Reviews// Donkey Kong Country Returns

Barrels are just as useful (and stressful) as before, with the added bonus of sending DK in and out of level planes. Travelling from the foreground to the background and front again adds to the graphical splendour that is required in today’s 2D platformers.

But there are other elements that serve this purpose too - riding on rhinos, travelling on barrel rockets, racing on railcarts and swinging on vines are some of the things that reference the past but are still engaging here. And also, just as tough.

And Donkey Kong Country Returns is deliciously unforgiving - you’ll be spending several lives trying to get over a particularly platform-heavy area. But it’s not the game’s fault - the controls are fine-tuned to perfection, and enemy and level design require you to always pay attention.

There are simply some evil segments that require more skill than you’re able to give it at any one time. Enemies will transform into unavoidable pain in a heartbeat, and platforms that once looked solid could give way without adequate prior inspection. You really need to look before you leap.

Like Nintendo games of yesteryear, Retro Studios has packed a wonderful amount of bonuses and secrets within the game that will take you ages to fully complete. Again, it’s a case of paying attention to your surroundings - discretely-placed pots, flowers and lanterns can all be interacted with either a ground pound or blow, and reveal banana coins, heart pieces, and jigsaws. That’s to say nothing of those infamous K-O-N-G letters within each stage.

Diddy Kong features in the game, but the ability for you to play as him in single-player has been nixed in favour of working as a power-up instead. Crack open a DK crate and Diddy will hop on your back for all time, with his jetpack available for your use to help investigate areas and to hover across gaps to help perfect that jump. If you get hit twice you lose Diddy and the jetpack, which will make you feel naked in a land of hardcore platforming.

Of course, if you get a second player involved you can play a co-op game with Diddy and Donkey working side-by-side. It’s a bit limited in its execution, but the thought and implementation isn’t outright offensive. It makes sense actually.

It’s just a shame that it does the age-old screen-sharing technique of giving players three seconds to get into view if your mate races off ahead. Communication is necessary as well, as 2P can activate barrels and leap in minecarts just as easily as the first player.

SPOnG Score: 90%

There’s no evolution here - only a love letter to one of the greatest 2D platformers ever created. And as an homage, it’s 101% faithful to the Rareware SNES original, and just as enjoyable while providing fresh new elements to boot. Younger players will find it way too taxing, but for those who grew up in the 90s, it’s a perfect reminder of the ‘take no prisoners’ classic Nintendo that we used to know and love.