It’s lastly confirmed: Donkey Kong Bananza was developed by “the workforce behind Tremendous Mario Odyssey”. Nintendo gained’t say any greater than that, corresponding to who the important thing workers and even the sport’s director is, but it surely’s thrilling information, nonetheless.
The truth that we’re simply now studying essentially the most primary of particulars across the platformer’s growth is, in fact, absurd, however a minimum of we haven’t needed to wait till the tip credit roll to search out out, as is typical for many fashionable Nintendo titles.
Why precisely the corporate has determined to buck the pattern and spill the beans forward of launch this time is unclear, particularly as a result of it beforehand informed VGC it had no plans to take action, but it surely may very well be as a result of the early previews of Bananza weren’t fairly unanimously constructive. And that’s principally a problem of expectations.
Each Nintendo sport comes with a substantial amount of religion that it’s going to ship high quality, however that is Donkey Kong, and that is (as lengthy anticipated by many) the 3D Mario workforce – names which understandably include the anticipation of a really genre-defining manufacturing. And for me, the primary Change 2 Tour hands-on demo didn’t fairly hit that very excessive bar.
Since then, DK’s return has revealed its depth through a powerful Nintendo Direct stay stream, after which VGC was invited to Nintendo UK to play simply over three hours of the Change 2 sport. It left me extra excited than I used to be earlier than, however most of all desirous to play extra, as a result of I really feel that Donkey Kong Bananza may very well be hiding its greatest bits beneath the floor.
Donkey Kong Bananza takes place on Ingot Isle, a type of mining colony the place DK and his fellow primates are digging for particular golden bananas referred to as Banandium Gems. The story begins when a sudden storm sends DK deep underground, the place he discovers a brand new companion, Odd Rock, who, it later seems, isn’t a rock in any respect, however the singer Pauline.
Pauline just isn’t but the assured and glamorous girl we all know from Tremendous Mario Odyssey, however a timid younger lady who aspires to return to the floor and change into a musician. Collectively, DK and Pauline embark on a subterranean journey in the direction of the planet’s core, all whereas the nefarious Void Firm makes an attempt to cease them.
Pauline’s reveal routinely makes Bananza a extra compelling narrative than beforehand thought, and she or he has important gameplay implications too. When you’ve collected sufficient Gold to replenish your Bananergy meter (in case you’re not a fan of puns, this sport will not be for you), Pauline’s singing potential can be utilized at any time to remodel DK into numerous Bananza kinds primarily based on different animals corresponding to a Zebra, an Ostrich, and extra.
DK can use the Bananza kinds’ distinctive talents to resolve puzzles and traverse the assorted phases, which, simply hours in, are trying way more vibrant than within the unique reveal, with surroundings altering drastically the deeper the pair progresses via the underground world.
The core mechanic of the sport is destruction, with DK in a position to punch via nearly any surroundings utilizing the face buttons to regulate the instructions of his swings. Destructible environments already really feel fairly PS2 period to me, and mixed with massive, complicated environments to discover, full of varied totally different collectibles, Bananza has an nearly nostalgic really feel, like a traditional platformer remade in 2025.
“Pauline’s reveal routinely makes Bananza a extra compelling narrative than beforehand thought, and she or he has important gameplay implications too.”
Its opening stage options adjustable water ranges that reveal pathways to new areas, quite a few NPCs to converse with, numerous Problem mini-games, and puzzles associated to the Bananza transformations. If this was rebranded as a contemporary Banjo-Kazooie, you wouldn’t want to vary a lot.
In fact, Bananza can be very harking back to Tremendous Mario Odyssey, proper all the way down to its UI, and the way DK can construct makeshift camps to vary his clothes or take a break. The broad gameplay construction can be related, with DK in search of out the Banandium Gems rather than Mario’s moons, that are liberally hidden all over the world, rewarding exploration and intrigue.
DK additionally has an in depth choice of strikes which, I believe, will supply related complexity when mastered within the full sport. In comparison with Mario, the ape nearly glides across the setting, clambering up partitions, hanging from ceilings, rolling in a ball, and even browsing atop items of surroundings. This time, many talents may also be added, or upgraded, through Ability Factors unlocked from amassing sufficient of the prized bananas.
Crucial correlation, nevertheless, seems to be in how, like Mario’s latest 3D outings, Donkey Kong Bananza will probably be larger than the sum of its elements – a cavalcade of concepts and mechanics that may not look like a lot on their very own, however collectively type a constantly entertaining journey.
Within the three environments we performed, there was fixed selection in gameplay, with side-scrolling phases, mini-games that problem gamers to smash down a home as shortly as potential, boss encounters, and NPC cities with unlockables to buy and challenges to finish.
The core destruction mechanic by itself, like Odyssey’s possession powers, doesn’t really feel significantly distinctive, with no particular technical implementation or fancy physics (in reality, there doesn’t seem like any physics mannequin in any respect, with buildings standing rigidly no matter demolition). As a substitute, its enchantment comes from its connection to the remainder of the design.
“Donkey Kong Bananza will probably be larger than the sum of its elements – a cavalcade of concepts and mechanics that may not look like a lot on their very own, however collectively type a completely entertaining journey.”
Enemies and obstacles really feel distinctive, with DK in a position to smash bits off of them to disclose their weak skeletons, and even pull off chunks of their rocky our bodies after which batter them with it. There are additionally examples in Bananza’s early phases of how destruction might evolve right into a novel puzzle instrument, with one sequence requiring NPCs to be escorted to a vacation spot by chiselling a path for them round perilous water, or one other section the place DK has to tunnel beneath lethal lasers to succeed in a purpose.
These moments had been fleeting within the 3 hours I performed, however I totally count on them to evolve as the sport progresses. The sport was additionally very simple, as you may see from the footage above, however the 3D Mario template once more suggests tougher content material will likely be back-ended.
Probably the most imaginative use of destruction is commonly within the Problem Programs, which often compelled me to assume in another way about how one can clear up a platforming problem with the intention to attain the purpose. Sadly, these had been typically paired with moments of senseless pummelling via surroundings, battling with the digicam, which at factors left me feeling fairly movement sick.
That is the primary problem I’ve with Donkey Kong Bananza: by itself, I don’t assume the destruction mechanic is especially attention-grabbing, and the sport seems to fall flat within the segments the place you’re left to make use of it as technique of exploration. Smashing via partitions and flooring rewards gamers with fossils – used for unlocking new outfits – and the occasional Banandium Gem, but it surely’s not all that enjoyable, and different video games have carried out it much better.
DK has a clap transfer, which reveals gadgets buried contained in the rock so that you can tunnel in the direction of extra simply, however to me, this feels a bit like a brute power answer to a flawed concept.
That mentioned, it’s actually price stressing I’ve solely performed the very early sport, and as famous, Bananza is clearly an enormous journey sport that, like Odyssey, will shine on the dimensions and number of its concepts, and that’s tough to indicate off in only a few hours.
And there’s clearly hidden depth I’ve not but seen. For instance, the sport tracks the person substances that make up the setting, corresponding to dust stone and sand, and every stage opens with a ranking for a way powerful its surroundings is. Chunks of sand, for instance, may be caught collectively to type makeshift bridges. In co-op mode, a second participant may even decide up particular person floor varieties and fling them at surroundings.
And out of doors of punching holes within the sport world, Bananza has a number of promise, significantly across the animal transformations and the way, within the later sport, they seem to encourage frequent switching for good platforming sequences, harking back to The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Masks, in case you’ll forgive a 25-year-old reference. For instance, the Zebra Bananza can be utilized to run on water, earlier than swapping to the Ostrich to glide throughout a spot.
These few flaws, mixed with Nintendo’s hesitation to elaborate on key personnel, have me suspecting that Bananza is likely to be the work of a youthful workforce within Nintendo EPD, maybe with expertise engaged on 2021’s Bowser’s Fury. So we’d but see a 3D Mario sport on Change 2 within the close to future.
Which might be welcome information, as a result of I’m not satisfied that Donkey Kong Bananza is kind of at that stage, and it could imply we have now two large finances platformers to stay up for. That mentioned, I’m excited to play extra of DK, and I strongly count on its greatest is but to be found, just below the floor.
