How Donkey Kong Bananza's Review Scores Compare to Other DK…

Donkey Kong Bananza's reviews are hot off the presses, and it's clear that this modern reintroduction of the King-Kong-inspired hero is one for the ages. Indeed, Donkey Kong Bananza has been raking in stellar review scores, with outlets from across the gaming spectrum praising its creativity, tight platforming, and inventiveness.

The development team behind Donkey Kong Bananza is the same one responsible for Super Mario Odyssey—another critically-acclaimed modern Nintendo platformer.

With such high review scores rolling in, long-time Donkey Kong fans can breathe a sigh of relief: Donkey Kong Bananza has seemingly reinvigorated Donkey Kong for the modern age. Bananza marks the first time the titular primate has starred in his own 3D platformer since Donkey Kong 64, which was released in 1999, suggesting that Nintendo still has big plans for DK and his crew. Donkey Kong has seemingly been on ice for years, kept alive by little more than the occasional remaster or re-release, making Bananza a monumental release indeed.

DK stealing toys in Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Switch)

Best Donkey Kong Game On Every Nintendo Console

Donkey Kong was the game that made Nintendo a household name, and all these years later, he has made an impression on each of Nintendo's consoles.

Posts

By Tristan Jurkovich

How Do Donkey Kong Bananza's Reviews Compare to Those of Other Big DK Games?

	IGN	Eurogamer	GameSpot	GamesRadar+	Nintendo Life	The Best War Games
Donkey Kong Bananza	10/10	8/10	9/10	9/10	9/10	N/A
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze	9/10	7/10	6/10	8/10	9/10	9/10
Donkey Kong Country Returns	9/10	9/10	8.5/10	8/10	10/10	9/10
Donkey Kong 64	9/10	N/A	9/10	N/A	7/10	N/A

Since Donkey Kong has been more or less absent from contemporary gaming outside remasters and ports, it's hard to find a lot of review scores from current outlets. That said, the two most recent Donkey Kong games, Tropical Freeze and Country Returns, which modernize the 2D platforming of older DK games like Donkey Kong Country, were received warmly by critics across the board. The same can be said about Donkey Kong 64, the character's first and (until now) only foray into three dimensions.

But none of these games has been as unanimously praised as Donkey Kong Bananza. Based on the above data, it's clear that Bananza is a favorite of contemporary critics, as it lacks the more restrained outlier scores observed in the critical reception of its predecessors: no major outlets are giving Bananza a 7/10, like how Eurogamer did for Tropical Freeze. Zooming out a bit further, it's evident that Donkey Kong Bananza might just be the best-received Donkey Kong game across the board, not just when looking at a handful of highly visible reviews.

Donkey Kong Bananza Is the Higest-Rated Donkey Kong Game on Metacritic

	Metacritic Metascore (Review Aggregate)
Donkey Kong Bananza	90
Donkey Kong 64	90
Diddy Kong Racing	88
Donkey Kong Country Returns	87
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze	83
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat	80
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest	80
Donkey Kong Country	78
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble	77
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD	77
Donkey Konga	76
Donkey Konga 2	69

At the time of writing, Donkey Kong Bananza's Metascore sits at 90, tying it with Donkey Kong 64—not bad company, by any means. Metascore doesn't provide a perfect picture of a game's critical reception, but it certainly helps gauge the temperature of its launch, as it were, and Bananza's release is red-hot: it beats out almost every other game in its series. The fact that the only other Donkey Kong entry with a 90 Metascore is a game that is colored by nostalgia, and was revolutionary for its time, says a lot about the quality of Bananza.

Time will tell how Donkey Kong Bananza truly measures up: opinions on a game can change radically over the years, with one-time phenomena fading into obscurity quicker than expected, but the future seems bright for now. All signs point to Bananza being a meaningful leap forward for the franchise, and well worth the arduous wait for more Donkey Kong.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image

Display card tags widget

Action

Adventure

Platformer

Display card system widget

Systems

Display card community and brand rating widget Display card open critics widget

OpenCritic Reviews: Top Critic Avg: 91 /100 Critics Rec: 99%

Display card main info widget

Released: July 17, 2025
ESRB: Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
Developer(s): Nintendo EPD
Publisher(s): Nintendo

Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start

6 Images

Display card media widget end

Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

The big guy is back! Donkey Kong swings onto the Nintendo Switch 2 system with a brand-new action adventure.

Help Donkey Kong make his way through the depths of the Underground World. The deeper he goes, the more amazing places he finds! There's no shortage of things DK can pulverize with his powerful punches. Break on through this truly destructive adventure.

Behold the golden bananas! The mysterious group, known  as VoidCo, has its eyes on this  prized bunch. But no one messes with DK's favourite food!

Golden bananas? The whole island was buzzing about the discovery of this tasty treasure. But then, distaster struck! During the chaos, VoidCo stole every breathtaking bunch of bananas. Now Donkey Kong must venture deep underground to get them back!

Number of Players: 1-2 players
Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date: July 17, 2025
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Platformer
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch 2