Donkey Kong Bananza review: Great ape to the rescue

Irish Independent

7 days ago

Though notionally Bananza is a 3D platformer, the traditional gameplay of the series has been superseded by Donkey Kong's newfound destructive power that enables him to punch his way through the landscapes. Nintendo took inspiration from Minecraft for the building abilities in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild but here the Mojang influence manifests in the tunnelling, burrowing and smashing.
DK and his new sidekick Pauline – yes, that Pauline, the damsel Mario rescued in the original 1981 coin-op – together explore sprawling open worlds in search of crystal bananas. But the fruity rewards aren't sitting around just a delicately timed double-jump away as might have been the case in previous Donkey Kong platforming games. Instead, they largely lie hidden beneath the ground in secret rooms found only when DK drills into the earth with his fists, bashing his way through layers of rock, earth and sand like a wrecking machine.
Every level consists of an unbreakable base layer on which Nintendo's developers – the same team who made 2017's sublime Super Mario Odyssey – have constructed rolling hills, cliffs and buildings.
You could approach Bananza as a conventional platformer, jumping, rolling and walloping your way around the surface as you search for goodies and clobber enemies. But you quickly learn that what lies beneath is more interesting. Why try to dodge prickly foes or navigate sliding platforms when you can just excavate around them, boring in any direction with a flurry of fists?
As you bash through the rock, you'll stumble on stashes of gold, collectibles, side-quests and those coveted concealed bananas. Theoretically, you could take the time to leave most of the levels in ruins, bar a few indestructible objects that preserve the path to the next mission.
Pauline acts as your cheerleader, sitting on your shoulder and offering encouragement. Co-op play using an additional controller lets Pauline help with the demolition of the environment. If you use Nintendo's GameChat service (free for now but requiring a subscription from next March), a second player can join in from another console, even a Switch 1, locally or remotely.
However, DK generates enough destructive chaos by himself and co-op play has only a limited effect, one that's not very satisfying except for maybe the youngest gamer.
A greater problem linked to Kong's underground adventures is that digging down leads to the camera closing in and frequently blocking out the overground layers. Nintendo tries to alleviate the issues with DK's sonar-based ground-pound that briefly illuminates nearby collectibles and the terrain. But you're often flailing blindly in the dark, surrounded by bland brown textures until you poke your way towards daylight.
It feels very unlike Nintendo to accept such a flawed presentation style, even if the gleeful invention on show above ground masks the problem.
Nonetheless, DK's adventures rarely fail to slap an irrepressible smile on your face and the diversity of tasks always keeps your attention. Each level comes stuffed with collectibles and mini-games testing specific skills such as puzzle-solving or timed combat challenges featuring rock-flinging and enemy smashing. Later ability transformations such as the rhino invite you Metroidvania-style to revisit previous locations for more secrets.
Donkey Kong Bananza might be considered too easy for most players – even the boss battles barely raise a sweat – and overall doesn't occupy the same rarified air as Super Mario Odyssey. Yet the bulldozing ape ably showcases the power of Switch 2 and earns a place alongside Mario Kart World as an essential purchase for owners of the new console.