Donkey Kong Country Returns HD review: fantastic new version of a true classic

In the 90s, Nintendo entrusted English developer Rareware with one of its own brands, Donkey Kong. And look what a brilliant idea that turned out to be. The studio created a successful platformer with Donkey Kong Country, pushing the hardware to its limits and creating a graphically impressive game for its time. To this day, no one has been able to copy the unique graphical style.

After two more games, the 2D platformer franchise went quiet. We had to wait until the American developer team at Retro Studios was allowed to try their hand at a new edition of the classic for the Wii in 2010, and later for the 3DS. The result was Donkey Kong Country Returns, considered one of the best platformers of all time.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD now brings that game to the latest Nintendo hardware. As well as the modern 3DS controls, it also offers high resolution for the first time.

Time to stop the banana robbers

Before you even start jumping and collecting, the game gives you the motivation you need to set off on your adventures with Donkey and Diddy Kong. The story can be quickly summarised. In a nutshell, the evil Tiki Tak steal all of Donkey Kong’s bananas, so he has to get them back. If he can punch a few baddies along the way, all the better.

It doesn’t matter that the plot has nothing to offer other than a few nice cutscenes. It means you can focus on the fantastic gameplay sooner. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD requires you to select levels from an overworld that determines the approximate theme, as is typical for this genre. As well as a jungle, you can expect the beach, ruins and even a factory that you have to get working again over several levels.

Simple but versatile controls make for superb gameplay

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is all about running, jumping and collecting various items. The hidden puzzle pieces and KONG letters prevent you from just running through the level left to right, so you always keep an eye on your surroundings. At the end of each world, you’ll come up against boss fights that you have to approach differently to the rest of the levels. The Tiki Tak tribe focuses on hypnotising strong animals that want to go after you or your bananas.

What I particularly like about the game is its high level of difficulty, which benefits greatly from the excellent controls. Although Donkey Kong doesn’t feature a lot of manoeuvres, Retro Studios has made full use of them.

To give you an example, Donkey Kong can drum on the ground with his fists to stun enemies or activate switches. Meanwhile, the forward somersault lets you covers large distances quickly, practical for Time Attack mode or for defeating enemies in your way.

You can use the shoulder buttons to hold on to walls and switches. Another small, unremarkable ability is the way he puffs his lips. Donkey Kong uses this to activate objects that require wind power. So, you’ll mostly use this skill with flowers or candles to find hidden puzzle pieces. Finding these pieces will gradually fill your in-game gallery with pictures or soundtracks from the colourful game world, but collecting the KONG letters is particularly rewarding. Why is that, you might wonder. You’ll have to find out for yourself.

All of this gets even better with Diddy Kong once you free him from the barrels. With two monkeys, you have twice as many lives to play with. Diddy’s rocket barrel also lets you glide in the air for a few seconds. If you play Donkey Kong Country Returns HD with a friend, they can control the little companion monkey and play him separately.

The creative level designs elevate the game from «good» to «brilliant».

The game’s fantastic controls come into their own with the help of its ingenious level design. Retro Studios has clearly done its homework and understood what makes a good platformer. Every areas is bursting with variety. Familiar elements such as minecart levels make a return, but there are also new ideas, including the rocket barrel, that are allowed to shine. This differs from the minecart in that you have to skilfully navigate Donkey Kong across the entire screen while avoiding flying obstacles. In the minecart and rocket levels, your extra lives quickly disappear.

The creative levels also feature exciting opponents. For instance, one level focuses on a giant octopus with tentacles that constantly get in the way. In another level, you have to get to the finish line as quickly as possible, even when not in Time Attack mode. At least, that’s the impact of being chased by a horde of beetles right from the start.

But my highlight is definitely the Music Madness level, where all platforms move to a beat. It’s hard to think of a time when I’ve enjoyed jumping sections in a game more. These three ideas are just the tip of the creative iceberg that makes Donkey Kong Country Returns HD an ingenious platformer.

Is the new version worth it?

The HD edition of Donkey Kong Country Returns combines the experience of the Wii and the 3DS. You can choose between classic motion control and modern button control. The eight additional levels from the 3DS game have also made it into the Switch version.

With Modern and Original mode, you have two options to choose from before the game starts. These determine the difficulty level. In Modern mode, you get an additional heart that lets Donkey and Diddy Kong take another hit each.

If this extra health point isn’t enough, you can find more items in Cranky Kong’s store in Modern mode to make your adventure easier. New features include magic potions that make Donkey Kong invincible for a short time and balloons that save him from a one-off crash.

These modes aren’t to be confused with the classic motion controls of the Wii game. You can select these in the options, regardless of the mode, so you can wield the controllers like you did 15 years ago.

For the purposes of this review, I opted for Modern mode because I’d already played the game on the Wii in Original. The additional hit point helped me get through levels more safely, so I got to experience the game in a more relaxed way than before. Nevertheless, this doesn’t make Donkey Kong Country Returns HD easy, especially not in the later worlds.

The only criticism I have of the more accessible mode is the lack of an option to switch between modes within a game state. You can’t change this once the game has started. Apart from the content and game modes mentioned above, the high-resolution graphics are new. Since the original game already had stylised graphics in 2010 that were respectable by Wii standards, the sharper HD textures aren’t a game changer. The HD version brings the ingenious jump’n’run game to an up-to-date platform, making it great for old hands and newcomers alike. Fans of the game will also have hours of fun with Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. But they probably won’t want to at full price, given the modest innovations.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD will be available for Nintendo Switch from 16 January 2025. Nintendo kindly gave me a copy of this game for testing purposes.