Latest news with #DonkeyKongBanza
CNET
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Viture's Luma Pro Glasses Make Me Wish the Switch 2 Had an OLED Screen
When I played Donkey Kong Bananza for hours and hours over the last few weeks, I didn't just play on my TV and the handheld screen. I spent a good chunk of my playtime wearing Viture's latest display glasses, the Luma Pro, with which the lush levels never looked so eye-poppingly colorful. Viture's glasses can be used for just about any USB-C-connected device, including phones, laptops or tablets, but they might be the best fit for games. Sadly, the Nintendo Switch 2 can't directly connect to display on the glasses, but using Viture's separately sold mobile dock as a conduit, I found the Switch's games to be the best showcase for how rich these glasses' brightness and color look. The world of display-enabled glasses is growing fast. Like headphones for your eyes, this subcategory of tech includes players like Xreal, TCL and Viture. Xreal's excellent One and One Pro glasses have improved audio as well as the ability to pin displays in place with built-in 3DoF (aka 3 Degrees of Freedom) head tracking. Viture's new Luma series of glasses, which includes four models coming between now and October, has some advantages and drawbacks over Xreal. I've only gotten to try the Viture Luma Pro model for now, since the others are coming later this year: a more bare-bones Luma, and the step-up Ultra and Beast glasses. After playing with the Luma Pros, I loved the quality of the display, enough to make me yearn for a high-quality OLED screen on my Switch 2. A side view of the Luma Pro glasses, with magnetic prescription lenses attached which I needed. Scott Stein/CNET The Luma Pro compares favorably to the Xreal One. Both cost $500 and use birdbath-style display systems, which use chunky angled lenses to project bright microOLED displays into your eyes. There are differences: the Luma Pro's displays are brighter, at 1,000 nits (compared to 600 nits for Xreal One), and also higher-res (1,920x1,200 pixels per eye, as opposed to Xreal's 1,920x1,080 per eye). The display definitely feels more color-saturated, likely due to the brightness bump. It makes the most difference for me when playing games, and the Switch 2's color schemes are a perfect match. Unfortunately, you need a special accessory to even connect a Switch 2 to these glasses, since Nintendo doesn't enable direct glasses connections into its hardware the way you can do with Steam Deck and Windows handhelds. Viture sells a separate Pro Mobile Dock ($129) that doubles as a 6,500-mAh battery pack. You have to plug the Switch 2 into that dock, and then the glasses can plug into the dock too. The dock mimics a Switch 2 dock, which means you have to play the Switch with Joy-Cons detached. This is just as well since the Switch 2 ends up tethered to that chunky battery pack in the first place. That's exactly what I did, and while the results were pleasant, the process was awkward. Like previous Viture glasses, the Luma Pro has a diopter adjustment up to -4 for nearsightedness. (My prescription is worse, though.) Scott Stein/CNET Luma's advantages: Brightness, color and a bit of prescription adjustment The extra brightness of Viture's Luma Pro sometimes made darker movie scenes seem almost like they were in bright daylight. Watching scenes from David Cronenberg's The Shrouds, indoor scenes almost felt like they were shot in different locations when I shifted from Luma Pro to Xreal One. It was too amped-up for my tastes, at least with Cronenberg. For gaming, though, it's particularly vivid. Sometimes it's almost a bit too much for me, but you can lower the brightness and change the color tone to several presets to make it warmer or cooler. The brightness still isn't enough to overcome a super-bright, sunny summer day by the pool. I found daylight still competing with the electrically dimming sunglass-like lenses and the brightest setting, bleeding through. The USB-C cable tether for these glasses uses a magnetic snap-on system. It's easy to attach, but don't lose that cable. Scott Stein/CNET You need to tether these glasses to your laptop, phone, or whatever else you're connecting to via USB-C, but Viture has a clever new magnetic cable system to snap onto the side of the glasses. This seems like a promising idea for future glasses that could run on battery power or be tethered on the fly, but for the moment, that magnetic cable doesn't add a lot. It just means you have to make sure to pack another proprietary cable with you. Finally, for some, these glasses could work even with some mild myopia. A diopter dial on each lens can be adjusted up to -4, saving you the need for prescription lens inserts. I'm a -8, so I needed lens inserts anyway. Viture's solution magnetically snaps onto the glasses, which I appreciate, but it took a while to tweak the nose pieces (three are included, which also magnetically snap on) and arm angles, which click in place, to get my vision to look just right. There's also an included RGB camera right in the nosepiece, something Xreal is currently charging extra for on the Xreal One. I didn't use the Xreal camera much, and right now, Viture isn't doing much with its camera, either. You could use it to take photos and maybe help track movement with future software, but it feels vestigial now. The Viture Luma Pro (left) next to Xreal One (right): Both have similar design and size, and angled "birdbath" style lenses that project microOLED displays to your eyes. Xreal's have more onboard display settings, though. Scott Stein/CNET Downside: No display pinning and not enough settings You can't pin the Luma Pro's display in space like you can on the Xreal One unless you play with the software Viture makes to run on laptops. I miss the multiple display settings Xreal offers, including automatic transparency, screen size and distance controls, and even shifting screen placement. The 52-degree field of view and slightly taller 16:10 aspect ratio display feel a tiny bit bigger than the Xreal One's 50-degree viewing area, but having it stuck to my vision with no way to pin the display in place makes it hard to use as a laptop monitor. For gaming, it's fine. The upcoming Viture Luma Beast glasses will have a 3DoF pinnable display function, plus a larger 58-degree viewing area for its display. Wait for the Beast? Coming in October is the step-up Luma Beast, a pair of glasses with even brighter, newer microOLED panels and a larger viewing area, plus the ability to pin a display in place. The Beast will also have flatter, less angled lenses, similar to the Xreal One Pro glasses. Yes, the price is a bit higher ($549), but I tested the Beast glasses briefly in June and came away impressed. I'd suggest you wait it out for those, or consider Xreal's glasses. But if you value a rich, vivid and brighter display over anything else, these Viture Luma Pros might be your pick.
Digital Trends
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
How long is Donkey Kong Bananza?
We only had to wait one month after the Nintendo Switch 2 launch to get our first shiny new 3D platformer. However, it isn't a new Mario game like you might've assumed, but DK taking center stage. Donkey Kong Bananza is all about smashing and digging your way with Pauline to the planet's core while facing off against a cast of villains. Being able to terraform the levels completely changes the pace of a normal platformer, but does it mean you can bypass everything and finish the game in a few hours? What if you are the type of person who wants to get every collectible there is? In either case, you might be surprised at how Donkey Kong Bananza actually is. After playing the game from start to finish, here's how long you can expect to spend playing Donkey Kong Bananza. How long to beat Donkey Kong Bananza? There are several ways you might choose to approach Donkey Kong Bananza that will determine how long it takes you to finish. If you wanted to basically speedrun the game and go straight from one main objective to the next, which I wouldn't recommend, you still have a long road ahead of you. I'd say playing the game, just doing the critical path, would still take around 15 hours. Recommended Videos If you played in a more natural way, doing a good amount of side challenges, letting yourself get distracted, and going off the main road to collect extra collectibles as you see them without becoming obsessed with getting everything, Donkey Kong Bananza will take you 20-30 hours. That range is to account for exactly how much you end up doing in each level. There are a lot more levels than you might expect, and hundreds of things to collect, so it really is up to you how long you want the game to last. Finally, completionists out there are in for a very, very long game. Donkey Kong Bananza has almost too many things to collect across its many levels. There can be over 30 bananas in a single level, plus double that in fossils. Part of that will require you to not only find all the hidden challenge stages, but also the secret bananas within each one. Some bananas also cost banana chips, which are found by digging. Speaking of digging, some are locked behind destroying a certain amount of different terrain types on each level, so you may have to grind a bit for those. Fossils will unlock and upgrade your outfits for DK and Pauline, and bananas can be spent upgrading your stats and abilities, so nothing you collect is worthless. I can only estimate here, but I wouldn't be surprised if it took over 50 hours to 100% Donkey Kong Bananza.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nintendo Direct Will Spotlight Donkey Kong Bananza This Week
Nintendo posted today that a Direct showcase focused on the upcoming Switch 2 game Donkey Kong Bananza will take place on June 18th. As the Nintendo Switch 2 launch year continues, the game releases are just as exciting! Nintendo posted today that a Direct showcase focused on the upcoming Switch 2 game Donkey Kong Bananza will take place on Wednesday, June 18th, at 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm UK time. The announcement was spotted in the Nintendo Today! app, where the developers will talk more about the Switch 2 exclusive game. The announcement also revealed that the Direct will only last fifteen minutes, not sharing which details surrounding the game will be discussed. Donkey Kong Bananza is slated to release on July 17th, and is the first major Nintendo title to release on the Switch 2 following the console's launch. One of Donkey Kong Bananza's hidden details that was spotted online was a shot of Donkey Kong having an unknown purple rock character tagging along with him. Donkey Kong rescues the rock after finding it buried in the ground on Ingot Island, and the pair work together in the game. This was partially due to an accidental artwork post uploaded to Nintendo's Korean site. A burning question still waiting to be answered was, who is developing Donkey Kong Bananza? When asked by IGN earlier this year who was behind the game, Nintendo of America's vice president of product and player experience Bill Trinen, said, 'It's a very good question. You'll have to stay tuned. We always like to start by showcasing the game and getting people focused on the gameplay, but we'll have some information to share about the developer in due time.' If anyone is wondering whether there will be other announcements made about other Switch 2 games or projects, the chances are very slim. Since Wednesday's Direct will only be fifteen minutes long, the focus appeared to be exclusively on Donkey Kong Bananza. For the big Nintendo fans, this game's launch should help expand the Switch 2's exclusive games list. So far, only Mario Kart World and Welcome Tour are currently out. Players can expect to hear more about the Switch 2 exclusives soon for Survival Kids, Kirby Air Riders, and the recently announced Splatoon Raiders. CGMagazine's very own EIC, Brendan Frye, had the chance to preview Donkey Kong Bananza, noting 'how well it runs on the Nintendo Switch 2' and 'incredible how much of the world [the player] can smash through.' Frye compared the destructability elements to those of the original Red Faction game, where destroying environments played a pivotal role in the game. 'I'm amazed this is even possible on the Nintendo Switch 2. It might seem like a small detail, but the system's ability to keep track of all the chaos you cause is impressive and shows what the new Switch 2 can really do,' Frye continued.
