A New 3D Donkey Kong is Finally Coming!

The closer for Nintendo Switch 2 Direct saw the reveal of a new 3D platformer for the console. This isn’t a new Mario game as you might expect but, instead, a much-deserved new take on Donkey Kong- who hasn’t had a 3D entry in his franchise since the Nintendo 64 (and hasn’t had any new game released in over a decade).

Image by Nintendo

Donkey Kong Bananza sees the titular big monkey back in excellent form. A new design based on the Super Mario Bros. movie is here for Kong and whilst it’s a bit strange to see at first, the cartoonish animations lend themselves very well to this new design. This ape has also come swinging with a gameplay system focusing around big punches and a fully destructible environment that looks like a joy to traverse.

Being able to tunnel underground, surf on a torn-up piece of rock, and (of course) glide down a track in minecarts) are only some of the features shown in this first trailer. Even with so much going on from the trailer, the framerate and performance seem quite good- which is something we can hope continues in the actual game. If the Switch can run Tears of the Kingdom reasonably well, the Switch 2’s advanced hardware should see big ape’s latest adventure run seamlessly.

Image by Nintendo

This new DK game takes the monkey to ‘The Underground World’ where he faces off against a group of nefarious banana hoarders known as ‘Voidco’. As you may expect, they have stolen the yellow fruit from DK and he is none too pleased. Teaming up with a new rock like ally in the process, the big monkey is all set to punch, drill and barrel his way back to his horde. Donkey Kong Bananza is set to launch on July 17th 2025- just a few weeks after the Nintendo Switch 2 drops.