Nintendo's Donkey Kong Bananza arrives on Switch 2 with co-op play, terrain-busting powers, and new character Pauline

Bananza comes from the same internal team at Nintendo that developed Super Mario Odyssey, which is exemplified by its storytelling that prioritizes charm and good vibes over lore and dialogue.

Upon firing up Donkey Kong Bananza for the first time with early 2000s bongos in hand, I was expecting to run into compatibility issues. Yet, against all odds, I was able to punch through the adventure's intro rock wall using nothing but a funky beat, and the controller's button pads were already assigned to inputs.