Review: ‘Donkey Kong Bananza’ trades manic platforming for unhurried exploring

An undated screenshot shows a scene from "Donkey Kong Bananza," the new game starring Nintendo's well-known simian mascot and the company's second major release for its Switch 2 console. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Nintendo of America (Mandatory Credit)

TORONTO — Even a rampaging ape needs to take time to stop and smell the roses.

Or so it would seem in “Donkey Kong Bananza,” the new game released Thursday starring Nintendo’s well-known simian mascot and the company’s second major release for its Switch 2 console.

The first original “Donkey Kong” game in 11 years forgoes the difficult side-scrolling platform levels and manic boss battles of previous titles for a 3D world that players can explore at their own pace. It plays more like a sequel to “Super Mario Odyssey,” a 2017 3D game starring another major Nintendo character, albeit with a lot more smashing.

“Donkey Kong Bananza” starts off with the titular hero searching for banana-shaped gems in a mine. He runs afoul of a villainous band of apes who steal the gems and make their way to the planet’s core.

Donkey Kong gives chase and along the way befriends a young girl named Pauline, who can empower the ape through her singing. Pauline learns different “Bananza” songs throughout the game and can use them to turn DK into a stronger gorilla, a sure-footed zebra or a flying ostrich, among others.

Things pick up once Donkey Kong moves on from the introductory level and the game’s world opens up. Despite heading deeper into the planet’s depths Donkey Kong and Pauline will encounter jungles, tropical beaches, deserts and more in the various substrata.

All levels can also be smashed to pieces. Donkey Kong can use his prodigious strength to punch his way through almost any terrain to avoid hazards, find short cuts or hunt for collectible items.

No matter how interesting the world looks on the surface, digging through rock is still digging through rock. Punching tunnels through the destructible environments to find collectibles and power-ups becomes repetitive after a time. The game’s camera can also lose sight of Donkey Kong when he’s underground, occasionally leading to misadventure as he emerges at the edge of a cliff or over a pit of lava.

Still, much of the indiscriminate digging can be avoided for those who are content to finish the game without seeking every collectible or secret. And the worlds in “Donkey Kong Bananza” still offer plenty to discover for those less keen on spelunking.

The aforementioned banana-shaped diamonds can be recovered in a number of ways, from defeating a boss enemy to completing challenges scattered across the game to finding them in the wild. Donkey Kong can use these bananas to buy new powers or improve existing ones, adding a role-playing game element to his journey.

DK can also uncover fossils that can be used to buy new outfits for Pauline or himself, and hideouts can be found peppered throughout the game’s various layers. Here DK and Pauline can rest to recover health, change outfits and listen to any records collected during the adventure. Find enough hideouts on a particular level and Donkey Kong will gain extra health when he rests and unlock a concierge who will facilitate his shopping needs.

The ability to casually explore and the game’s lower difficulty — enemies are mostly placed as mere hindrances rather than serious obstacles, and even most boss battles are not challenging — marks a sharp contrast to DK’s adventures in the “Donkey Kong Country” series.

The last game in that long-running franchise, “Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze,” was a platformer with a hectic pace and tricky but rewarding battles. It was also well-liked by gamers, who might be in for a surprise if expecting more of the same in “Donkey Kong Bananza.”

But the switch to a 3D sandbox gives players more agency over how they want to progress. And it unleashes Donkey Kong to smash up the place without many constraints. With his ability to punch through walls, surf on chunks of granite and throw boulders at enemies with ease, DK has arguably never been more fun to play.

After the Switch 2 launched last month with only “Mario Kart World Tour” in its lineup, “Donkey Kong Bananza” should give early adopters of the console more to sink their teeth into. Donkey Kong still smashes, but now he might take a minute to appreciate his surroundings before obliterating them.

“Donkey Kong Bananza: is rated E10+, meaning suitable for gamers aged 10 and up, and retails for $100.

A digital copy of the game was provided to The Canadian Press for the purposes of this review.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.

Curtis Withers, The Canadian Press