Donkey Kong Bananza hands-on preview – from the makers of Super Mario Odyssey

Donkey Kong Bananza – that’s not a rock! (Nintendo)

We’ve played several hours of the new Donkey Kong game for Nintendo Switch 2, and it has many wonderful secrets to reveal.

Mario Kart World has already convinced us that the redesign for Donkey Kong is a good idea. Whatever nostalgia you might have for the stone-faced Rare design, the new look for the king of swing is not only far more expressive but it’s also much closer to the original 1981 game. But then we were never great fans of the Rare games or the more recent Retro Studios titles, like Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Locking one of Nintendo’s most recognisable characters behind a series of old-fashioned, ultra difficult 2D platformers never seemed like a good idea to us. Bananza doesn’t completely divorce itself from that era – Cranky Kong and Rambi look just like they used to, a lot of the old music is included, and there are 2D levels as optional challenges – but the core of the game is completely different.

Nintendo continues to be secretive about it, but in a recent hands-on event we got them to admit that it is by the same ‘team’ as Super Mario Odyssey. They wouldn’t say who the director is, so we’re still not convinced it’s exactly the same people, but the quality and imagination in the game does scream classic Nintendo.

After several hours of play, we learned a lot about Bananza, but we’re still confused by several issues when it comes to the plot. For example, our questions as to why, or indeed how, DK is eating bananas carved out of precious gems went unanswered. The time paradox of a young Pauline meeting Cranky Kong – who is supposed to be the original Donkey Kong, that kidnapped the grown-up version in the original arcade game – also remains unexplained.

Perhaps Nintendo can get Hideo Kojima to write the plot for the next game, and explain it all, but in typical fashion the only thing that matters here is the gameplay and the basic set-up, which seems to involve DK as a miner, working for the evil Void Company, in what seems to be some sort of indentured servitude.

It’s easy to see why DK is a valued employee, as he can smash through solid rock with his fists, tunnel straight down with a jump attack, clap his hands to create a sonar effect to find hidden items, and rip up whatever is in front of him to use as a weapon or, weirdly, ride on it like a surfboard. DK can also climb most surfaces, as well as hang down from the ceiling, making him one of the most versatile platformer stars ever.

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All of this is on top of challenge levels, which seem to be split into three broad types: arena style combat against enemies, self-contained puzzle stages, and 2D sections. We played one of the latter and it was quite long, but while it worked very similarly to the Donkey Kong Country games it’s nowhere near as difficult – although still a notch or so above the 3D sections.

Donkey Kong Bananza is a substantial game. There’s also outfits to be unlocked by collecting fossils of different sizes, most of which confer small buffs, like increasing movement speed or your defence. But according to the Nintendo rep, the overall goal was to encourage constant action, as you chain together punches to smash your way through the landscape and enemies.

This works perfectly and not only is there a thrilling sense of non-stop movement but it seems almost every action brings with it an unexpected consequence, with maps absolutely bursting with secrets upon secrets.

We’ve always liked Donkey Kong as a character, but it feels like this is the first game to fully take advantage of him as a lead protagonist. Donkey Kong Country could’ve featured anyone in the lead role, but Bananza could only be the great ape himself.

Formats: Nintendo Switch 2
Price: £66.99 (physical) or £58.99 (digital)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EPD
Release Date: 17th July 2025
Age Rating: 7

There are minecart sections but they’re pretty simple (Nintendo)

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