My Brain is Doing Loop-de-Loops Over Donkey Kong Bananza's New DLC: Is It Genius or Just Greedy?
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Donkey Kong Bananza's 'DK Island & Emerald Rush' DLC is a brilliant, roguelike-infused nostalgia trip that fixes the base game's shallow post-launch content, but its hefty price tag and suspicious proximity to the main game's launch leave Jeff wondering if it should have been included all along.
Right then, gather 'round, mates. I've been tinkering with the latest buzz around *Donkey Kong Bananza* and its shiny new 'DK Island & Emerald Rush' DLC, and bloody hell, it's got me doing mental cartwheels. On one hand, it's a piece of content that absolutely slaps harder than DK's chest on a bad day. On the other? Well, let's just say my inner digital wizard is muttering about spells that should've been in the grimoire from the start.
See, when *Bananza* first dropped, I, along with many of you, had a smashing time with it. It didn't quite have the reality-bending, jaw-dropping 'what just happened?' moments of a *Mario Odyssey*, perhaps, but it was delightful, inventive, and a genuinely good time. The one niggling little critique I kept hearing – and felt myself – was that the post-game experience was a bit like a magic trick that ended before you could fully appreciate the flourish. You know, a quick 'poof!' and then... not much left to chase.
Now, Nintendo, in their infinite wisdom (and, let's be honest, their knack for making us open our wallets), has addressed that 'issue' with this new expansion. And fair dinkum, on its own merits, the 'DK Island & Emerald Rush' DLC is a winner. It's not *technically* just a post-game affair – you can dive into its titular island at any point – but it certainly *feels* like the perfect cherry on top of the main game's banana split. It introduces a clever blend of twists on existing mechanics, all wrapped up in a vaguely roguelikey framework, drizzled with a generous dose of pure, unadulterated nostalgia.
Let's talk about that nostalgia for a sec. DK Island. For anyone who grew up with *Donkey Kong Country* in '94, or spent hours on *Donkey Kong 64*, this is a loving recreation of the Kong clan's canonical home. It's less an island, more an atoll (ackshually), but the vibes are immaculate. You've got K. Rool's pirate ship wrecked off the shores, little landmasses shaped like *Jungle Beat* bongos – it's pure fan service, a digital hug for the long-time players. I reckon it was the first Bananza locale I genuinely felt a bit bad about smashing to bits. You can just hang out there, soak it all in, and listen to a gorgeous new arrangement of Grant Kirkhope's hub world music. Honestly, it’s charming as heck.
But the real meat of the expansion, the bit that truly captured my curious, 'what happens if…' gamer brain, is 'Emerald Rush.' Once you've cleared the main game, you find one of the villains washed ashore, leading to the introduction of this wild mode. Essentially, vast amounts of emerald material appear across the map, and your job is to smash and collect it all within a time limit. Sounds simple, right? Ah, but here's where the chaos truly shines: all of DK's abilities are stripped away. You can only regain them by destroying special 'emerald banandium' gems, and *what* ability each gem gives you is totally random. No two runs are ever the same, mate!
This is where the roguelike element truly kicks in. You're forced to adapt, to carefully consider your approach based on what the RNG gods decide to bestow upon you. Suddenly, DK and Pauline's outfits – previously mostly cosmetic – become crucial, as they're one of the few things you can control going into a run. The difficulty ramps up, turning it into a frantic race against the clock, pushing you to master every trick and technique you picked up in the main game. Initially, you’re smashing through DK Island, but as you progress, you unlock this mode across many of Bananza’s 'layer' levels, giving existing areas a fresh, frantic lease on life.
And I have to level with you: whatever I might make of the pricing, this mode *absolutely slaps*. I bloody love it. I've got a long flight coming up, and after just a couple of runs, I knew exactly how I'd be spending a good chunk of that time (after a nap, obviously). The time limits, the high-score chasing – it all pulls you into this incredible trance-like state. It's brilliant post-game content because it demands you truly *understand* all the skills, mechanics, and tricks you’ve learned, deploying them with precision and tactical foresight. What's even cleverer is how it recontextualises moves I’d previously written off as pretty useless in the base game. Now, thanks to the random nature of runs, I've found myself building entire strategies around those same 'useless' abilities. It feels like an utterly natural, clever conclusion to Bananza's exploits, almost like a perfect final spell to round out your wizarding repertoire.
There are also some nice-to-have additions: new statue collectibles for DK Isle, snazzy new clothing, and music discs to enjoy the DLC’s excellent tunes elsewhere. It ticks all the boxes for a solid expansion.
But here's where my gently skeptical, budget-conscious brain starts doing those loop-de-loops again. That price tag. Back at launch, *Donkey Kong Bananza* was a bit cheaper than the controversial £75 *Mario Kart World* (which, let's be honest, felt like a digital highway robbery to some). Now, with a £17 expansion that feels so intrinsically tied to the main experience, *Bananza* suddenly becomes *more* expensive than *Mario Kart World*. And that stings a little, even if I personally reckon *Bananza* is the better game.
This feeling is sharpened by the fact that this DLC offers a richer, more engaging post-game experience than the main game itself. After the brilliantly presented DLC credits roll, a whole bevy of new challenges drop. Mechanically, presentationally, in vibe, in tone – it all feels like the mic drop moment that *should* have been nestled within the base game. The ramping difficulty, the glorious nostalgia bomb (which mirrors *Odyssey's* Mushroom Kingdom unlock perfectly), even the way it recontextualises past areas – it’s all so expertly woven.
The fact that this DLC, which feels so wise in its consideration of how to redeploy the core game's mechanics, was clearly developed during the main game’s production (this article is going live just two months after the base game review!) is a testament to Nintendo's understanding of what they built. Usually, additions this well-considered come much later, after player feedback. But that knowledge also works against my impression. As genuinely good as 'DK Island & Emerald Rush' is… it feels like the missing piece of the core puzzle. And now, we're paying an extra sixteen quid for it. Call me old-fashioned, but sometimes a truly complete experience shouldn't come in two separate boxes. What do you reckon, mates? Are we getting brilliant content, or just brilliantly nickel-and-dimed?
*Original article by Alex Donaldson, Editor-at-large at Eurogamer, published September 15, 2025.*
Tags: Donkey Kong Bananza, Nintendo Switch 2, DLC, Roguelike, Gaming Industry
Original article: Eurogamer