90
Bananza isn’t just another Donkey Kong game leaning on nostalgia - it’s a reinvention of the iconic character, delivering one of the most creative and refreshing 3D platformers we’ve seen since Donkey Kong 64.
80
With a few hiccups, Donkey Kong Bananza succeeds in bringing back the character to the spotlight. The game’s ambition charges its price with technical difficulties, but still checks all the boxes and shows that there’s still space to subvert the most essential genre in gaming – and it makes all sense that this new approach comes from Nintendo.
93
Donkey Kong Bananza delivers a wildly inventive 3D platforming adventure full of chaos, creativity, and charm. Mining mechanics, massive levels, and transformative Bananza powers make exploration exciting, while gorgeous visuals and strong pacing keep the journey engaging. Performance dips, underused abilities, and a forced Donkey–Pauline dynamic hold it back from perfection, but its sense of discovery and explosive fun shine through. An instant classic that proves sometimes too much fun can still be just right.
7
This game works very well for what it wants to do: Rushing levels, hunting collectibles, carrying things around, manipulating the environment. This game is not for me though. Levels dont seem like levels, they dont play distinctly. You always rush forward for the next thing to collect. You dont have to work for bananas, you fall into them. I already did not like this in Odyssey.
There is no platforming needed, it doesnt bring the platforming genre forward, if it even is one. Astrobot is still game that showed where it needs to go.
Bananza feels exhausting, after playing you feel empty and tired like scrolling on the phone for hours. Maybe im too old but this feels like a tiktok-gen game.
Also, the game is incredibly easy before there is a huge difficulty spike at the end.
It may be a masterpiece for many, but its not for me.
8
Really fun concepts and feature with a charming feature and transformation .
The colectatoon side is poor in my opinion , really répétitive without good ideas to keep me entertain
9
Etant un grand fan des jeux Donkey Kong, parmi les meilleurs jeux de plateforme 2D, mais aussi du jeu sur Nintendo 64, même si je sais qu’il divise et a des défauts importants, j’attendais avec impatience ce nouvel opus et cette nouvelle formule **** après avoir terminé le jeu à 100% autour de 60 heures, je ne peux que recommander cette magnifique aventure qui en fait un des hits de la Switch **** s’agit d’un jeu d’action aventure, qui met en scène Donkey Kong dans un monde composé de Strate, ou le but est de descendre au centre de la planète. Donkey Kong a une palette de mouvement très variés et qui répondent précisément. Il est possible de détruire l’ensemble du terrain, qui se compose de différents minéraux et permettra de nombreuses actions différentes en fonction du composant du minéral. Les transformations ajouteront une variante supplémentaire de nouveaux mouvements, le tout permettant une richesse de Gameplay appréciable. C’est la première fois que je joue à un jeu qui permet une destruction de terrain de ce niveau et la qualité d’exécution et le fait que le terrain garde en mémoire la moindre destruction est une prouesse indéniable. L’histoire est classique mais agréable à suivre avec le partenaire qui nous accompagne. Les références au monde de l’univers de Donkey Kong est particulièrement **** variété des environnements permet de renouveler le plaisir de la découverte.Enfin, sans spoil, mais un final incroyable avec ses boss marquants et un End Game agréable avec de nombreux défis à relever.Quelques rares défaut néanmoins qui l’empêche de trôner au sommet du classement : En raison du terrain destructible et de nombreux éléments à afficher, les soucis techniques en fin de jeu ainsi que sur un boss particulièrement. Les boss, sauf les plus importants, manquent d’intérêt et d’identité, principalement au début. Le trop grand nombre de banane facile à récolter peut amener une certaine lassitude.Aussi, sans être mauvais, le DLC s’approche davantage d’un Rogue Like que d’une suite à l’aventure, je ne recommande pas de l’acheter à ce prix, sauf si comme moi vous voulez de nouveaux défis, et continuer à vous plonger dans cette merveilleuse aventure.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Released On:
Jul 17, 2025
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
91
User score
Generally Favorable
8.9
My Score
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All Platforms
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
100% Positive
143 Reviews
143 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Aug 27, 2025
100
Donkey Kong Bananza is nothing short of a revelation and revolution about what DK can be as a character and how his games can be different from Mario’s, Kirby’s, and others of his platforming ilk. He and Pauline are the epic “dynamic duo” that Nintendo can rally around to start the Switch 2 age, and you’ll love this game from start to finish…then go back for even more.
Jul 16, 2025
100
Every time I’d get to a new layer, I’d immediately ignore the story objective and spend a half dozen hours just smashing things around like a toddler in a sandbox.
User score
Generally Favorable
87% Positive
2427 Ratings
2427 Ratings
8% Mixed
217 Ratings
217 Ratings
5% Negative
153 Ratings
153 Ratings
Mar 11, 2026
10
When I first got a Switch 2 in Summer of 2025 and with it Mario Kart World and DK Bonanza I was coming back to Nintendo from a LONG hiatus. I'd been playing Stellar Blade, Elden Ring, Expedition 33, and Black Myth Wukong since touching either of my Switches in a couple years. At first I was comparing DK Bonanza (and MKW) to those aforementioned epic titles. But it wasn't fair to do so. They're not like them. They're different. However some time has gone by and now (February/March 2026) I'm finding myself REALLY loving the Switch 2. But anyways this review is about Donkey Kong Bananza. I'm only on level 300ish (which I think means like level 3 but idk of how many). It's so fun! It's bright, colorful, polished, and really really enjoyable. It's been ages since I played Mario Galaxy but I'm pretty sure I'm enjoying this more. At first I thought "wah this is baby game! too basic! just keep pressing smash and collect ___." And you know what? I'm ok with that. It's nice to just kind of chill and get better at smashing and collecting these silly items (gold, fossils, bananas, etc.). Is it a "perfect" 10/10? Idk what is? Different games are good for different reasons. But like I mentioned, this game is polished AF. I may not be LOCKED IN with multiple tabs open helping me figure out how to get this or that weapon in Elden Ring in order to get better enough to defeat ___ enemy or whatever. It may not have me losing hair and wanting to throw my controller against the wall and yelling obscenities. But that's ok. I love Nintendo and I'm so glad I pulled myself up out of the online trend of hating on them and their products.
Mar 10, 2026
10
Dk and Pauline are quite literally the best adventure duo, I LOVE this game for so many reasons
Jul 16, 2025
91
Donkey Kong Bananza is one of the most unique and immensely enjoyable games that I've ever played. Plus, behind its chaotic open-ended gameplay and incredibly imaginative worlds, you'll find a lot of heart.
Jul 21, 2025
90
It’s a little messy and definitely has a few missed opportunities, but the core gameplay is so much fun that I couldn’t put it down. It captures the thrill of exploration that made Odyssey so compelling while taking the gameplay mechanics in a completely unique direction that kept developing in ways I didn’t see coming, and that’s exactly why I love Nintendo’s fun-first approach to design so much. If you’ve been waiting for a reason to buy a Switch 2, it’s just arrived.
Jul 16, 2025
90
Bananza sets out to act as a fresh start for new and old fans alike, taking a fresh twist on what a Donkey Kong game feels like.
Jul 16, 2025
85
Innovative, refreshing and incredibly entertaining: Donkey Kong Bananza inspires with new ideas without forgetting its roots.
Jul 16, 2025
80
From start to finish, Donkey Kong Bananza is a riot. I wrapped up my journey to Bananza's credits in a little over 20 hours. Your mileage will vary wildly depending on how much optional content you decide to invest time in, but that's the beauty of it. If you're not big on collectathons, there's still plenty of game here for platforming purists to enjoy. I can't recommend enough taking on the various trials – think Shrines from Breath of the Wild – littered throughout the world, though, especially if you're a fan of 2D Donkey Kong. While performance issues were largely nonexistent in handheld mode, quite severe frame rate drops were commonplace when docked, especially during certain boss battles. This doesn't take into account any day one patches that may or may not arrive on release, and not egregious enough that your enjoyment will be hampered.
Mar 4, 2026
10
Un juegazo, la jugabilidad tan adictiva, mecanicas tan buenas que quieres exprimirlas hasta aburrirte. Y la seccion final es buenisima
Mar 15, 2026
7
This game works very well for what it wants to do: Rushing levels, hunting collectibles, carrying things around, manipulating the environment. This game is not for me though. Levels dont seem like levels, they dont play distinctly. You always rush forward for the next thing to collect. You dont have to work for bananas, you fall into them. I already did not like this in Odyssey.
There is no platforming needed, it doesnt bring the platforming genre forward, if it even is one. Astrobot is still game that showed where it needs to go.
Bananza feels exhausting, after playing you feel empty and tired like scrolling on the phone for hours. Maybe im too old but this feels like a tiktok-gen game.
Also, the game is incredibly easy before there is a huge difficulty spike at the end.
It may be a masterpiece for many, but its not for me.
Dec 26, 2025
7
It’s a good game but too simple for an older player to enjoy well. But A great game for younger players.
Nov 3, 2025
4
This game strips away everything I loved about the DK universe. It feels like the devs had a new physics engine that allows for destructible environments and needed an IP that would fit. So they picked Donkey Kong. So DK now collects fossils and gold. He no longer eats bananas, but eats apples. He no longer plays with the Kong family, but has Pauline singing Japanese pop. He lives in the mines, but doesn’t ride any mine-carts. He sings to unveil hundreds of boring Zelda like metallic dungeons. He also looks and acts like a four year old. Poor DK, what have they done to you.
Oct 10, 2025
4
It feels really mediocre coming from DK games like tropical freeze and DK returns, there is 0 challenge in the game, the bosses are ridiculous easy that you can kill them in 10 seconds WTF
SummaryThe big guy is back—and he’s not alone! Explore a vast underground world with Donkey Kong and Pauline—by smashing your way through it! With DK’s brute force and Pauline’s special singing abilities, you can crash through walls, carve tunnels with your fists, punch straight down into the ground, and even tear off chunks of terrain to swing... Read More
Rated E +10for Everyone +10




























