Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong Bananza launched in July 2025 as the first major three-dimensional Donkey Kong adventure in many years, and at the same time as a title showing what the Switch 2 can do beyond the original console. The core idea is simple and immensely satisfying: almost the entire world is destructible. The landscape is built from small blocks that can be smashed with your fists, torn apart piece by piece, and thrown at enemies, so the player carves a path literally through the terrain instead of following a pre-set route. If you suspect a hidden cavity somewhere, you simply dig into the ground and find out.

The story leads Donkey Kong ever deeper below the surface, through a series of underground layers, each with its own theme, inhabitants, and visual style. He's accompanied by Pauline, appearing as a young girl whose singing triggers transformations called Bananza, turning the hero into, say, a much stronger crusher or a nimble runner, with each form opening up a different path through the level. Collecting gold and crystals funds ability upgrades, side challenges offer time trials and arena battles, and a second player can join as Pauline, providing support from a distance. The combination of destruction and free exploration creates a loop reminiscent of Super Mario Odyssey transposed into dirt and rock.

Technically it's a demanding feat: the game must constantly recalculate the broken terrain, yet it maintains smooth performance and offers lighting and shadows that suit the underground caves remarkably well. The soundtrack alternates between percussive and orchestral motifs and songs that Pauline sings live during the action, giving the game an unexpectedly powerful atmosphere. Critics and players alike embraced the title very warmly and often called it the best reason to get the new console right in its first year. Even in hindsight, Bananza stands out as one of the few games to bring a genuinely fresh perspective to the 3D platformer, since here the levels aren't a given layout but raw material to be reshaped.