Donkey Kong Bananza Review: Oh Banana! (Switch 2)

Developed and published by Nintendo smashes Donkey Kong Bananza. A 3D Action Platformer which sees Donkey Kong blasting his way through a bold new adventure, going deeper underground in search of the mysterious Banandium Root to help him and Pauline return to the surface. As well as maybe snag some bananas along the way for good measure. Smash through baddies, bosses, and, well, everything in your path as you unlock powerful new transformations and defeat foes old and new.

Donkey Kong Bananza was something of a surprise announcement when it was revealed earlier last year, and was a game I knew I just had to play. This is DK’s first fully 3D adventure since Donkey Kong 64 over twenty years ago. And with a neat-looking scenery destruction gimmick, I was excited to get my hands on it. And honestly, I’m glad I did.

This is one of the best games I have played (either for fun or reviewing) in 2025. Sure, it isn’t perfect. But for more info on why Donkey Kong Bananza let’s get on with this review!

Donkey Kong Bananza is out now on Nintendo Switch 2, both physically and digitally, for £58.99 or your regional equivalent.

Story – DK SatAM

In Donkey Kong Bananza, you play (you’ve guessed it) Donkey Kong. Who has travelled to Ingot Island in search of a Banadnium Gems; strange crystals that are shaped like Bananas. And therefore, DK must get his hands on them. During his escapades, he and his team are attacked by the sinister Void Kong and his band of henchmen, Grumpy Kong and Poppy Kong. Who soon sinks the area of Ingot Island DK is on down into the planet’s core.

Soon after, he meets a mysterious rock. Who, by this point, you all know is Pauline (it isn’t a spoiler, it is on the bloody box!). Later, they discover that the only way to get back to the surface is to find the mysterious Banandium Root and make a wish. This strange root is located at the centre of the Earth. So it is up to DK and Pauline to get down there and stop Void Kong from making a wish of his own.

Donkey Kong Bananza’s story isn’t bad, just poorly told.

Let’s be blunt, Donkey Kong Bananza isn’t some deep narrative event. And has about as much thematic and narrative depth as a one-season Saturday Morning Cartoon. But it has its charms; it is a simple story that is light, cartoony, and child-friendly. Whilst Pauline’s “Oh golly, I can’t sing in front of people” schtick gets old quickly, it doesn’t feel too obnoxious.

Poorly told and paced in places? Oh sure! But the story is totally fine. And how much it annoys you will ultimately depend on how focused you are on barrelling through the game to complete it. I mean, hey, I took plenty of time to see and do other things, so it never really irked me as it might do other game reviewers.

Gameplay – Banana Slamma!

I will be honest, dear reader, I don’t think I need to spend too long in this review going on about the big gimmick in Donkey Kong Bananza. That being that this title sees Donkey Kong smashing his way through levels to collect Banandium Gems and defeat baddies. And when I say ‘Smashing his way through’ I mean that literally.

As Donkey Kong Bananza features destructible scenery. You can dig and punch your way through almost every inch of a given level. And with special transformations that you unlock, you can take said destruction to new heights.

Donkey Kong Bananza’s level deformation is brilliant!

With the destruction remaining a constant feature on the layer you are on until you go to the next one. This means that by the time you’re done exploring a level, it can start to look more like the surface of the moon. Or some blasted out battlefield.

Thankfully, it is hard to break the level to the point of it being uncompleteable. And there is an option to restore a level you’re in, just in case you went too far. And you can use soft material to rebuild certain parts if you have really made a hash of things. Or just want a shortcut.

Donkey Kong Bananza Bonanza!

To add a further twist to the gameplay, there is a skill tree and the Bananzas. The skill tree is self-explanatory. When you have collected five Banandium Gems, you’ll get a skill point that can be used to upgrade your stats and give you new moves. This is standard stuff from giving you more health, allowing you to turf surf over water, and unlocking new bonuses for your Bananzas.

The Bananzas are transformations that are unlocked during your quest. These see DK transforming into a bigger version of himself, a Zebra, Ostrich, and more. Each has its own powers and abilities that can be used in a variety of situations. And you can even switch between them on the fly. They are a ton of fun to use, though they do suffer from the gamer psychology of “I’d best save this for later”, only to never use it.

The Bananzas can smash some bosses rather easily.

And in truth, I do feel that some Bananzas are better than others. With one in my playthrough for this review on Donkey Kong Bananza, feeling terribly situational. Not bad, but just something I never have much use for outside the level it is introduced.

I do wish that more was done with the concept, either to give the forms more upgrades. Or maybe a couple more forms would have been neat. There is a level in the late game where the design of the fractoids and the level seemed to hint that there might have been a new one coming, only for it not to happen. Which is a shame, but what we do get is still fun.

DK Smash!

The basic flow of the game is that DK and Pauline will arrive on a Layer. And will either need to find the Elder to unlock a new transformation. Or will need to find the exit to the next layer down. With each level offering a unique challenge. With the overall difficulty never extending too far.

Sure, some challenges are easier than others. And I’ve fallen into boss fights more times than I’d have liked. But the game feels very ‘open’; Some challenges have more than one solution. And there can be more than one way to get to where you need to go.

If you’re smart, you can skip some areas.

The level deformation aspect is brilliant. And makes every encounter with villains that little bit more satisfying. When you throw them into walls, they leave impact craters and signs of battle having happened. Making each scrap feel like there is weight to it that is missing in similar titles. The controls are well realised. Though you’d expect nothing less from a Nintendo platformer. The controls are easy to learn. And you’ll get a picture-in-picture explanation of certain moves rather than a dedicated tutorial.

That’s it?

If there is one downside to Donkey Kong Bananza, at least as far as the gameplay is concerned, that is that the levels are inconsistent in their size. And I don’t just mean in terms of the playing area, as those can vary from very narrow areas of play to larger layers. No, I mean each layer in general.

Some will have multiple sublayers, some that can change both in terms of aesthetics and challenge. Others might only have a couple of short Sub Layers. And some just have the one area of play. And whilst pretty much all the levels are fun to play in their own right. Some are desperately short.

The beach level looks fantastic, but is too short.

There have often been times during my playthrough for this review where I’ve gotten invested in the vibe and feel of a level, only to find it ending almost as soon as I got there. Sure, there are still plenty of fossils, bananas, and challenges to enjoy. But it starts to feel like some areas could have benefited from a little extra added to them.

I understand why some are so short. They come after rather intense levels and offer a change of pace. But some of them look so fantastic, it is a shame that we don’t get to play in them for too long before you’re off somewhere else.

Impact!

I was almost constantly impressed by Donkey Kong Bananza during my playthrough for this review. Each layer that you travel to has its own feel and flow to it. Which makes exploring them a ton of fun. And ensures that the core doesn’t get too repetitive too quickly.

My personal highlight is the boss fights. Whilst some a very traditional (Hit them three times, deal with each new form, etc), others are either free form to an extent that you can almost fight them your way. Or they have a neat gimmick that makes them fun. The fight with Poppy Kong is one of my favourites as it really tests your reactions and timing as a fighter.

Watch the snow carefully in this boss fight!

Donkey Kong Bananza is a brilliant game, and is easily one of the best I’ve played and reviewed this year. There is frankly no other way of putting it. It offers a fresh but familiar take on the platforming genre. All whilst giving you a fun series of challenges.

I do wish that there was more to see and do. And sadly, the current DLC, whilst visually lovely, doesn’t look substantial enough to fill that void. But the semi-sandbox levels and the destruction on offer give you plenty to play with. And the little post-game quest you get can keep the adventure going on for a little while longer.

Graphics & Audio – Rock & Roll!

As you can tell by the screenshots in this review and the footage below, Donkey Kong Bananza is a very bright and visually impressive game. And is probably one of the best-looking games that Nintendo has ever made. With some rather brilliant-looking levels that are a joy to see and explore. Each layer has its own unique theme, with those themes being well realised visually and, for the most part, with the gameplay as well.

Whilst some levels are far better than others, some frankly are just brilliant from start to finish, even just from an aesthetic and design standpoint. One of the more controversial changes is DK’s new design. Well, for some it is. This game does go a long way to prove the changes were worth it, given just how expressive he is both in cutscenes and in-game as well.

With a game where music and singing play a core point in the narrative and gameplay, you’d expect the soundtrack to be high quality. And thankfully, that is the case here. Whilst it isn’t as ever-present as past Donkey Kong titles, much like Super Mario Odyssey, it is something that fades in and out in certain areas. Always being there to some degree, but lower in the mix in the areas between key set pieces and moments.

And when those moments come along, it is fantastic. And the music that plays during the Bananzas is a high-powered mix of different genres of music. Each of which has a great earworm quality to it. The highlights for me, however, are the recreations of classic Donkey Kong game music, which are all brilliantly well done, as is most of the game, to be fair.

Donkey Kong Bananza was reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2.