Donkey Kong Bananzaquickly became one of the most anticipated games of the year, debuting with a fabulous trailer during the closing moments of the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct on June 23, 2025. It marked Donkey Kong’s return to 3D platformers, with his last one being over twenty years ago on the Nintendo 64. And it’s safe to say that they truly knocked it out of thepark withDonkey Kong Bananza, a massive, open-ended experience that features tons of collectibles, hidden easter eggs, and secrets, but even after launch, it’s clear that Nintendo did manage to keep some things secret.
Donkey Kong Bananzais one of Nintendo’s most ambitious projects, as it uses voxels to simulate its wide-scale destruction, one of the game’s most incredible features. And it’s this level of detail and depth that leads toBananza’smost incredible moments of discovery and exploration, as players are still finding new features even after a 17-minute Direct focused on the game premiered shortly before launch.
1Return To New Donk City
Revisit One Of Mario Odyssey’s Most Famous Locations
New Donk City served as one of the most incredible locations featured in2017’sSuper Mario Odyssey, and whenDonkey Kong Bananzawas announced in 2025, it seemed likely that the home of Pauline would make a return. And during the game’s climactic final moments, alongside the return of the Kremlins and King K. Rool, Donkey Kong and Pauline make a trip to New Donk City, bringing the iconic location to the forefront.
New Donk City was not advertised before the game’s launch, and Nintendo managed to keep a tight lock on one of the game’s most outstanding layers. Visiting New Donk City with the power of the Switch 2 is simply magical, as it retains all the same charm and reverence forMariofranchise lore that it had inOdyssey. Had the return of New Donk City been showcased beforehand, it would have robbedDonkey Kong Bananzaof one of its most brilliant moments.
2More Bananza Transformations
Nintendo Kept Some Bananza Transformations Hidden
During theBananza-focused Direct that aired before the game launched, Nintendo showed off some of DK’s animal transformations. And while the Direct showed a lot of footage of them, some rather important ones went unspoken, allowing them to surprise players when the game launched.
Snake Bananza allows players to double jump, as well as use a power known as Gaze in order to slow down time, which comes in handy during several platforming sequences that are reminiscent of the classic1981Donkey Kongarcade game. Meanwhile, Elephant Bananza is based around using the trunk to consume the world around the player, as well as creating unique throwable objects. These transformations were not documented before the game, leaving them as nice surprises even for players who consumed a lot of the promotional material, as these new mechanics make up some ofDonkey Kong Bananza’s most thrilling sequences.
3Explore The Area Outside Layer Transitions
Collect Goodies Outside The Level Transition Zones
As DK and Pauline descend deeper and deeper into each layer in a race against VoidCo to the Planet Core, they are able to transition between each location via long tunnels. Although these tunnels initially present themselves as interactive loading hallways, complete with Banandium Gems and goodies to collect, players are actually able to break through the sides to gain even more coins and items.
Although the trip down leads to the same place, the ability to branch off into separate tunnels on the way down adds a sense of scale to the world. It allows the depths to feel even more complex and intimidating, since the deeper DK and Pauline go, the more stringy, branch-like paths begin to reveal themselves. Gold is always a good thing to have in the game, as it powers DK’s animal transformations andallows players to buy moreitems, so being able to find huge pockets of gold in these diversionary tunnels was a nice surprise upon launch.
4Interact With Bosses After Defeating Them
Bosses Become Snarky NPCs After Being Defeated
Donkey Kong has gone up against his fair share of outstanding enemies over the years, with King K. Rool and the Kremlings at the top of that list, but VoidCo, the trio of apes that are racing DK and Pauline to the Planet Core, have proven themselves to be worthy antagonists. As DK and Pauline find themselves in conflict with these nefarious apes consistently, one thing that makes them stand out is how much each one feels like a unique, fully-realized character.
Both Poppy Kong and Grumpy Kongtarget DK early on, but their defeat doesn’t see them retreat into the shadows behind their leader, the insufferable Void Kong. Instead, Poppy and Grumpy become sassy NPCs that exist within the world, in addition to continuing to torment DK and Pauline in the game’s climax. Before launch, the pair were believed to be throwaway antagonists, but being able to talk and interact with them after their defeat adds a sense of natural progression to the game.
5Collect New Content After The Game Ends
Return To Ingot Isle For New Content
Donkey Kong Bananzadoesn’t have a traditional New Game Plus mode per se, but it does allow players to continue DK’s adventure following the final boss battle and emotional ending cutscenes. In terms ofNintendo titles with post-game content,Donkey Kong Bananzawill go down in history as some of the absolute best, as the game drops the player off at the beginning of Ingot Isle, allowing them to continue exploring at their leisure.
Ultimately, the post-game content builds on what makes the game so much fun to begin with, which is the massively impressive destruction and voxel technology. It feels incredibly freeing, and the post-game also leads to some ofBananza’smost outstanding content, as DK reunites with Pauline in order to help her put on a massive show in New Donk City.Donkey Kong Bananzais one of the best-feeling games that Nintendo has ever produced, so giving players the option to just play around in its destructive playground and experience more of the charming relationship between DK and Pauline was a wise move.
