Donkey Kong Country Returns HD will soon arrive to make the Nintendo Switch the premier Donkey Kong Country platform. Due out on January 16, 2025, this remaster came as a surprise announcement during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, and it was just the beginning. As part of the lead-up to the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, the Game Boy Donkey Kong Land trilogy was released on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack between November and December 2024. Coupled with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze’s 2018 Switch port and the original Country trilogy already being part of NSO, the whole Donkey Kong Country series can finally be enjoyed in one place.
For some fans, this is a dream come true. Donkey Kong Country has long been a cult classic Nintendo platformer series, being one of Rare’s claims to fame back in the SNES days through its tough-but-fair difficulty and replay value. Retro Studios, better known as Metroid Prime’s developer, successfully revived the series on the Wii, 3DS, Wii U, and subsequently Nintendo Switch with Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze. While it's good to see DK’s game library collected on modern hardware, Returns HD missed the chance to copy one of Tropical Freeze’s best Switch additions.
What’s New In Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
New features in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD are sparse; the release is focused on being a straightforward remaster of the original game. The biggest change is the new Modern Mode, which is an easy mode that players can choose at the start of a new save file. It might be seen as a compromise by some, but it's a necessary evil to get less experienced players through what is often considered one of the hardest Wii games ever released. For those put off by that sort of difficulty, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is their version of choice.
How Country Returns' Modern Mode Works
Modern Mode’s changes can be divided into extra health, and extra items. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have three hearts in modern mode instead of two, meaning six total hits when they are teamed up. It's a simple change, but it will be enough to breeze through some of DKCR HD’s levels. For the rest, players will be able to bring nine of their consumable items into levels instead of three, and Cranky Kong’s Shop uses the 3DS port’s expanded selection, including the vehicle-protecting Crash Guard and the bottomless pit-nullifying Green Balloon. Stacking those on top of DKCR’s already potent items should guarantee success.
Tropical Freeze Has Already One-Upped DKC Returns’ Modern Mode
All of these items bring Donkey Kong Country Returns’ shop mostly in line with Funky’s Fly ‘N’ Buy from Tropical Freeze, but the latter has one thing the former lacks. Playing off of Tropical Freeze’s introduction of Dixie Kong and Cranky Kong as additional partner Kongs, Tropical Freeze on Switch added the memetic “New Funky Mode” to its repertoire. While the former shopkeep can't take other Kongs with him outside of co-op play, Funky can roll indefinitely, hover, stand on spikes, and take five hits instead of the normal two. He’s an amalgamation of every Kong, and while they retain some advantages, Funky is undoubtedly the best.
This highlights a missed opportunity in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, as it could have easily justified bringing Funky Kong or Tropical Freeze’s other apes back in a more appropriately named Modern Mode. Getting new content would have made DKCR HD more exciting, and given it unique value for veterans interested in new movement tech. Modern Mode would also have gained feature parity with Funky Mode, as it still allows players to swap from Funky to a regular DK with extra hearts. For as valuable as Modern Mode is, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD could have outdone it by just copying Tropical Freeze.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 77 /100 Critics Rec: 71%
- Released
- January 16, 2025
- ESRB
- E for Everyone - Mild fantasy violence
- Developer(s)
- Forever Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
Help Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong recover their precious banana hoard from the villainous Tiki Tak Tribe! Stomp enemies, blast through barrels, and ride rockets and mine carts (and even Rambi the rhino) in 80 levels across nine worlds.
Play the game as it was first designed for the Wii™ system, or reduce the difficulty for extra hearts and other goodies to make your journey a little easier. This barrel-blasting adventure is visually enhanced in HD for the Nintendo Switch™ system and includes the extra levels from the Nintendo 3DS™ version!
Team up with a friend and take on the whole game as Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong
Pass a Joy-Con™ controller to a buddy and take on the Tiki Tak Tribe as DK and Diddy in two-player local play. Pelt foes with Diddy’s Peanut Popgun and hover using his Barrel Jet, and slam bad guys into submission with DK’s Ground Pound—or just Barrel Roll right through them. Work together to reclaim those bananas by the bunch!
- Multiplayer
- Local Co-Op, Online Co-Op
- Franchise
- Donkey Kong Country
- Number of Players
- 1-2
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- January 16, 2025
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
- How Long To Beat
- 11.5 hours
