STACK #249 July 2025

GAMING FEATURE

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ONE VERSATILE GORILLA! It hasn’t just been about platforming for Donkey Kong in his many game appearances since debuting back in 1981. As well as regular appearances in the Mario Kart and Mario Party games, on top of Super Smash Bros. and various sporty titles, did you know

The fresh titles keep coming for Nintendo’s shiny new Switch 2, with gaming’s original big ape returning to top billing in Donkey Kong Bananza . Let’s take a quick look at what we can expect… Words Amy Flower W e’ve become accustomed to going about DK’s business in 2D platformers – ever since his debut back in 1981’s they’ve been purloined by the mysterious – and decidedly dodgy – VoidCo, so DK takes it upon himself to get them back, for all of Kong-kind! TIME WITH DK A SHING S M A

that the big guy also has rhythm? The Donkey Konga games, developed by the team behind the

Taiko no Tatsujin series, originally released on GameCube, and, together with a plastic set of barrel-shaped bongo drums lets players get funky to a mixture of game tunes and pop hits. Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping was a highlight.

self-titled classic. In Donkey Kong Bananza , however, the big guy gets to romp about in a fully 3D world, which brings all sorts of new gameplay elements to the fore. It’s quite literally groundbreaking, in that we get to smash, crash, and bash through nearly everything in the game’s underground world. DK’s power is harnessed to the full as he goes about his business, with an actual point to his wanton destruction – and that’s recovering golden bananas. Ooh, golden bananas!

his continuing quest for those golden bananas. There are some parallels with the classic Super Mario Odyssey , with the open world setting, and the golden bananas acting in a similar way to that game’s collectible Power Moons. Other objects that DK will encounter include fossils, and the in-game currency Banandium, and he’ll variously stumble upon puzzle, platforming and other challenges upon his journey. There may also be the odd classic minecart featuring in his future, for old time’s sake. Play can get almost wildly manic at times, with the power of the Switch 2’s upgraded hardware able to fling more things about the screen than any Nintendo console before it, while keeping things super-smooth, and

Of course, it isn’t just a simple reconnaissance mission, for VoidCo and its nefarious ape henchmen aren’t going to go down without a fight. DK does have some help in his quest, with new character Odd Rock – an anthropomorphic purple gemstone – always on hand to keep the big lug on track towards his current objective. Along the journey through various unique levels, DK interacts with familiar characters and new faces, all in

As well as simple punching, DK can also slap the terrain, climb most surfaces, and also pick up and hurl objects, such as chunks of earth, using them to

Donkey Kong Bananza is the first 3D DK game since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64 . DYK?

wreak further damaging havoc – or even as a means of speedy transportation. The more that’s destroyed, the more areas open up – revealing exciting new discoveries and, of course, more of those sweet golden bananas. You see, amidst an island-wise goldrush,

looking more stunning than ever.

MONKEY MAKEOVER! You may have noticed that DK has a bit of a new look now, which is quite similar to his appearance in Illumination’s fun The Super Mario Bros. Movie . According to his original creator, game creation superstar Shigeru Miyamoto, this update to the 1994 Donkey Kong Country look has been done in order to make the big guy “more expressive”.

• Donkey Kong Bananza is out Jul 17

38 JULY 2025

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