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Forum - View topicGAME: Donkey Kong Bananza Game Review
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Fluwm
Moderator
 Posts: 1625 |
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I’ve put around 20 hours into the game and haven’t even met Pauline yet.
I think I may actually wind up loving this one even more than Odyssey -- already one of my all-time favorite games. My only real complaint, other than the camera, is that DK can only tap the ground once per input rather than drumming on it like the DKCR games. Everything else is just a pure, raw delight to behold — not something I can say of very many games, that’s for sure. Last edited by Fluwm on Mon Aug 04, 2025 3:08 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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ZelosZoidberg
 Posts: 1067 |
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So far my GOTY. I can only see Metorid Prime 4 or Kirby Air Riders dethroning it and that's if they come out this year. Maybe Silksong too but again no set release date.
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BalmungHHQ
Posts: 711 |
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Had an amazing time with this game. I was fairly confident I'd enjoy it well enough just from what was shown off in promos before release, but this game really exceeded my expectations. A ton of fun.
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LinkTSwordmaster
 Posts: 816 Location: PA / USA |
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I got to try it, but wound up dropping it after a few hours. I just cant really get over the aesthetic change, and it's just not really what I'm looking for when I think of Donkey Kong. The destructible environment -while used to good effect & has clever moments- just doesn't add anything above&beyond enjoyable for me personally. Even though moving & navigating is in itself fun, there's just something in the aesthetic design of the various major areas that don't feel as tight/uniform as it did in some of the older games.
It frustrates me, as someone that enjoyed how massive DK64 originally felt on launch, that DK64 gets flak for having "too many collectables" (I understand part of that is the mandatory character switching), but then Bananza contains what feels like roughly the same/similar amountage of collecting, yet its buried under a multi-colored, dopamine-saturated assault of rewards you're constantly getting. As DK moves about, smashes everything, picks up several big bananas in a row, and skillpoints continue to roll in, my mind wanders to stuff like Minecraft. I feel like I didn't really earn anything during my time with it - all I did was dig straight down, got lucky, and happened to find the diamonds instantly - because the world is so full of them, they're impossible to miss. |
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AiddonValentine
 Posts: 2958 |
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The destructo-physics are definitely the highlight. It's like every time you smack something, a pinata exploded. Very simple, but very fun because there's nothing quite like that lizard brain dopamine hit when you get a Banandium gem. They also really work a lot into the environment and physics, like time where you're expected to get your way through a lava and have to use this ice dispenser to get them down a slope. Also like how the Bananzas have different applications other than battle such as needing the Zebra's speed to get across crumbling bridges.
Anyway, great followup to Mario Kart World in the launch year. Really want to see them utilize more of the destructibility in future titles |
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FishLion
 Crazy Fangirl Posts: 861 |
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My favorite part of the game is how the destruction balances with the platforming so well.
You can tackle it as a straightforward platformer with a few key points where destruction is needed if you want, or you can start destroying any time and tackle challenges completely different ways. It also has a nice difficulty slope and despite being a bit too easy at first it quickly becomes an easygoing challenge before long and has some really interesting levels past the halfway point. Highly recommend to anyone who like 3D platformers. |
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Fluwm
Moderator
Posts: 1625 |
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Makes me think of how delightful it is in the Ratchet & Clank games when you smash a ton of crates at once, and get this huge swirling vortex of bolts around your character as they're all sucked up. EXTREMELY satisfying. Bananza doesn't quite hit those levels (for me, so far) but I'm hoping that the gold pick-up radius eventually expands to a similar point (I think I noticed something like that in the skill tree, but i didn't look too closely). Finding the hidden gems is super fun, tossing those explosive rocks is super fun, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend most of my time just mining random rocks for gold. |
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MFrontier
Posts: 20003 |
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Welcome back to consoles, DK!
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