To be honest, when Nintendo revealed that the standout moment of its Switch 2 Direct would be a brand-new Donkey Kong game, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. Where was Mario when it came time to welcome the new console? (He’s hanging out in Mario Kart World.) And how much time has passed since Nintendo last delivered a proper 3D Mario adventure, Super Mario Odyssey? (If you check, it’ll probably only fuel that wistful, nostalgic mood.)
The good news is that, once I played through the opening stage of Donkey Kong Bananza, that early disappointment quickly faded into genuine anticipation. It manages to feel both fresh and oddly familiar, much like Super Mario Odyssey.
Nintendo still seems committed to keeping tight-lipped about which specific development studio handles each of its releases (in an interview published this week, the company simply wouldn’t say to Nintendo Life who was responsible for Bananza), yet Donkey Kong’s newest outing clearly carries a 3D Mario-like vibe.
After the reveal, the first area you get to explore opens up in front of you, complete with multiple routes and a handful of separate goals to dig into. DK’s jump might not match the trademark height of Nintendo’s mascot, but his bounding strides and his ability to scramble up any surface faster than Cat Mario make Bananza’s world feel instantly welcoming—packed with plenty to try. In fact, you’ll find lots of smaller challenges that pay off with Golden Bananas, this game’s equivalent of Odyssey’s Power Moons. DK even performs a celebration pose, similar to Mario, and the words OH BANANA! pop up on screen as you grab one.
Bananza kicks off underground, with a brief introduction that highlights the game’s impressive destruction-focused mechanics. Could Mario have taken the lead here? Maybe—if you swapped in some magical boxing gloves as a gimmick. Still, the point of this game is sheer strength, and if you’ve seen Mario’s bout in the Super Mario Bros Movie, you already know DK brings a lot more power in the upper body department—no question.
In Donkey Kong Bananza, DK’s strong arms let you punch in a few different directions: outward, upward, or straight into the ground beneath you. That lets you blast through walls, floors, and ceilings, turning solid 3D spaces into something much more breakable. You can also slam the ground to collect items nearby, or haul chunks of rock off the floor and throw them at enemies.
Golden Bananas are scattered throughout the levels, hidden in dirt mounds or tucked under spots that look like they belong at ground level—either waiting to be discovered by chance or uncovered via maps you unlock later through further destruction. The stages are also filled with extra apes who can lend a hand or share useful information, and some of them may reward you with Golden Bananas too. (For instance, I found one collectible by noticing a sly Cranky Kong cameo: he shows up to deliver a fittingly cranky message to DK, then tees up an interesting conversation about Bananza’s place in DK canon).
Even though the game’s destructible features come with limits—there seems to be a layer of permanent bedrock at the bottom of every level—I was genuinely happy with just how many parts of the environments are breakable. And there’s something deeply satisfying about tearing into them: DK’s punches send off a glittering stream of rocks, pebbles, and ore as he crashes through barriers. It has that same mindless-but-absorbing appeal you get from smashing scenery in TT Games titles, especially when Lego bricks go tumbling.
It’s that destruction—both the visual flair and the lasting results of your brawling—that makes Donkey Kong Bananza feel like more than just another 3D platformer. It’s not only another 3D platformer from Nintendo, either. There’s also a strong argument for what the Switch 2 hardware can do. Because the game’s voxel-based destruction wouldn’t run as smoothly, or look as striking, on Switch 1. As a (nearly) launch release for Nintendo’s new system, it may well be the company’s best showcase of the console’s technical strengths.
Whether or not Donkey Kong Bananza is ultimately the work of Super Mario Odyssey producer and Nintendo design legend Yoshiaki Koizumi and his team, this new trip for DK seems ready to take its place effectively where Odyssey left off: as the key post-launch game Nintendo can point to with confidence when encouraging you to invest in a system beyond Mario Kart. Bananza might not be a fresh 3D Mario, but my excitement for it is still going strong.