your near-unlimited ability to scale most surfaces (although you will encounter a few smooth or slick surfaces you can’t get up). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but again, it's something you may have to adapt to. This isn't just Mario with a gorilla skin.

Another thing that sets DK Bananza apart are its destruction mechanics, which allow you to smash most of what you see (down to an underlying hard base layer underneath most stages) and yes, it’s quite satisfying. You can tunnel your way into hills and rock formations, creating your own tunnel systems or, alternatively, rip up pieces of soft dirt and stick them together to make new bridges and other structures. Of course, everywhere you dig is positively chock full of all manner of goodies, including Banandium Gems, Banandium Chips, collectible fossils, treasure chests, and lots and lots of gold.

Admittedly, sometimes this freedom to smash whatever you want can make the game feel a bit messy. Often I’d find myself digging into the ground when I just wanted to attack an enemy, and the camera can sometimes be a bit unruly once burrowed in there. There’s also an odd visual issue I encountered fairly often where most of the environment would disappear into a purple-ish void for a second. I think this is related to the digging mechanic – most of the background is supposed to disappear when you’re fully immersed underground so as to eliminate visual clutter, and it seems like there are moments where the game detects you as being underground for a moment when you’re really not. It isn’t a huge deal, but it is a rather distracting issue in what’s otherwise a very visually polished game.

In addition to DK’s core moves, you’ll also gradually unlock various Bananza forms, which allow you to transform into a muscled-up version of DK, a fast-dashing zebra, a flying (yes, flying) ostrich, and other animals. These transformations are on a timer, after which, you need to collect more gold to reactivate them. As such, Bananza forms aren’t as deeply integrated into level designs as, say, Mario Odyssey’s Cappy transformations. Most of the time, you can get by just playing as vanilla DK, with only certain obstacles – a fragile bridge you need to run over as Zebra DK here, an air-vent you can glide on as Ostrich DK there – requiring a transformation.

Most of the Bananza forms are fairly fun to play as, although that doesn’t mean they’re all created equal (I definitely have my favorites). DK Bananza also takes a surprisingly long time to introduce challenges that require switching between multiple forms – most of the game’s main stages are based around a single Bananza form. In addition to the various transformations, DK Bananza also introduces some light RPG elements, including a skill tree that allows you to upgrade your capabilities and an array of unlockable outfits that confer upgradable buffs.

This version of DK is certainly a resourceful guy with a lot of different abilities to keep track of, but, of course, all the skills in the world don’t matter if a game doesn’t have good levels to put them to the test. Thankfully, Donkey Kong Bananza delivers on that front. DK Bananza is divided up into multiple descending layers, with DK diving between them in a similar fashion to how Link plunges into the Depths in Tears of the Kingdom. Most layers are further divided into multiple sublayers, with players sometimes having to travel up and down in order to access certain locations. A number of these individual sublayers are as large and complex (maybe even larger in some cases) as the biggest Kingdoms in Mario Odyssey. It all adds up to a world that feels more interconnected, and notably more complex, than Mario Odyssey's.

Individual layers run the gamut from more typical jungle, icy, and grassy plains settings, to more original themes, like one based around a full race track and even more out-there examples I can’t discuss at the moment. Even the more predictable level themes usually have some quirky twist that sets them apart (like the fact that the Arctic layer is inhabited by desert-loving, parka-wearing zebras for some reason).

Graphically, DK Bananza is a hearty feast for the eyes, with nearly every layer standing out as visually unique, impressive in scope, and packed with fun details, big and small. There are some layers that are arguably a bit over-busy, with efforts to create something original resulting in some clashing visual elements (think the Luncheon Kingdom from Mario Odyssey taken to another level), but these stages are the exception. By and large, DK Bananza is an impressive-looking game that usually runs well on the Switch 2 hardware, with only occasional performance issues during particularly frantic boss battles.

Thankfully, DK Bananza’s stages aren’t just varied and nice to look at, they’re also plenty of fun to play. That feeling of there being a secret or unique challenge around every corner you got in Mario Odyssey returns and is taken to a new level. Almost every layer of the game offers some sort of unique gameplay mechanic, some of which are truly wild and wonderful, like the glowing rocks you pluck in the Resort Layer that send you hurtling into the sky or the seeds from the Forest Layer that produce creeping vine bridges.

It should also be said, unlike Mario Odyssey, which took a relatively laid-back approach to progression, DK Bananza offers a more structured core campaign replete with a continuous series of missions, big cutscenes, and lots of boss fights. While there's certainly still plenty of room for aimless exploration, those looking for a game with more of a core driving force will find it here. Almost all the main campaign missions are fun, balancing unique challenges, epic moments, and a nicely-balanced level of difficulty. If there's one somewhat weak aspect of this core campaign, it may be the bosses, with many early ones being trivially easy and later ones becoming more challenging in a sometimes-frustrating way. That said, there are still some good boss fights in the game, they're just not as consistent as they could be.

Donkey Kong Bananza’s core campaign is certainly substantial – even with a fairly lean and focused playthrough, it took me around 16 or 17 hours to roll credits. Of course, like Mario Odyssey, there’s a seemingly infinite amount of extra stuff to collect and some specific incentives for doing so. You're going to be tallying everything Bananza has to offer for some time.

This review was based on a copy of Donkey Kong Bananza provided by publisher Nintendo.

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WCCFTECH RATING

Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong Bananza doesn’t monkey around, as it’s inarguably the biggest, most ambitious 3D platformer Nintendo has ever produced. Taking the formula established by Super Mario Odyssey as a starting point, Nintendo goes deeper, wilder, weirder, and punchier. Donkey Kong Bananza is perhaps a bit less refined than the near-immaculate Odyssey, but if you can overlook a few minor brown spots, this banana is very much worth peeling.