TL;DR
Donkey Kong Bananza is Nintendo turning a sledgehammer into a design philosophy. Smashing through terrain to expose secrets never gets old, the “singing stone” partner twist adds real texture to exploration, and the campaign’s puzzle density ramps from cosy to cunning fast. Camera foibles and the occasional backtrack tax keep it shy of masterpiece status, but for long-time DK diehards and curious newcomers, this is a must-play—buy now if you’ve got the budget, otherwise wishlist it and pounce on a sale.
Donkey Kong Bananza Review
(Nintendo Switch 2)
Donkey Kong Bananza feels like Nintendo handed Donkey Kong a hard hat and said, “Go make your own shortcuts”. From the first cutscene it hits that warm, classic Nintendo vibe—welcome home, here’s a huge new playground—and within minutes you’re smashing through brittle walls and crumbling ledges to uncover glittering Banandium veins and those big, golden-banana fanfares that never stop being funny. It tickled the same part of my brain that the old 8-bit handheld did, back when jumping barrels was a lifestyle choice.
What makes Donkey Kong Bananza “sing” is how it rewards curiosity. You’re not just following routes; you’re carving them into the level. The moment you meet the Odd Rock and start “duetting” to unlock Kong transformations, the whole game opens up. With a certain well-known, pint-sized companion riding shotgun; no names, but the attitude and animations will give veterans a “nod—to-that-wrecking-crew energy”, like bolting around Gold Reef City with a friend who keeps pointing out walls you should probably punch. It’s charming, it’s silly, and it keeps feeding the loop of “see something odd → smash it → discover a tucked-away challenge.”
Level design is the star. Stages are layered with secret pockets and puzzle rooms that start off friendly and then quietly turn the screws. It’s the good kind of climb: you’re learning the rules, then the game holds you to them. The flip side is that a missed jump or a fumbled parkour line can bounce you back further than you’d like. There are ladders, poles, fans (lots of quick-return paths) at main progress points, but when the camera decides to be unhelpful, it slows the party down. I wouldn’t call it a deal-breaker, more like a tempo bump that makes you play a touch more carefully than the big, bouncy tone invites you to use.
The story keeps things light and weird in that classic Nintendo way. Characters show their colours quickly, and the cameo sprinkle is proper fan service without turning the campaign into a reunion special. Co-op is an easy win if you want to bring someone along: player two takes on the shoulder-side role, firing off helpful moves and nudges. It’s simple enough for kids or newcomers and still useful if you’re both hunting secrets. Bosses fit the flow (less about deep mechanics, more about reading tells and nailing your timing); they land, they leave, and they don’t overstay their welcome.
On the tech side, Donkey Kong Bananza looks clean and runs well. I played docked on a TV, docked on a projector, and handheld in bed; and the experience was smooth across the board with next to no glitches. Image quality leans on a familiar mix of upscaling and anti-aliasing (think FSR plus a post-process pass), which means a little shimmer here and there if you go hunting for it, but the destruction effects and streaming-heavy worlds hold up surprisingly well. When things get wild, (tonnes of debris and particles) you can feel the engine working, yet the game snaps back quickly and keeps the pace. Load times are short, the audio mix pops, and the soundtrack pulls its weight in both the cheerful “collect everything” moments and the more tense boss beats.
If you’re wondering how this stacks up against the buzz, the wider crowd has been glowing for good reason. I’m right there with them, just a touch under the top of the charts because the camera/backtrack tax took the shine off a few sections for me. But the joy-per-minute is high, especially when you fall into that “smash a wall, find a room, grab a banana” groove and start reading levels like a treasure map.
(September Update: I haven’t jumped into the new DLC yet. On paper it adds a nostalgic island and a score-chasing mode with cosmetics. My advice is to finish the main adventure first; if you’re still hungry, keep the add-on on your radar and grab it on discount unless you live for leaderboards.)
Bananza is Donkey Kong with a builder’s license, a microphone, and a pocket full of secrets. The destruction-as-navigation idea gives the series a fresh kick, the partner mechanic adds personality without bogging things down, and the campaign’s puzzle curve stays honest from start to finish. A few camera wobbles and some return-trip friction keep it out of the “instant classic” vault, but it’s still a top-tier platformer you shouldn’t skip.
The game was released on 17 July 2025, and my review copy of Donkey Kong Bananza was supplied by Nintendo Distributor South Africa. Donkey Kong Bananza is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, available both “physically” and digitally. At the time of posting this review, Amazon has it available for R1,650 with next day delivery included, and the digital edition can be snagged via Nintendo eShop from R1329,00, which really is not bad when weighing up against the current etail market. If you would like to try before you buy, then you can also opt for downloading the game demo via the same eShop link.
