When you concentrate on it, it should type of suck to be Donkey Kong. Regardless of introducing the modern world to Nintendo games with 1981’s arcade traditional, the good ape was rapidly sidelined in favor of constructing Mario a star. Whereas the mustachioed plumber and his brother turned the face of the model, Donkey Kong seems extra sporadically — wavering often between a hero and villain — and doesn’t actually have a constant lore. The Eighties unique is mostly understood to be an outdated timer named Cranky Kong, with the fashionable tie-wearing bruiser being his grandson (per Nintendo’s marketing materials); within the center, DK Jr. has all however disappeared fully.
And whereas Mario’s had the luxurious of living the celebrity life, worshipped as a hero within the Mushroom Kingdom on prime of rocking a medical license, DK is simply making an attempt to get by. Because the ruler of Donkey Kong Island, he’s consistently fending off invasion by exterior threats just like the Kremlings, Tiki Tak Tribe, and the Snowmads — all of the whereas taking guff from his ornery granddad and crew.
Now, with the upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza (out July 17), DK goes again to his blue-collar roots, toiling away within the banana mines till he solutions the decision to motion in opposition to a brand new group of foes. The Switch 2 title is DK’s first massive journey since 2014’s Donkey Kong Nation: Tropical Freeze, and solely the second absolutely 3D recreation within the franchise after 1999’s Donkey Kong 64. Extra importantly, it’s the primary time {that a} standalone DK title has debuted as an anchor for the launch of a brand new Nintendo console. With a brand new Mario recreation nowhere in sight, it’s lastly DK’s time within the limelight.
Rolling Stone not too long ago attended a preview occasion of Donkey Kong Bananza, going hands-on with a number of sections of the sport over the course of the two-hour session. Based mostly on our early impressions, Nintendo’s altcoin is greater than only a return to type for a traditional character — it might be one of many sequence’ finest entries ever. Right here’s why.
What’s Donkey Kong Bananza about?
Not like earlier video games that largely happen on the hero’s residence island, Bananza introduces a brand new locale with the golden banana-rich Ingot Isle, the place DK is over the moon to be working the mines for the newly found gems. Donning a hardhat and overalls, he’s a far cry from the reigning king of the Kongs we’ve seen beforehand, which has led to hypothesis that the sport might be some type of prequel (alongside one other massive reveal a bit later).
After an early tutorial sequence the place gamers be taught the ropes of controlling the highly effective but agile ape, the story introduces its antagonists: Void Firm, an evil company mining operation hell-bent on making a golden banana monopoly. Sucked underground by an explosive whirlwind, DK should crew up with a speaking mineral named Odd Rock to forestall VoidCo from reaching the planet’s core, the place legend says one thing has the facility to grant needs.
Though DK’s relationship with Odd Rock is performed up early on, it’s all simply bait-and-switch. After finishing the primary massive space of the sport and assembly an enormous god-like ape that resembles a headphone-wearing homage to The Jungle Book’s King Louie, a musical sequence shatters the stone revealing it to be a younger lady named Pauline. It’s each a literal and figurative document scratch second provided that Pauline is a deep-cut Nintendo character who’s at all times been depicted as an grownup.
Within the 1981 Donkey Kong, she’s Mario’s girlfriend who have to be rescued from the clutches of the ape; extra not too long ago she’s appeared as a lounge singer-turned-mayor of New Donk Metropolis in Tremendous Mario Odyssey (2017) and since has popped up in spin-offs like Mario Golf: Tremendous Rush (2021) and Mario Kart World (2025).
Pauline’s diminutive redesign has raised loads of questions, though Nintendo not often appears curious about offering any solutions from DK lore. At first, the sport looks like it might be a prequel to the 1981 unique starring a youthful model of Cranky Kong, besides that character immediately seems on the planet as an NPC. Maybe this Pauline might be the daughter of the one gamers know — which might be becoming, given how the nebulously Donkey Kong exists as one in every of a number of relations in his lineage relying on the sport. Proper now, it’s a thriller, however might find yourself being brushed apart fully.
How does it play?
Just like the Mario video games, the Donkey Kong sequence has encompassed tons of various genres and gameplay types all through the years. The early titles started as vertical platformers the place the participant should dodge hazards to succeed in the highest of the extent. The Donkey Kong Nation video games had been extra direct side-scrollers like Super Mario Bros., though they utilized a tag-team system to swap characters on-the-fly, every having their very own distinctive talents. Donkey Kong 64 was a 3rd particular person collect-athon, a style that was massive within the period of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie.
Bananza largely resembles the Nintendo 64 model, no less than superficially. It’s a recreation devoted to exploring massive open environments for small quests and tokens to gather. Plenty of them. Big golden bananas function the principle collectible (like stars, sprites, or moons in 3D Mario), however there’s additionally tons of others starting from buried fossils (that are particular to every stage) and banana chips that can be utilized as foreign money for brand new outfits. On prime of that, bits of gold spew from damaged rocks and enemies, which each serve to energy up DK’s particular talents and can be utilized to unlock everlasting upgrades.
Gameplaywise, Bananza appears to be like to distinguish itself from different 3D Nintendo video games by emphasizing DK’s uncooked energy and pace. The character is agile on-foot, capable of cease on a dime and whiz in each path. Utilizing a tuck-and-roll mechanic, he can even barrel alongside at excessive pace or dive ahead to increase jumps throughout chasms. However it’s the symbiotic pairing of DK’s energy that’s the true recreation changer. Not like different characters that want to leap on enemies to defeat them, DK can throw an limitless stream of haymaker punches in all instructions and might even rip chunks of rock and the bottom itself out to throw with precision.
Punches are impactful and satisfying; socking an enemy sends them careening into the space with a single punch. However hitting issues isn’t simply enjoyable, it’s a vital a part of the core loop. DK makes use of his fists to plow by means of partitions, flooring, and ceiling like a dwelling bulldozer — which is a vital a part of exploration. Nearly every part within the recreation’s surroundings could be destroyed or tunneled by means of, turning each stage right into a sandbox of buried treasure meant to be burrowed by means of and gutted. It’s very simple for gamers with a compulsion for clearing out areas to spend hours whittling away on the map like a coloring ebook till its edges are laid naked.
And whereas DK is mighty sufficient on his personal, his partnership with Pauline opens a large number of latest talents. Utilizing the sidekick’s singing voice, gamers can unlock sure sonically reactive locks and doorways when fixing puzzles, in addition to induce DK’s Bananza type that affords the ape totally different transformations — starting from a fiery superpowered model of himself to a musclebound zebra that may dash over water, and even an ostrich type that may hover for brief intervals of time. The transformations could be refilled by choosing up gold (which is plentiful) and swapped on the fly for use again and again.
However that’s not all Pauline can do. In cooperative two-player mode, the second particular person takes management of the younger lady dangling from DK’s again, and might use one of many removable Swap 2 Pleasure-Con controllers with point-and-click mouse controls. Not like video games like Tremendous Mario Galaxy, which permit P2 to form of play alongside by capturing little stars to stun enemies, Bananza’s model of coop feels extraordinarily strong and adjustments the complete recreation.
In the course of the demo, we swapped over to the second participant seat and located that utilizing Pauline voice (which shoots onomatopoeia like “Pow”) could be as — or at occasions, extra — empowered than controlling DK. Pauline’s potential to inhale the essence of supplies like gold and apply it to her voice makes her phrases extra deadly than something DK can do solo. Within the session, we discovered that by sucking up the gold from an enemy, Pauline’s voice took on explosive energy and will rapidly wipe out something in her path.
One boss battle particularly ought to’ve been a better problem, however between DK and Pauline dropping literal bombs on the foe, the encounter was over in moments. It isn’t meant for arbitrarily sticking a bit sibling with a pointless participatory function; it’s truly a extremely enjoyable simple mode.
What can gamers count on?
From just some hours of playtime, it’s clear that Donkey Kong Bananza is an especially bold rethinking of what a DK recreation could be. Developed by the crew that beforehand labored on Tremendous Mario Odyssey, the sport is packed to the brim with imaginative stage design and extremely expressive characters. DK himself is extraordinarily cartoonish, carrying his feelings on show, whereas Pauline’s quips (as the one absolutely voiced character) add a devilishly enjoyable aptitude. Dropping explosive onomatopoeia on enemies whereas the little lady giggles creates a laugh-out-level level of dissonance.
Like in Odyssey, every stage is full of mainline quests to finish and a whole bunch of secrets and techniques, nevertheless it’s the intuitive approach gamers can carve up the earth itself that’s most interesting. Whereas the sport is a handy guide a rough platformer within the vein of Mario, the flexibility to govern the surroundings, even to the purpose of making mud bridges by tossing grime, evokes the crafting spirit of the latest Legend of Zelda video games. Utilizing all of these strategies is essential, as every open space begets one other and one other, with a whole bunch of particular person ranges turning into obtainable as gamers descend straight down into the depths of the planet.
With a lot to do, and with a lackadaisical sense of urgency, every space is full of gleeful distractions. Throughout our personal demo, we ended up lacking a complete boss encounter whereas mindlessly destroying every part in sight in quest of bananas and fossils.
However these boss battles aren’t one thing you’ll wish to miss. The motion in Bananza is prime fee and exponentially extra enthralling than even latest Mario video games. DK’s suite of various talents add selection to every encounter past easy leaping and punching, and there are lots of aspect areas designed to recreate the 2D sections of the Donkey Kong Nation sequence, right down to blasting barrel to barrel in exact timing puzzles to dodging and drifting on runaway minecarts.
When it was first introduced as a post-launch title for Swap 2, there was one thing of a tempered enthusiasm for Donkey Kong Bananza. Certain, it’s nice to see different characters from Nintendo’s portfolio get an enormous new launch, however with out a mainline Tremendous Mario or Zelda, the lineup felt missing. However it’s now clear that Bananza isn’t meant to be some type of stopgap till the subsequent killer app; it’s a full-on non secular successor to each Tremendous Mario Odyssey and the DK video games of outdated that goals to raise the franchise again to the higher echelon of online game royalty.
Donkey Kong Bananza launches on July 17 for Nintendo Switch 2.
From Rolling Stone US.