Review Roundup: Donkey Kong Bananza Scores Big, But With Caveats

Today was always going to big with Donkey Kong Bananza reviews dropping (currently a 90 on Metacritic), but Nintendo also saw fit to drop another big piece of news today.

Shigeru Miyamoto took to social media to announce who would be playing the two leads in the upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie (Hunter Schafer won’t be one of them, alas). Both are fresh-faced youngers from Britain, with Benjamin Evan Ainsworth starring as Link and Bo Bragason starring as Zelda.

What do you think? I think Bragason immediately looks like Zelda to me. Ainsworth I’m less sure about. But of course, making is amazing in this day and age. In any event, there’s plenty to dive into with both pieces of news, so let’s not waste any more time. Here we go!

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Review Roundup: Donkey Kong Bananza gets a 10 from IGN

Expectations are high going into the release of Donkey Kong Bananza, and the early reviews haven’t disappointed. IGN’s Logan Plant awarded it a perfect 10 in his review, writing, “It was a bold choice to build the Switch 2’s first 3D platformer around Donkey Kong instead of Mario, but it’s proven to be the best decision Nintendo could’ve made. DK’s satisfying, expressive movement and powerful, dynamic abilities create a truly groundbreaking adventure.”

Other outlets were similarly effusive, pushing it to 90 on Metacritic and 91 on OpenCritic. The less positive reviews were still very good, with criticism mostly focusing on occasional performance drops and repetitive boss battles – not that the Mario boss battles have ever been on the level of, say, Bloodborne. Eurogamer’s Alex Donaldson wrote, “When it smashes, DK really smashes. When it doesn't... Well, it's no Odyssey, right?” We’ll get to see for ourselves when it releases on July 17, but in the meantime, here are the rest of the reviews.

The Washington Post - 4/4

Falling short of Odyssey's genius, Donkey Kong Bananza is still a top tier Switch 2 platformer from the masters of the genre. A heartfelt story and pleasing nods to DK's past make this the ape's most memorable adventure in many years.

VGC - 4/5

It's not flawless, but what they've done here is take a character who's been out in the wild and bring Donkey Kong back home, with Nintendo putting its own stamp on DK in a fresh new way. Like Breath of the Wild and Odyssey, Nintendo has taken a cornerstone character, thrown out most of the rulebook, but kept the soul. Donkey Kong Bananza feels like a blueprint for DK's future, and a reminder of how ambitious and richly designed Nintendo's games can be. Bananza is here now, though—and it's really something special. 

Vooks - 4.5/5

It’s not flawless, but what they’ve done here is take a character who’s been out in the wild and bring Donkey Kong back home, with Nintendo putting its own stamp on DK in a fresh new way. Like Breath of the Wild and Odyssey, Nintendo has taken a cornerstone character, thrown out most of the rulebook, but kept the soul. Donkey Kong Bananza feels like a blueprint for DK’s future, and a reminder of how ambitious and richly designed Nintendo’s games can be. Bananza is here now, though—and it’s really something special.

The Verge - Unscored

Donkey Kong Bananza is a perfect crystallization of Nintendo's game design philosophy. As the debut big adventure for the new console and its increased computational power, Nintendo wants this belief to punch through: Technology for the sake of play, not just for visual pleasure, is king. 

New York Times - NYT Critic’s Pick

For me, the most exciting method of travel was a simple mine cart on a rail that puffed rainbow-colored smoke. As it cranked along, I could grab and pitch golden nuggets at a huge Tyrannosaurus rex head. I didn’t want to stop because the game’s inventiveness rarely did. While Bananza’s plot was awfully thin, Donkey Kong and Pauline always beckoned me back to this amusement park of earthly delights.

The Guardian - 4/5

I’m not sure Bananza has the same legs as Mario Odyssey. Where that game blossomed in a rich, post-credit endgame, DK lives more in the moment: moving ever forward, chewing through new ideas and never stopping to pulverise the roses. Come the game’s epic climax, he has smashed through concrete, rubber, watermelon, ostrich eggs, entire Donkey Kong Country homages, glitter balls – even the NPCs he’s trying to protect. If the weight of Switch 2 does lie on his shoulders, that’s just one more tool to bash a hole in the universe. His appetite for destruction is infectious.

The Kat Take: Live-Action Link and Zelda officially revealed

We now know who will be playing Link and Zelda in the new Zelda movie. Personally, I would have gone for this vibe with the casting.

IGN has a good introduction to Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Bo Bragason, both of whom have moved between film and television. Ainsworth voiced Pinocchio in the live-action remake, while Bragason appeared in the Netflix fantasy drama Renegade Nell. Both are fairly young – Bragason is 21, while Ainsworth is just 16. It seems Adult Link may still be below drinking age (in the U.S. at least).

With this casting news, Nintendo appears to be signaling a different approach compared to the one it took with the Mario movie, which was littered with celebrity voice actors like Seth Rogen and Chris Pratt. It suggests that Nintendo is putting a higher premium on individual performances than raw star power, which I appreciate. Still plenty of time to cast Jack Black as Ganon, though.

The untitled Legend of Zelda movie is set to release May 7, 2027 in partnership with Sony, with Wes Ball serving as the director.

More Nintendo Reading: Donkey Kong Bananza’s developer revealed, new previews, and more

• As is tradition, Donkey Kong Bananza’s development team participated in a lengthy interview for the Ask the Developer series with Nintendo. Among other things, Kenta Motokura says he hopes Bananza will introduce separate 2D and 3D branches for the series like Mario while showing off concept art. They also revealed the enhancements its received on Switch 2 compared to Switch 1.

• Digital Foundry is somewhat mixed on Donkey Kong Bananza’s technical performance, praising the destructibility but noting issues with pop-in and frame rates that can drop all the way to 30fps during boss battles. You can watch the video above.

• I was recently on Game Mess Mornings with Jeff Grubb to talk Donkey Kong Bananza spoilers, performance issues, and lots of other topics. I also served up some pretty strong Kat Takes on EA, Xbox, and Game Key cards, so check it out!

• On the subject of Game Key cards, Sega officially confirmed that the Switch 2 edition of Sonic Racing Crossworlds will come on a 64GB card with a full base game on it. That’s great news for anyone who isn’t thrilled to find what amounts to a download code in a box.

• Cyberpunk 2077, another Switch 2 game fully available on cartridge, is getting a large patch soon, with update 2.3 adding new quests, cars, and more.

• Finally, Nintendo is hosting a special Drag x Drive Global Jam demo event on August 9th and 10th for those who are interested.

• Where is Kat this week? I’m back on the road as I head down to Irvine on Thursday and Friday. I don’t have a Donkey Kong Bananza in hand yet, but I definitely plan to pick it up for my plane ride down. Look forward to my thoughts next week!

Submit to the Mailbag!

One of the perks of being a premium subscriber is that you get to submit questions to the weekly mailbag via the comment section in each issue. This week’s comment is from Andrew Wisniewsky

Great question, and thanks for the kind words. There are a lot of retro-style handhelds out there, though they’re not all created equal (many of theme have very poor emulation). I personally prefer the Analogue Pocket, a powerful and flexible handheld with a gorgeous screen that supports Game Boy and GBA using FPGA emulation. It also readily supports other consoles with a little tinkering, allowing you to play everything from NES to Capcom CPS arcade games on it. It’s a constant companion on the road, where I regularly pull it out to play Pokémon Puzzle Challenge. And unlike the Switch, it actually fits in my pocket. It’s available for $219 on the Analogue Store, and it comes fully Nintenkats Recommended. As for strategy RPGs, can I recommend Super Robot Wars J?

Thanks for reading another issue of Nintenkats! We’ll be back with more Nintendo news, opinions, and mailbag questions next week!