Donkey Kong Bananza is Nintendo and gaming at its best - Reader's Feature
From the moment the game boots up, Donkey Kong Bananza feels like a celebration of everything Nintendo stands for: bold creativity, joyful chaos, and a deep respect for its own legacy. It's not just another platformer, it's a vibrant love letter to the spirit of play.
The game doesn't try to reinvent the wheel; instead, it polishes it to a gleam and sends it rolling down a jungle hill with barrels flying and bongo beats thumping. It's Nintendo in full swing, embracing its roots while swinging forward with confidence.
The character of Donkey Kong himself is emblematic of Nintendo's genius. He's not sleek or edgy, he's a big-hearted brute with a goofy grin and a penchant for bananas. And yet, he's iconic. In Bananza, his personality bursts through every animation, every sound effect, every triumphant chest pound. There's a tactile joy to his movement, a weight and rhythm that makes every jump and roll feel satisfying. Nintendo's mastery of feel is on full display here, and it's something few other developers can replicate.
What makes Bananza shine is its level design. Each stage is a playground of surprises, packed with secrets, alternate paths, and clever environmental puzzles. The game trusts the player to explore, to experiment, to fail and try again. It's challenging without being punishing, whimsical without being shallow.
There's a sense of craftsmanship in every vine swing and barrel blast, a deliberate layering of mechanics that rewards curiosity and skill. It's the kind of design that makes you smile not just because you succeeded, but because the journey was so much fun.
The music is pure Nintendo magic. Infectious jungle rhythms, cheeky melodies, and atmospheric flourishes create a soundscape that's both nostalgic and fresh. It's the kind of soundtrack that sticks with you, that you hum while making toast or walking to the bus. It elevates the game's energy and reinforces its identity – playful, adventurous, and unmistakably Nintendo.
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Multiplayer in Bananza is another triumph. The game fosters laughter and camaraderie and makes use of Game Chat in the most perfect way. It's chaotic in the best way, with moments of unexpected hilarity and clutch teamwork. Nintendo has always understood that games are better when shared and Bananza leans into that philosophy with gusto. It's a game that brings people together, whether they're seasoned gamers or just picking up a controller for the first time.
But perhaps what makes Donkey Kong Bananza truly special is its heart. There's no cynicism here, no gritty realism or forced drama. It's pure joy, distilled into pixels and sound. It reminds us why we fell in love with games in the first place – not for high scores or achievements, but for the thrill of discovery, the delight of movement, the laughter of shared moments. Nintendo at its best doesn't just entertain, it uplifts. It creates worlds we want to live in, characters we want to root for, and experiences we want to revisit again and again. More Trending
Bananza is a triumph not because it's perfect, but because it's unmistakably Nintendo. It's bold, it's silly, it's brilliant. And in every vine swing and banana hoard, it reminds us that play is a beautiful thing.
By reader BaldB3lper
The reader's features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won't need to send an email.
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Metro
44 minutes ago
- Metro
Games Inbox: Is there a secret Nintendo Switch 2 Christmas game?
The Monday letters page thinks Battlefield 6 could be a big hit this autumn, as one reader hopes Final Fantasy 17 will be more like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ Summer to winter I see there's still a lot of talk about whether Nintendo has a 'secret' new Switch 2 game for this Christmas but I will be absolutely shocked if they do. We're probably getting a Nintendo Direct this week, that I can believe, but what are people expecting? Animal Crossing or a new Mario? I don't see it. The new Mario is never going to come out straight after Donkey Kong, it's much more likely going to be left for the new movie next year. And while they might tease Animal Crossing, they're not going to release it this year, no way. Why not? Because normal people don't buy new video game consoles in the middle of the summer. Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza are Nintendo's big Christmas games. 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Although it does depend what this year's Call Of Duty will be like, but if it's a dud then EA are right there able to take advantage of Activision's mistake. Lotto Pre-word of mouth Would just like to agree with the Reader's Feature about Star Wars Outlaws. It's a really great game and I feel it was victim to everyone assuming it would be bad and never bothering to find out whether it was or not. This sort of thing happens a lot, it seems to me, where a game (or movie) is killed by online word of mouth before anyone has actually played it. I'm not saying the game is an all-time classic but as only a moderate Star Wars fan I had a lot of fun with it and agree it's Ubisoft's best open world game in a long time. There're some neat little improvements to the formula going on and I can only hope they at least make it into other non-Star Wars games. I would absolutely recommend it, especially if you can find it cheap. Lomas Email your comments to: gamecentral@ Survival plan Survival crafting games aren't my usual fair but when there's a neat setting at the centre I've been drawn in and not been disappointed, having thought both Subnautica and Grounded were fantastic. Abiotic Factor's full release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC has just been made known to me as it's been added day one (for the 1.0 release) on both Game Pass and PS Plus Extra. The setting looks like my cup of tea and the mentions of Half-Life when reading up about it have pretty much put it to the top of my list for next game. Shame it comes out a week or so before Grounded 2 early access. I had intended to play that, but I really want to give Abiotic Factor a play so will probably wait for Grounded 2 1.0 to play that game. It's for one to six players. 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Ingot Fightin' IP I notice there's a lot of licensed beat 'em-ups and fighting games around at the moment, from that Invincible game to a new Marvel fighter and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marvel scrolling beat 'em-ups. I approve of all of this, but I don't particularly like any of the franchises that are getting turned into the games. I'm curious what other people would like to see made into these type of games? I'm sure GC would be happy to see a Transformers game, which I feel could work as either, but somehow that's never been done before. A one-on-one fighter seems like it would be a no-brainer, considering everyone has their own special abilities and weapons and transformations. Or how about a Lord of the Rings beat 'em-up? I really liked the ones EA did when the movies first came out and I'd love something that was able to be a little more tongue in cheek with the franchise. I think the Tolkien family stop that from happening but that'd be my wish, and they did allow the Lego game. Or maybe a Roger Rabbit beat 'em-up? Something that had all sorts of old school animated cartoon characters in it, from Disney, Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, and so on. I bet companies would love to make those characters relevant again and I'd love to see that kind of thing. I'm going to stop now because I'm already upset that these things are never going to happen. Gable GC: There was a Beast Wars fighting game, but it was rubbish. Modern experiment I like the idea of CD Projekt making a beat 'em-up style game specifically because they're not very good at melee combat usually. I don't know if that'll end up being true, but it seems like a good idea. Considering they've done fantasy and sci-fi so far, I'd like to see them do something set in the current day too, as a change. 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Greeny More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@ The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter. MORE: Games Inbox: Are gamers too entitled about video games? MORE: Games Inbox: Why has the Nintendo Switch 2 been so successful? MORE: Games Inbox: Will there ever be a new Mass Effect game?
Metro
2 hours ago
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Video game exclusives are dying as PlayStation plans new Xbox and Switch ports
As rumours claim Gears Of War: E-Day is coming to PS5, and Sony confirms more multiformat releases, the era of video game exclusives appears to be coming to an end. For 40 years the primary selling point for video game consoles has been the exclusive games that they play host to. As Xbox has acknowledged, things changed during the previous generation, when digital downloads began to dominate and switching formats no longer became a trivial matter. Nobody wants to leave behind their library of games on another console and while the PlayStation 4 still had plenty of high-profile exclusives, by the time the PlayStation 5 arrived fans were already locked into the PlayStation ecosystem. Given the increasing cost of making games, exclusives must've begun to seem like an expensive and unnecessary indulgence to Sony execs. But now it seems they're taking things a step further, with plans to release more of their internally developed games on other formats. One of the most frustrating aspects of Sony's change in approach is that they've never explained anything publicly. The above is all speculation and while it's almost certainly accurate, Sony has never acknowledged a change in plans or discussed why they've released so few exclusives in the second half of this generation – or why they're so obsessed with live service titles. That too can easily be guessed at, but it seems their plans are shifting even further, with a recently discovered job ad asking for someone to 'play a critical leadership role in shaping and executing the global commercial strategy for PlayStation Studios software titles across all digital platforms beyond PlayStation hardware, including Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox, Nintendo, and mobile.' As the ad puts it: 'This role is accountable for optimising title profitability, ensuring cross-functional alignment, and leading a high-performing team focused on multiplatform expansion, mid-range commercial planning, and platform partner management.' Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Naturally, no examples are given but while it's still unlikely that recent PlayStation 5 exclusives will appear on other formats, other than the PC, Sony has recently ramped up its multiformat efforts with the release of former PSP exclusive Patapon on Nintendo Switch and the promise of Everybody's Golf to follow. Clearly these are very low-profile franchises, but while they and last year's Lego Horizon Adventures purposefully skipped the Xbox, live service games Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox Series X/S next month. There's no suggestion that this new role will mean God Of War or The Last Of Us turning up on Xbox overnight, or indeed ever, but the older some exclusives get the more likely it becomes, at least on Nintendo formats – which Sony has long insisted are not direct rivals. For now, the newly advertised role is still likely to focus on older games and live service titles but even that would have been unthinkable even just five years ago, at the beginning of the generation. As far as Nintendo is concerned, exclusives are their life blood and it is certainly impossible to imagine any of their games appearing on other formats, but for Sony exclusives are an increasingly minor consideration, that are no longer profitable enough when released on only one format. This is a truth that Xbox has already realised, especially given how poor Xbox Series X/S hardware sales have been compared to the PlayStation 5. More Trending Microsoft hasn't been very open about their plans either, but it already seems clear there's nothing that won't eventually be released on PlayStation 5. So it's no surprise to find that just as the Sony job ad appears there's rumours of Gears Of War: E-Day and State Of Decay 3 also coming to Sony's format. Website MP1st has found résumés and job ads that seem to confirm both games being multiformat, although whether there'd be a short delay after the initial Xbox and PC release, as there was with Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, is unknown. There were many ways to cope with the increasing cost of making triple-A games but, perhaps predictably, Microsoft and Sony have made no attempt to decrease budgets and have instead sought to increase their revenues by increasing the number of places their games can be bought and played. That's not necessarily a bad thing but there's not yet any sign that Sony will start making more exclusives, whether they're multiformat or not. If that had been the case then most fans would likely welcome Sony's new approach with open arms. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Elden Ring Nightreign's most requested game mode is coming next week MORE: The Witcher dev CD Projekt's new game revealed in oddly descriptive job listing MORE: Xbox games for Switch 2 'expected' soon ahead of rumoured Nintendo Direct
Metro
21 hours ago
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The Nintendo Switch 2 is the closest thing to a modern day Commodore Amiga
A reader celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Commodore Amiga and suggests that the Switch 2 is its closest current equivalent. It's been a lot of fun to see the love for the Commodore Amiga this week, which I had no idea was 40 years old. As has been pointed out, probably nobody outside of Europe either knows or cares about it now but to me it was the most important games format when I was kid. Which is to say it's what I had, and I couldn't afford a Mega Drive or SNES. Or rather I couldn't afford their games. Amiga games were a lot cheaper (and, well, you know) and they also seemed a lot more varied. To my eyes the vast majority of console games were just platformers of one kind or another. I never even heard of Zelda or Final Fantasy until the PlayStation era and while we never got anything as good as Sonic the Hedgehog on the Amiga I can honestly say I wasn't that bothered. On the Amiga we had all kinds of crazy things, and lots of 3D games and games made in Europe and the UK which never appeared anywhere else. But as soon as consoles took over everything was made in Japan or the US and we've never really gone back from that, even with modern indie gaming on the PC. PlayStation and Xbox aren't interested in anything but a small number of games from a small number of publishers. Heck, the whole point of Xbox is Microsoft wanted to make American companies dominate the games industry, so I can't say I'm too upset that didn't work out. Thinking about what the modern equivalent of the Amiga is I guess you'd have to say it's the PC, but it doesn't feel that way to me. It's too unfocused and you have to use Steam to get anything out of it, which is very American focused. Weirdly it's the Nintendo Switch 2 which feels the closest to the Amiga to me, assuming it works out similar to the original Switch. Although the fact that it has a mouse by default already increases the comparisons, so I hope it makes good use of that. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. But it's really just how strange and varied all the games are, with no first person shooters or sad dad story games so far, just the crazy Mario Kart and Donkey Kong games and the promise that future games will be as weird as the Switch line-up was. Especially as Drag X Drive even looks a bit like Speedball 2. It's not just Nintendo though but all the other, smaller Japanese developers that they encourage. Companies I'm sure probably wouldn't still be going if it wasn't for the Switch. Games are too expensive to make on PlayStation and Xbox now, for small companies, but the Switch is low-powered enough that it's still possible. I'm not saying these sort of games aren't on the PlayStation as well, but there's not as many and they're certainly not as high profile. You'd never get Sony highlighting them in their equivalent of a Nintendo Direct. I guess what I'm getting at is that gaming seemed a lot less corporate and more unpredictable in the Amiga days and now that I'm older I can see why things like where the games are made and how much they cost to make (and so how much risk they can afford to take) affect that. More Trending There's no point dwelling too much on the past but it is useful to look back and see that not everything has changed for the better. By reader Lester The reader's features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@ or use our Submit Stuff page and you won't need to send an email. MORE: Star Wars Outlaws is Ubisoft's best game and you should get it now it's cheap - Reader's Feature MORE: It is madness that Konami still hasn't made a new Castlevania - Reader's Feature MORE: I had a Commodore Amiga as a kid and this is not the gaming future I imagined - Reader's Feature
