Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong Bananza is a 2025 platform game developed by Nintendo EPD for the Nintendo Switch 2. The player controls the gorilla Donkey Kong, who ventures to the planetary core with the teenage Pauline. Similar to EPD's Super Mario Odyssey (2017), the player explores sandbox-like levels while completing objectives, battling enemies, and collecting objects. Bananza is distinguished by its destructible environments; the player can destroy most terrain to create paths and find items. They can upgrade Donkey Kong's abilities by collecting banana-shaped diamonds and obtaining power-up transformations.

EPD began working on Donkey Kong Bananza following Super Mario Odyssey's completion, following a request from the manager Yoshiaki Koizumi. It was the first internally-developed Donkey Kong game since Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (2004), and Koizumi and Donkey Kong's creator Shigeru Miyamoto provided input. EPD wanted to honor Donkey Kong's past while establishing a new direction. They made greater use of the voxel technology that allowed players to manipulate terrain in some Odyssey levels, with large, destructible worlds emphasizing Donkey Kong's strength. The development began on the original Nintendo Switch, but shifted to the Switch 2 due to technical constraints.

Nintendo released Donkey Kong Bananza on July 17, 2025, following a marketing campaign that included Nintendo Direct presentations, demo exhibitions, and live service game events. It was the first original Donkey Kong game since Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014) and the first 3D platformer since Donkey Kong 64 (1999). Bananza received acclaim; critics considered it the Switch 2's killer app and praised its visuals, gameplay, level design, and story, but criticized the camera and frame rate. It has sold 4.25 million copies, making it the second-bestselling Switch 2 game. It was one of the highest-rated games of 2025 and was nominated for numerous accolades, including Game of the Year.