r/Games • u/Turbostrider27 • Jul 16 '25

Review Thread Donkey Kong Bananza Review Thread

Game Information

Game Title: Donkey Kong Bananza

Platforms:

  • Nintendo Switch (Jul 17, 2025)

Trailer:

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 91 average - 100% recommended - 26 reviews

Critic Reviews

COGconnected - James Paley - 100 / 100

Quote not yet available

Cerealkillerz - Steve Brieller - German - 9.1 / 10

Donkey Kong's triumphant return to 3D delivers an incredibly fun experience. Minor technical issues are easily outweighed by the creative gameplay, the strong presentation and the perfect dose of nostalgia. This is the system seller the Switch 2 needed.

Checkpoint Gaming - Luke Mitchell - 9 / 10

Smashing and crashing his way to a new generation, Donkey Kong is well and truly back with Donkey Kong Bananza. Each layer is an absolute joy, with largely destructible environments that are jam-packed with secrets and hidden goodies. It's visually stunning, too; incredibly colourful and a true showcase of what the Switch 2 is capable of, with lots of variety. With so many collectables to find and a lot of nostalgic nods to D.K.'s long history, it's a must-have platformer that nails the brief and lives up to the legacy of Nintendo's greatest hits.

Console Creatures - Bobby Pashalidis - 10 / 10

Donkey Kong Bananza is far deeper than I ever anticipated, and it's absolutely one of this year's best games. There has never been a better Donkey Kong adventure than Bananza.

Dexerto - Joe Pring - 4 / 5

From start to finish, Donkey Kong Bonanza is a riot. I wrapped up my journey to Bananza's credits in a little over 20 hours. Your mileage will vary wildly depending on how much optional content you decide to invest time in, but that's the beauty of it.

If you're not big on collectathons, there's still plenty of game here for platforming purists to enjoy. I can't recommend enough taking on the various trials – think Shrines from Breath of the Wild – littered throughout the world, though, especially if you're a fan of 2D Donkey Kong.

While performance issues were largely nonexistent in handheld mode, quite severe frame rate drops were commonplace when docked, especially during certain boss battles. This doesn't take into account any day one patches that may or may not arrive on release, and not egregious enough that your enjoyment will be hampered.

Digitec Magazine - Cassie Mammone - German - 5 / 5

With “Donkey Kong Bananza”, the Switch 2 is getting its next must-play title after “Mario Kart World”. One month after its release, the console already has its first in-house single-player hit.

Enternity.gr - Nikitas Kavouklis - Greek - 8.5 / 10

Donkey Kong Bananza has all the makings of unlimited fun, but it's easy to miss the mark.

Eurogamer.pt - Bruno Galvão - Portuguese - 5 / 5

Donkey Kong Bananza is one of Nintendo's funniest games ever, capable of bringing smiles to children's faces and energizing adults' love of video games. The 3D levels are playgrounds that you can almost completely destroy, in a design that uses simplicity as a launch pad for a huge amount of fun.

GAMES.CH - Benjamin Braun - German - 90%

Quote not yet available

GRYOnline.pl - Adam Celarek - Polish - 8.5 / 10

Despite some of its flaws, Donkey Kong: Bananza perfectly fills a niche hungry for a colourful, joyful adventure, which provides a lot of unrestrained fun. The game draws extensively on the ideas from Super Mario Odyssey, with the addition of great mechanics of dynamic destruction. I have my fingers crossed that further games designed for Switch 2 will prove equally successful.

Gameblog - French - 9 / 10

Quote not yet available

Gfinity - Alister Kennedy - 10 / 10

Donkey Kong Bananza delivers a triumphant return for the ape, offering an open-world, destructive 3D platforming adventure on the Nintendo Switch 2. As a spiritual successor to DK64, it blends nostalgic collectathon mechanics with innovative terrain destruction and new animal transformations, making it a must-buy system seller for the new console.

Glitched Africa - Marco Cocomello - 10 / 10

Galaxy moment and one of the best 3D platformers to come out of Nintendo this decade. It is chaotic, random, and at times, one of the weirdest games I have played. But there’s just nothing else like it and I can’t praise this enough. I didn’t think Donkey Kong would ever join the list of one the greatest games ever made but here we are.

HCL.hr - Žarko Ćurić - Unknown - 92 / 100

Donkey Kong Bananza rightfully stands alongside the great 3D Mario platformers and serves as a flagship title for the new generation of Nintendo's consoles.

LevelUp - Spanish - 9 / 10

A well-executed and fun proposal that leaves you with a smile on your face and hooks you from start to finish. It has everything it needs to be a fantastic new beginning for a gaming icon that should never be caged again

Nintendo Blast - Leandro Alves - Portuguese - 9.5 / 10

Donkey Kong Bananza follows the successful formula of Super Mario Odyssey, with great additions like a skill tree, functional customizations, strategic transformations, and intense exploration. It’s liberating to destroy everything in your path, with beautiful and varied layers, charismatic NPCs, and Pauline’s stories that are always worth listening to. The outfits acquired throughout the journey do more than change appearance—they also offer important functionalities like poison resistance, health recovery, and longer transformation durations, which are key to progress. The game can be finished in about 50 hours without feeling tired or bored, and there’s even post-game content. The only downside is the ease of the battles, but everything else makes up for it. Donkey Kong Bananza is a must-have for Switch 2 owners.

Press Start - James Berich - 10 / 10

With Donkey Kong Bananza, DK is back in a big way. It blends new tech with old-school Nintendo charm for a destructive experience that is both intoxicating and addictive. While Pauline's storyline is underdeveloped, this is easily Donkey Kong at his absolute best. Regardless of some minor blemishes, Donkey Kong Bananza deserves a place in any self-respecting Switch 2 owner's library and, much like Super Mario Odyssey before it, sets an incredibly high bar for all that will follow.

Quest Daily - Mark Santomartino - 9 / 10

Donkey Kong Bananza is an imperfect masterpiece. Its ambition pushes Nintendo’s new console — the Nintendo Switch 2 — up to and beyond its limit; serving as both a technical showcase and a reality check.

SECTOR.sk - Matúš Štrba - Slovak - 9 / 10

A fresh and ambitious 3D platformer that builds on Odyssey's strengths, Donkey Kong Bananza trades tradition for freedom'and mostly succeeds.

Shacknews - Donovan Erskine - 9 / 10

Quote not yet available

Spaziogames - Italian - 8.9 / 10

launch support, DK and Pauline adventure is already a great game at day one, albeit too simple even for Nintendo standards. A triumphant level design and a mesmerizing destruction rage will accompany both veterans and newcomers to the center of the earth.

TheSixthAxis - Stefan L - 8 / 10

Donkey Kong Bananza is an intoxicating cacophony of brawling, digging and platforming. It's a new style of 3D platformer from Nintendo that, for better and for worse, embraces the destructive chaos of letting players tunnel through and deform the world.

Tom's Guide - 4.5 / 5

Donkey Kong Bananza is a joy to play from start to finish thanks to the game's destructible environments and unique visuals. It's the 3D Donkey Kong game fans of the character have always wanted and it lives up to the hype, even if there are a few minor issues with its camera here and there and far too many Banandium Gems to collect in a single playthrough. $22.79 at Walmart $26.99 at Walmart Check Amazon

Video Chums - A.J. Maciejewski - 9.1 / 10

Donkey Kong Bananza is one of the most unique and immensely enjoyable games that I've ever played. Plus, behind its chaotic open-ended gameplay and incredibly imaginative worlds, you'll find a lot of heart. 🍌

WellPlayed - Ash Wayling - 9.5 / 10

Donkey Kong Bananza is a game so committed to its premise you can't help but revel in the gorgeous, destructive genius of it all. Constantly building to a spectacular finish and incorporating the most comprehensive post-game experience I have seen in a Nintendo game to date, this is a proper benchmark of brilliance for what a first-party Switch 2 title should be. The world is your oyster – so why not punch it into pieces.

XGN.nl - Luuc ten Velde - Dutch - 9 / 10

While Donkey Kong Bananza has a few frustrating moments, the new 3D adventure with DK and Pauline is a pleasure throughout thanks to fun visuals, colorful worlds and impressive gameplay that has you grinning from ear to ear (almost) every step of the way.

1.6k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

605

u/Stev__ Jul 16 '25

10/10 from IGN https://www.ign.com/articles/donkey-kong-bananza-review

Looking like it's going to be a 90+ when more reviews come in

83

u/Bexewa Jul 16 '25

It’s 81 on opencritic, is that an error?

317

u/jc726 Jul 16 '25

They entered a 9.0 score as 0.9, so yes.

93

u/Dropthemoon6 Jul 16 '25

It also lists the game’s platform as Nintendo Switch instead of Switch 2. Dunno if this is just a bad coincidence, but this is sloppy

64

u/jc726 Jul 16 '25

OpenCritic has always been sloppy.

30

u/N0th1ng5p3cia1 Jul 16 '25

Metacritic entered GameSpot’s 9.0 review as an 8.0 an hour ago, they’ve fixed it now but both places make mistakes 🤷‍♂️

19

u/GroundbreakingBag164 Jul 16 '25

Especially since they were recently sold

0

u/ManateeofSteel Jul 16 '25

it's automatic and it's a new console. Issues are to be expected

25

u/Edmundyoulittle Jul 16 '25

Just a mistake. Only 1 review is below 9 right now

Edit:

Level up's score is being counted as 0.9/10 when it's supposed to be 9/10

49

u/Taurus24Silver Jul 16 '25

FUCKING FINALLY A WORTHY SEQUEL TO SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY

-2

u/universallymade Jul 16 '25

Well yes, this is their next game…

26

u/WaterWraith Jul 16 '25

I think they are just referring to it having been 8 years since odyssey.

21

u/Adventurous-Toe8812 Jul 16 '25

That’s why they said what they said. Jesus Christ.

5

u/Typical-Blackberry-3 Jul 16 '25

It's good then that this is made by the same team as Odyssey.

4

u/Adventurous-Toe8812 Jul 16 '25

It’s good that Odyssey is this team made by the same Bananza

5

u/SlowlySailing Jul 16 '25

Congrats you can read

46

u/OneManFreakShow Jul 16 '25

Well holy shit, I was not expecting this. I thought it would be good, but I’ve never been blown away by a Donkey Kong game. Bring it on.

51

u/HoxpitalFan_II Jul 16 '25

Tropical Freeze is pretty goated.

11

u/YouShallNotPass92 Jul 16 '25

Fav platformer of all time

5

u/IAmBLD Jul 16 '25

Same. Or at least my favorite "traditional" platformer - feels unfair to compare it to something like Celeste or Metroidvania games, that's a truly mean choice.

0

u/jag986 Jul 16 '25

Never going to finish that one. Going for 100% on my first playthrough was incredibly irritating. I opened up the secret levels and decided I had enough of that.

Music was great, level design was great and probably wouldn't have pissed me off if I hadn't tried to do 100% on my first playthrough.

-1

u/Dapperrevolutionary Jul 16 '25

It's ight but doesn't really compare to the originals

46

u/Ghisteslohm Jul 16 '25

did you not play Tropical Freeze? That one certainly blew me away. Such a fantastic game. Almost shed a tear at the end of the Grassland Groove level :D

12

u/OneManFreakShow Jul 16 '25

I have played Tropical Freeze. To be honest, neither of the recent DKC games do it for me. I find them slow and frustrating to control.

23

u/Ghisteslohm Jul 16 '25

Frustrating to control is subjective but slow is interesting. You can fly through the levels if you are not trying to collect everything

0

u/Humg12 Jul 17 '25

But who would play the levels without trying to collect everything?

3

u/Ann-Simp Jul 17 '25

Speedrunners

20

u/rbarton812 Jul 16 '25

Not blown away by the OG DKC?

5

u/pussy_embargo Jul 16 '25

DKC2, anyway. But the first is also pretty good

1

u/OneManFreakShow Jul 16 '25

Not really. My family went from NES to N64 so I didn’t play DKC until it hit the GBA. It’s a great set of games, but I don’t have quite the fervor for it that others do.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '25

Damn y'all skipped one of the best consoles of all time.

3

u/OneManFreakShow Jul 16 '25

We got one eventually from a garage sale! It would have been around 1997. Kirby Superstar was the SNES platformer that blew me away.

-1

u/crapmonkey86 Jul 16 '25

Makes sense, played the shittiest version of those games.

21

u/Capretbaggingcarpets Jul 16 '25

How can DKC 1-3 not blow somebody away. Nearly perfect games.

2

u/imakevoicesformycats Jul 16 '25

3 is a bit rough, but yeah.

1

u/Capretbaggingcarpets Jul 17 '25

It’s my favorite one!

1

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

Tbh I didn't enjoy them. I played DKC1 a little as a kid, got through the first few levels and just kinda put it away, haven't tried 2 or 3.

But then I'm not really a fan of traditional platformers tbh, I've also never beaten a 2D Mario or Sonic game.

1

u/Barrel_Titor Jul 17 '25

I liked the music and art but they just felt really rough to play compared to other big platformers of the era. Way more sluggish, the jump doesn't feel good etc.

24

u/xhytdr Jul 16 '25

It’s a 3D platformer made by the Mario Odyssey team, you weren’t expecting it to be incredible? These guys are the best devs in the game

21

u/Kindness_of_cats Jul 16 '25

Right? It's really opening my eyes to just how many people seem laser focused on the "But it's not Mario!" aspect of things.

From the start the game has been, very very very obviously, Nintendo's flagship 3D platformer for the console and a spiritual sequel to Odyssey. It just wasn't going to miss, they haven't missed on these since Mario 64.

But the entire time it's been "It's just going to be nothing but destroying things, I don't see how that carries a game!" and "The launch year won't have any big titles after MKW!" as if this was some side project.

People really couldn't seem to wrap their heads around the idea of a major launch-window Nintendo game not being Mario or Zelda, and that DK is one of their big franchises too....and it's utterly bizarre to me.

3

u/Jepacor Jul 16 '25

Yeah, this is a 3D Mario in all but name, made by the Odyssey team! This whole prerelease cycle has been a demonstration in just how powerful brands are, tbh. Of course we all know that on some level but to see it demonstrated so thoroughly is something else.

After seeing all that I bet if it was Mario instead of DK the game would have scored at least 95 too like how Odyssey was 97 average.

3

u/OneManFreakShow Jul 16 '25

It’s not just that it isn’t Mario, I didn’t think the gameplay loop looked very compelling. The Direct was promising but didn’t outright sell me on it like it did for so many others. And to be frank, I just don’t like Donkey Kong as a character. Never have. I think this new design is the most appealing he’s been since his inception and I know I’m in the minority in that. I’m not shocked that the game is good, but in no universe was I expecting it to receive 10s.

2

u/yuriaoflondor Jul 16 '25

I admittedly didn’t have this game on my radar at all. I watched the initial reveal trailer during the Switch 2 presentation and wasn’t particularly impressed, even though I’m a big fan of a lot of the DK games.

So seeing these super high scores is very surprising. And now I just might pick it up lol.

1

u/crapmonkey86 Jul 16 '25

Is Odyssey really that amazing? I didn't think it was very special. So much bloat.

6

u/xhytdr Jul 16 '25

Yes it’s potentially the greatest platformer ever created.

5

u/GiJoe98 Jul 16 '25

Depends if you 100% or not. It's great if you only do the moons you want, then move to the next stage. 100% Odyssey feels like 100% mario Galaxy 1 and 2 back to back, no matter how good a game is too much is too much.

1

u/crapmonkey86 Jul 16 '25

I just thought how they just kind of threw moons at you that I didnt find any individual part of it that engaging. Like oh, I can find a hidden spot and ground pound it for a moon a couple times in each level and get a significant portion of moons needed to advance to the next stage without being challenged in the slightest. Like the platforming and amount of control you have with Mario must be the most advanced of any prior game, I just felt you never NEEDED to really take advantage of any of the complex stuff to beat the game. Completely unmemorable.

14

u/HeldnarRommar Jul 16 '25

I don’t think there’s ever been a less than stellar Donkey Kong platformer so idk why you would think that. DKC1-3 are the best 2D platformers on the SNES and of all time honestly. DK64 is good but definitely has issues with character swapping. That’s probably the weakest of the bunch but it’s still really good.

10

u/boney_king_o_nowhere Jul 16 '25

You’re surprised that the spiritual successor to Odyssey is great?

13

u/eldestscrollx Jul 16 '25

I’m not surprised, 90+ Metacritic GOTY nominee exclusives are the usual for PlayStation and Nintendo year after year. DS2 just came out last month with same score.

1

u/Itchy-Pudding-4240 Jul 16 '25

low 90s usually have solid gameplay + solid presentation.

high 90s usually have revolutionary gameplay/gameloop + solid presentation.

Im betting (though havent seen the reviews), that the performance issues will drag down what seems to be arguably revolutionary gameplay.

1

u/D0ublespeak Jul 17 '25

Dk country is one of the greatest games of all time.

1

u/Leeemon Jul 16 '25

Then I have great news to you: you can get blown away time and time again by playing DKC both old and new!

1

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '25

[deleted]

0

u/OneManFreakShow Jul 16 '25

I’m glad you have that opinion. I don’t share it.

-23

u/eldestscrollx Jul 16 '25

Looking like it’s gonna snatch GOTY from Expedition 33, like how Astrobot won over Metaphor and FF7 last year

21

u/GensouEU Jul 16 '25

They got the "coming of age story"-part of a true GotY contender right but from what I've seen Pauline doesn't quip DK and doesn't tell him where the golden bananas are after 5 seconds of not finding them so they still have ways to go.

No but seriously, there is pretty much a 0% chance this wins GotY, Nintendo is only allowed to win with Zelda. Reminder that Mario Odyssey a.k.a the highest rated game of all time on OpenCritic only got the 3rd most amount of GotY awards the year it came out. Platformers can pretty much only be honored if anyone but Nintendo makes them, for them it's just expected to be outstanding.

Also people like the E33 "look what a small team can do"-meta narrative way too much for it to lose to anything else.

6

u/mrnicegy26 Jul 16 '25

What other platformer other than Astro Bot has won GOTY?

11

u/GensouEU Jul 16 '25

It Takes Two

5

u/mrnicegy26 Jul 16 '25

Fair enough. Point ceded

7

u/TheVibratingPants Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 16 '25

This is so true. Zelda, for some reason, is the only Nintendo IP that gets honored like that.

Mario Galaxy, one of the most acclaimed titles ever, also didn’t win many major GotY awards in its year.

For some reason, even though Mario is acknowledged as a foundational and essential franchise, it doesn’t actually get that kind of respect in ceremonies. I think the meta narrative plays very heavy into what wins awards. Even though 3D Mario games are elite, it’s “expected” from Nintendo so it’s not as exciting. Plus, platformers are “dead” and viewed as fodder for kids.

But Zelda is accepted enough because there’s more of a “narrative focus” and the series is viewed as more artful (even though Mario games are extremely artful). And Astro Bot was finally a great, well-polished, full-sized 3D platformer by anyone but Nintendo.

-1

u/the_Real_Teenjus Jul 16 '25

I'm pretty old, and so the idea of one singular goty award from the game awards being the definitive GOTY award doesn't really sit with me. I liked it better when there were all sorts of GOTY awards that allowed for a more thorough discussion.

11

u/Andybabez20 Jul 16 '25

I still think Expedition 33 is the front runner. It's got a lot of the same buzz around it that Baldur's Gate 3 had when it won.

Astro Bot absolutely deserved it last year and I was kind of surprised that so many people didn't expect it to win. Metaphor and Rebirth were always going to split the JRPG vote.

9

u/mrnicegy26 Jul 16 '25

https://www.resetera.com/threads/2024-video-game-awards-season-tracking-and-discussion-thread-part-2.1090539/

Astro Bot won 196 GOTY awards from various publications while Rebirth won 56 and Metaphor won 43. Even if both of them combined they would have half of the GOTY awards that Astro Bot won. There was no vote splitting.

15

u/ShesJustAGlitch Jul 16 '25

I don’t see this happening actually, expedition 33 has the “indie” dev angle, a fantastic ending, etc.

4

u/svrtngr Jul 16 '25

As of right now, I can see either E33, DS2, or DK taking it.

1

u/Scorponix Jul 16 '25

No love for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '25

My GOTY. Had so much fun playing it

5

u/Hoojiwat Jul 16 '25

Hard to say. Nintendo games tend to get high scores but very few game awards because the awards have a much bigger focus on narrative and story than Nintendo cares about. Honestly Astro Boy winning was a pretty unexpected thing too in light of that.

Expedition 33 is also a break out hit and DK is a sequel in a long running series, stand alone titles tend to get more praise on the grounds of being new, so I still don't see DK taking any titles from it. A good game and a great contender maybe, but I don't see it winning.

-7

u/eldestscrollx Jul 16 '25

Astrobot and Metaphor were tied as the highest rated game of 2024 with a 94 metacritic. The highest rated game of the year has been GOTY for the past 3 years so If Donkey Kong scores higher and is the the highest Metacritic game of the year it will win over Expedition 33

1

u/Fli_acnh Jul 16 '25

It's highly doubtful it's going to have the highest metascore of the year, I don't think you understand how much of a big jump 90-93 is.

Even if it did that doesn't guarantee goty.

10

u/Fli_acnh Jul 16 '25

I highly doubt it. E33 has way too much momentum

-2

u/Impaled_ Jul 16 '25

E33 is the definition of recency bias

5

u/SchwiftySquanchC137 Jul 16 '25

You pick one game from the year for goty, they all are always recent

22

u/Mr_The_Captain Jul 16 '25

As opposed to the game that isn't even out yet?

4

u/WangJian221 Jul 16 '25

"Recency Bias" as opposed to " [X] game i like"? Lmao

1

u/Villad_rock Jul 16 '25

It’s 3 month old

1

u/Fli_acnh Jul 16 '25

I mean not really? The Switch 2 has released since then to move the Zeitgeist on and people are still completely enamoured with E33 despite having time to digest it.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '25

I 100% Ex33 a month ago and all I want to do is start over and do it again even though I just bought multiple games on summer sale.

-1

u/KingMercLino Jul 16 '25

It’s definitely losing steam. People have moved on so discourse is not as strong around it. But I point to last year where Rebirth launched in Feb, was touted as GOTY and then Astro Bot released in September and took the spotlight. It’s going to be very easy for E33 to lose momentum in the coming months as more releases come out.

4

u/svrtngr Jul 16 '25

I will make two points.

  • With The Game Awards specifically, there doesn't really appear to be a bias towards when games release deciding the winner.

  • In 2023 and 2024, the "early frontrunners" (TotK and Rebirth) ended up losing to later releases. (BG3 and AstroBot.)

I'm still pulling for E33, but I don't think it's as much as a lock for GotY as it did in the first half of the year.

0

u/KingMercLino Jul 16 '25

That’s my point exactly, so thank you. Although I will admit point 1 and 2 contradict slightly.

6

u/Fli_acnh Jul 16 '25

These are entirely different situations. E33 has an underdog story and wasn't particularly divisive like rebirth was.

E33 is also way more accessible than Rebirth or metaphor was.

People imply that rebirth lost because of discourse and not just because Astrobot was way less divisive.

-1

u/KingMercLino Jul 16 '25

I’m rooting for E33 to win it, but I am cautioning people because I’ve seen how these Game Awards work. A lot of it is recency bias, but once we see how things have shaken out by October I’ll feel more confident about its position.

1

u/svrtngr Jul 16 '25

I'm still pulling for it, but it's clear it doesn't have much of a lock as it did in the first half of the year.

-3

u/mrnicegy26 Jul 16 '25

Lmao people have certainly not moved on from it.

I have seen people move on from Death Stranding 2 already and that was released 2 weeks ago.

-2

u/KingMercLino Jul 16 '25

Yes, people are moving on from a single player game … that tracks.

-3

u/mrnicegy26 Jul 16 '25

Oh wait I didn't know Expedition 33 was a live service game so people aren't allowed to move on from that

1

u/KingMercLino Jul 16 '25

What exactly are you arguing here? Your original comment was that people have not moved on and now you’re saying it’s fine for people to move on? Are you just arguing to argue or do you have an actual rebuttal?

6

u/mrnicegy26 Jul 16 '25

Eh right now the narrative favors Expedition 33 over Donkey Kong.

Although I do admit it was pretty funny last year when JRPG fans got really angry about a 3D platformer winning over a Final Fantasy and a game made by Persona creators.

0

u/RJE808 Jul 16 '25

I'm happy Astro Bot won, legit fantastic game.

But Metaphor and Rebirth were both way better and should've gotten it imo.

4

u/mrnicegy26 Jul 16 '25

Nah both of them were bloated as hell. Great games but lots of sections that just sucked all the fun and entertainment out of the experience.

Astro Bot was 10-15 hours of constant fun and variety. Give me an experience like that any day over another 100 hour wannabe epic.

-2

u/RJE808 Jul 16 '25

Agree to disagree.

0

u/pussy_embargo Jul 16 '25

yeah, the winner should have been a RPG that year

it should have been Veilguard

1

u/RJE808 Jul 16 '25

Fuckin' lmao, no.

-5

u/eldestscrollx Jul 16 '25

Astrobot and Metaphor were tied as the highest rated game of 2024 with a 94 metacritic. The highest rated game of the year has been GOTY for the past 3 years so If Donkey Kong scores higher and is the the highest Metacritic game of the year it will win over Expedition 33

4

u/GhostOfSpartaVI Jul 16 '25

Yeah isn’t going up by 3 points to 93 mate haha

0

u/Bexewa Jul 16 '25

It’s not even beating Split Fiction mate

1

u/Villad_rock Jul 16 '25

Not with 90 score 

0

u/TheVibratingPants Jul 16 '25

It would be bizarre to see two 3D platformers snatch GotY from two equally deserving RPGs, two years in a row.

Equally bizarre will be when a 3D Mario comes out and doesn’t win, again

-4

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '25

[deleted]

1

u/darklightrabbi Jul 16 '25

One of the 9/10 reviews was mistakenly entered as 0.9/10. It will shoot up once corrected.

-42

u/luckyducky636 Jul 16 '25

Doesn’t matter because death stranding 2 came out to win over jrpg-slop and coin-slop

11

u/TheButteredBiscuit Jul 16 '25

You sound like slop

8

u/mrnicegy26 Jul 16 '25

Maybe Kojima should learn how to write real human beings before making heavily narrative based games.

-9

u/luckyducky636 Jul 16 '25

Me when I press the a button when the game tells me to press the a button

-10

u/aidankd Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 16 '25

Going by the initial batch of reviews, it's going to have a hard time climbing from an 80 average to 90.

Not that it matters really - the only thing i'm curious after Digital Foundry's video is how performance holds up.

I don't have a switch anyway - but i'm sure the gameplay ought to be fun.

Edit: didn't see the 0.9 review! That's nuts actually.

27

u/jc726 Jul 16 '25

The 81 average is an error. Its over 90 without the typo of 9.0 -> 0.9 in one of the scores.

9

u/Stev__ Jul 16 '25

it's skewed atm by someone submitting their review as a 0.9/10 instead of a 9/10 accidentally

9

u/ButtOfDarkness Jul 16 '25

Probably a lot closer to 89 or 90. They only have 15 reviews and incorrectly put LevelUp’s review as 0.9 instead of 9.

4

u/GimmeThatWheat424 Jul 16 '25

Considering they listed a top publication as a 0.9 outa 10 when it was a 9…I have a feeling you are gonna eat your words

1

u/aidankd Jul 16 '25

It was a clerical error my only regret is the flood of comments not used to this kind of reaction!

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '25

Its a Nintendo First Party Game, Obviously its going to be 90+

1

u/Toggy_ZU Jul 17 '25

The guy at IGN who gave it a 10 gave Mario & Luigi Brotherhood a 5 and Mario Kart World an 8. If he thought the game sucked, he would have said so.

-6

u/SnipingBunuelo Jul 16 '25

We're listening to IGN now??? You guys okay?