Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza Direct went out June 18, revealing a vast amount of new information about the forthcoming Switch 2 exclusive, and the more it went on, the more we found ourselves absolutely pumped for the game. You can watch the entire 15-minute video below.
While we already knew that Donkey Kong Bananza was going to be a 3D open-world action adventure starring Mario’s first-ever enemy and that nearly everything in every level is destructible, it was hard to get a sense of exactly how the game would play. After fifteen minutes in its company, that feels completely different. This looks like it could be very special. (Jump to 29:30.)
DK is accompanied on Ingot Isle by Pauline, who, it seems, was trapped inside that purple rock we saw in earlier glimpses of Bananza? Who knows. But the important thing is, the two of them are then free to smash their way around layer after layer of adventure, each level set below the last, until you reach the core of the planet.
As the video goes on, we learn that DK can pretty much go anywhere at any point, climbing anything, and then also smash through or down any part of the level. It seems you really can bash down just about anything, which will hopefully lead to some excellent videos as people attempt to destroy entire levels. Oh, and he can turn into a zebra and an ostrich?! Amazing. He’s doing all this with the goal of finding Banandium, a precious banana-shaped gem, while also trying to help Pauline return to her non-ape-based reality.
As Kotaku watched the video, one by one we all declared our astonishment at how much is going on in this game, and how much we want to be playing it. However, like everyone else, we’re going to have to wait a month. The game is out on July 17, with pre-orders open now. Remember, this is a Switch 2 exclusive, and there’s no version for the original Switch. Presumably this was once intended to be a launch title, but needed an extra couple of months.
This really does look like the big title the Switch 2 is desperately lacking. This definitely doesn’t look like it’s some sort of stop-gap before the proper Super Mario title, but rather a full-fledged Super Donkey Kong action game to occupy our summer. You know, if it plays as good as it looks. We’ll find out soon.
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