Will ‘Donkey Kong Bananza’ Make Some Much-Needed Switch 2 Noise?

Nintendo’s Switch 2 has been out in the wild for over a month, and despite the launch feeling decidedly muted, there’s no denying the new console’s massive early success.

Droves of people purchased a Switch 2 in June—complete with nostalgic midnight launches, just like the good ol’ days—though from my somewhat calloused perspective, it almost seemed like a kneejerk, Nintendo-loyalty sort of reaction. Less genuine hype and more ‘well, it’s a fresh Nintendo machine, and this is what we do when that happens.’ Pavlovian, but for video games.

I’m trying to temper my cynicism, though. Carl Jung said the second half of life was about rediscovering the child you left behind during maturation, and I’m officially in said second half. Perhaps acquiring a Switch 2 could help with such a goal. Consumerism as medicine. Doesn’t get much more American than that.

I haven’t yet played it, but Mario Kart World honestly looks great, and I hear nothing but positive impressions from gamers who own a copy. That said, it doesn’t feel like a system-seller, exactly, not in the traditional sense. A solid iteration on the Mario Kart formula, no doubt. Plus, the console it exclusively runs on reads as a similarly safe iteration, too. I’d wager this is by design, because Nintendo knows what it’s doing… hopefully.

However, due to playing it safe, when it came to last month’s Switch 2 launch, it wasn’t exactly N64 levels of wow, or even Wii or legacy Switch. I’d argue, though, we’ll never see something that exciting ever again. The technological jumps are simply too subtle now, and the customers much harder to impress. But yeah, say that to the 3.5 million people who immediately bought a Switch 2 and also probably a Mario Kart World cartridge to go along with it. At least MKW it isn’t on one of those dreaded key cards.

Despite console sales that undoubtedly won’t be slowly down anytime soon, I still view the Switch 2’s birthday as a bit, well, underwhelming. This is coming from someone who lived through the Dreamcast’s 1999 North American launch, which still to this day, I view as the killer-app/gold standard lineup to beat. Power Stone, Soul Caliber, Sonic Adventure, Hydro Thunder and Blue Stinger. Okay, maybe forget Blue Stinger, but still.

Sure, the Switch 2 had plenty of third-party day-one support, boasting the likes of Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy and Street Fighter 6. These excellent titles are nothing to scoff at, but it’s no secret that Mario Kart World was perhaps the only truly exciting heavy-hitter, followed maybe by performance upgrades to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. People buy Nintendo consoles for their stellar first-party offerings, and in just a few days on July 17, we’re finally getting a second hardware hype-machine: Donkey Kong Bananaza.

I’ve loosely followed the news on this upcoming 3D platformer, a previously Switch 1-only title that has jumped platforms and was supposedly in development for almost eight years. It’s being made by the talented team behind Super Mario Odyssey, and it looks like an interesting cross between arcade romp Rampage, Xbox 360 Rare-helmed hidden gem Kameo: Elements of Power and classic N64 collect-a-thon Donkey Kong 64 (also created by Rare, strangely enough). Preliminary footage of Donkey Kong Bananza even sports the DK Rap in certain instances. I hope Grant Kirkhope is getting paid.

Even though Mario Kart is likely the more recognizable IP, DKB reads as the kind of system-seller I imagined the Switch 2 shipping with. It’s vibrant, it has lots of personality and it (better?) shows off what the hardware can do (within reason, as even in present gameplay examples, you can witness some noticeable slowdown). It’s very Super Mario World in a way: Inviting, welcoming and maybe less skill-dependent than Mario Kart World. It’s also got a mode called DK Artist, which I imagine is Nintendo’s idea of an inside joke, because for the love of all that is holy, please give us Mario Paint 2.

It all could be part of Nintendo’s understated plan to trickle out first-party candy in a measured, deliberate way. Not all at once, but bit by bit, gradually saturating the Switch 2’s library over the next year or so. We’ve got Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star Crossed World in late August, then after that, there’s Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Kirby Air Riders, all due sometime in 2025. Minus any potential delays, of course.

Boasting the Super Mario Odyssey development pedigree, I think Donkey Kong Bananza could be a fun summertime adventure, a game that could make some real noise for the weirdly pedestrian Switch 2. Plus, it might just finally convince me to pick up Nintendo’s newest console. Only if I can accept that dependable and predictable aren’t dirty words, necessarily.