Donkey Kong Bananza Review Round-up: Critics Go Bananas Over DK’s Latest 3D Adventure

The upcoming 3D platformer has received universal praise from critics ahead of its launch on July 17th for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Posted By | On 16th, Jul. 2025

Donkey Kong Bananza

Critical reviews are currently live for Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza before its launch tomorrow, and they’re exceptionally positive. On Metacritic, it currently has a 90 Metascore based on 79 reviews, indicating “Universal Acclaim.”

IGN scored it a 10 out of 10, praising the movement, abilities, and gameplay. “Every element comes together in complete harmony to create Nintendo’s first Switch 2 masterpiece.” While the campaign took 20 hours to complete, there’s also post-game content for players to dive into.

GameSpot rated it a nine out of ten, calling it an “excellent game in its own right” and “deserving of mention alongside games like Mario Odyssey as among Nintendo’s best recent work.” All reviews lean towards the positive side, and even among the lower-scoring reviews (The Guardian and Radio Times), the 3D platformer still received a respectable eight out of ten.

Donkey Kong Bananza launches on July 17th for Nintendo Switch 2. As Donkey Kong’s first 3D platformer since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64, he teams up with Pauline and ventures through Ingot Isle to find the core, colliding with the Void Company in the process.

Check out our feature for everything you should know, or learn more about how development began on the original Switch, immediately after the release of Super Mario Odyssey in 2017.


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