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Donkey Kong Country Returns HD review - perilous primate platforming

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is basically the same game that arrived on the Nintendo 3DS a decade ago, but that isn’t such a bad thing.

Custom image for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD with Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong together on a jungle background

Our Verdict

Despite its late arrival, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is easily one of the best platformers of the Switch era. It’s equally imaginative and challenging, providing a template for how to reinvigorate a series without losing touch with what made it so special in the first place.

Who doesn’t love a comeback? Whether it be Han Solo’s reprise in Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Batman’s escape in The Dark Knight Rises, there’s something special about a homecoming. Now, it’s the turn of Nintendo’s premier primate to get back to busting baddies and barrels in the form of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD for Nintendo Switch. We’ve spent the last couple of weeks playing through this latest DK adventure, and if you’re a fan of challenging platformers, then you’re going to want to keep reading.

I have to start this review by making it clear that I haven’t played either the original Wii version of Donkey Kong Country Returns or the 2013 Nintendo 3DS port, so I’m going into this fresher than a pair of green bananas. I love the big guy, don’t get me wrong, but much of my experience platforming with DK and the rest of the gang comes from my youth spent replaying Rare’s Donkey Kong Country trilogy on my battered old SNES. Still, I know that fans of the series went wild for this one when it first hit the scene in 2010, so I had pretty high expectations.

I’ll admit, I was a bit of a cynic when I first found out I’d be receiving our review code from Nintendo. Not only did the release itself feel like a bit of a stop-gap as the gaming world waits on the Nintendo Switch 2 with bated breath, but I thought that $60 for a port of a decade-old 2D platformer felt a bit steep. While the latter still remains true to an extent, I have to admit, I can see why the Japanese gaming giant wants more people to play this game.

So, what is Donkey Kong Country Returns HD all about? Well, it’s a spiritual continuation of the gameplay from Rare’s series, which means 2D platforming across a variety of themed levels, varying from jungle capers to DK making his way through a factory that I can only assume hasn’t seen a health and safety inspection in a long time. You’ve got all the mechanics from previous games, so yes, you spend a good chunk of time riding mine carts, rhinos, and rocket-powered barrels.

Screenshot for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD review showing a minecart section in a level

In terms of plot, like Mario’s 2D adventures, the story isn’t the most complex, but it gets things going. At the beginning of the game, a violent volcanic eruption on Donkey Kong Island awakens the Tiki Tak Tribe – this game’s antagonists – who then hypnotize all of the island’s animals, forcing them to steal Donkey and Diddy Kong’s beloved bananas. That leaves the pair of primates with the task of breaking the Tiki Tak Tribe’s spell, freeing the animals, and most importantly, reclaiming that precious source of potassium. After all, a monkey’s gotta eat.

While this game is essentially the same as the DS version, there are a couple of noticeable changes from the original Wii release. The most obvious difference right off the bat is that there are two ways to play. There’s Original Mode, where DK’s life-o-meter is made up of just two hearts, or Modern Mode, which gives you an extra heart and upgrades the stock in Cranky Kong’s shop to include some special items that can help give you the boost you need to make it through a tricky level without enlisting Super Kong’s assistance. It’s a nice change to make the game more playable for younger audiences without throwing those looking for difficult gameplay under the bus.

The other big difference between this game and the most recent 3DS version is the enhanced visuals. Simply put, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD looks gorgeous. If you’ve played Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, it’s very similar in terms of the level of detail, and the colors and design of every world bring Donkey Kong Island to life. Outside of Super Mario Wonder, I can’t think of any better-looking 2D platformers in recent years.

Screenshot for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD review showing DK and Diddy Kong in a cutscene

In the early game, it’s pretty run-of-the-mill Donkey Kong stuff, but even before getting into the third part of the island, the difficulty begins to ramp up. It’s not at all like Mario’s 2D adventures, where things stay pretty tame until the post-game. No, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is here to frustrate you to your very core, with its evil hitboxes, platforms that fall away moments after you jump onto them, and gaps in the track that require precise timing to traverse. I absolutely love it.

I’m one of the many who have accused Nintendo of pandering to younger audiences with its platformer output in recent years – I’m looking at you, Yoshi’s Woolly World – but that certainly isn’t the case here. It’s still approachable, with the in-game Super Guide option to help you get through a level if it notices you going through lives like DK gets through bunches of bananas, but if you’re looking for something to really push you to your limits, this could well be it.

As in the original, Diddy Kong is on hand to help out in trickier levels, but he’s more akin to a power-up than anything else. In most levels, you can find and smash a DK barrel, and then Diddy Kong provides an extra three hearts and the ability to hover over gaps with the miniature monkey’s jet pack. While it’s a little disappointing that you can’t take on levels as Diddy himself, unless you’re playing in co-op mode, there’s something about playing as DK with his cap-wearing accomplice on his back that really presses my nostalgia buttons.

Admittedly, the bosses aren’t always quite as deliciously tricky as the regular levels, except for a couple towards the end of the game, and even still that’s more to do with a lack of clear instructions than an actual challenge. Don’t get me wrong, the bosses serve as a nice palette cleanser between worlds, and often have a fun gimmick that suits the theme of the levels you’ve just completed, but rarely do they come close to the white-knuckle platforming thrill of the rest of the game.

Screenshot for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD review showing a boss battle

Speaking of the thrill of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD’s platforming, the time trial mode you unlock after completing each level is a real boon for completionists and those looking for an even more demanding experience. It forces you to learn the layout of levels like the back of your hand, and even though I’m no speedrunner, I got some serious endorphins from completing a tricky level with just milliseconds to spare. There’s also the small matter of finding all the puzzle pieces and KONG letters in each level, which trust me, is more difficult than it sounds. If you’re trying to 100% this game, you’re going to be here a while.

As you might expect from a Donkey Kong game, I can confirm that the soundtrack here absolutely slaps. You’ve got the jungle rhythms, of course, but there’s also the synth-laden industrial beats of the factory world and the slightly more ethereal sounds of the forest world. It all keeps you bopping along as you jump, swing, and slide through the levels, and works alongside the glorious HD visuals to give each game world an identity while still maintaining a sonic core that doesn’t miss a beat from start to finish.

Before rounding up, I have to come back to one of my original qualms: as good as Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is, is it worth $60? Honestly, I still don’t know how to answer that, but I’m leaning more towards saying it is worth it than I thought I’d be when I first picked the game up. Yes, it’s a port of a port, and there’s little to separate this version and the 3DS release outside of a visual glow-up and some helpful mechanics. However, a good game is a good game, and this is exactly that.

Personally, I’d rather spend $60 on something brilliant than pick up two mediocre games for the same price. Even if some of the platforming nearly made me split my Switch in half, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD delivers on all of its promises, and I’m more optimistic than ever that, in the right hands, the ape in the red tie still has plenty of life left in him yet. So, if you’re listening, Nintendo, I’m ready for the next adventure.

There you have it, our Donkey Kong Country Returns HD review. If you’re looking for something else to play, be sure to check out our picks for the best Switch games and the best mobile games while you’re here. Or, if all this talk of Donkey Kong has you feeling a little nostalgic, see our list of the best retro handhelds.