Donkey Kong Bananza, the highly anticipated 3D platformer developed by Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey team, has officially launched for Nintendo Switch 2 to widespread critical acclaim. Early reviews from major outlets are positioning the title as one of the year’s best games, with IGN awarding it a perfect 10/10 score.
The game marks Donkey Kong’s first major 3D adventure since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64, bringing the iconic character into a modern open-world platforming experience. Players take control of Donkey Kong in expansive hub-like levels focused on exploration and collecting a massive number of bananas—reportedly 777 in total.
Shortly after reviews began appearing online, an input error on review aggregator OpenCritic temporarily affected the game’s overall score. Spanish publication LevelUp’s review was incorrectly entered as 0.9/10 instead of 9/10, briefly dragging the average down to the low 80s. The gaming community quickly noticed the mistake, and after correction, the score jumped to 91 from 28+ reviews, with Metacritic showing similar results at 90+ from over 50 reviews.
Critics have praised the game’s inventive mechanics, polish, and position as a standout title in the Switch 2’s launch lineup. Reviewers particularly highlighted the game’s story, gameplay variety, and well-balanced challenge level that appeals to both casual and hardcore players.
Some technical hiccups were noted, including occasional frame rate drops in docked mode during destruction-heavy scenes and boss battles, though these issues weren’t considered game-breaking. Handheld mode reportedly offers smoother performance due to the lower resolution.
The game introduces several firsts for the franchise, including Pauline as a fully voice-acted character—the first such implementation since Super Mario Sunshine. Zach Hadel, known for Smiling Friends, voices the character Oddrock, adding star power to the production.
