REVIEW: ‘Donkey Kong Bananza DK Island + Emerald Rush’ Is A Swing And A Miss

Donkey Kong Bananza, developed and published by Nintendo, the latest punching platformer starring the titular monkey, is easily one of this year’s best games. From creative level design to punching mechanics that never stop being fun, it’s a nonstop roller coaster that puts the player’s enjoyment first. It’s unfortunate that its first DLC, DK Island + Emerald Rush, is much less substantial and not worth the steep price of entry. 

The two main components of the newly released DLC are DK Island itself and the new roguelike mode called Emerald Rush. DK Island is beautiful and fun to explore, but the fun doesn’t last long. There’s next to nothing to do on the island. There are a few gold rush levels, a fine way to farm gold if you still need it, but they’re also repeats of levels seen in the campaign. You unlock trophies, which appear on the island and can be knocked over. There are a few other secrets to find, but after that, there’s nothing: no new Banandium Gems to find or other things to do.

Comparing this to the likes of Super Mario Odyssey‘s Mushroom Kingdom level just makes the difference even more noticeable. While that level was part of the game and a full-fledged level, DK Island is a paid-for experience that gets stale quickly. It’s hard not to imagine the possibilities, as the level design is beautiful and intricate, leaving the player wishing for Banandium to find and reasons to explore. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to discover.

As a paid-for experience, DK Island gets stale quickly, making it hard to justify the DLC’s price tag.

The other major component of DK Island + Emerald Rush is Emerald Rush, a new roguelike mode that sees DK and Pauline race against time to collect emeralds. All the Banandium and gold have been transformed into emeralds, with Void Kong looking to monopolize the new resource. DK gets hired as a new member of Void Corporation, and off you go, smashing and collecting away. 

The mode itself is fine, but it also wears out quickly. DK and Pauline run around, smash emeralds to collect them, and complete mini side objectives. These don’t really vary much outside of defeating a certain number of enemies in a specific location, reaching a checkpoint, or completing other objectives. The twist here is that DK loses all his power-ups and abilities, and as you progress, you unlock the same skills that you’ve just spent the entire campaign unlocking. Higher-level difficulties also make the Bananza transformations things you have to find and unlock, which can be a fun twist on the formula.

If you hit the quota in the requisite amount of time, you move on to the next round. You also unlock various modifiers, such as earning more emeralds from enemies or discovering additional treasure hidden within the level. While DK Island is the first location you unlock, as you score higher, you unlock other Emerald Rushes on different levels, which are also featured in the main game. The other rewards are new upgrades or modifiers and costumes for DK and Pauline. And, well, that’s it.

Emerald Rush overlooks the fundamental essence of what makes roguelikes great.

The issue is that Emerald Rush overlooks the fundamental essence of what makes roguelikes great. Finding new power-ups that make each run feel different, constantly changing up the formula, and keeping the player engaged are essential. Emerald Rush reuses the same upgrade path as the campaign, making the same core set of upgrades the only ones really worth chasing. Stronger punches, better collecting, and a few others become mainstays, never really bringing anything new to a run. The enjoyment wears out quickly, as you end up just doing the same thing beat for beat every time.

Emerald Rush is a fine mode, and if it had been a free post-game DLC, then it would’ve been a welcome addition. Hop in, hit a few runs, and move on. The problem here is the price tag. With Nintendo charging $20 for the package, it feels incredibly overpriced for what it actually includes.

DK Island + Emerald Rush get old quickly and don’t feel like sizeable additions to the experience to carry that price tag. Only the most diehard fans looking to reexperience a handful of levels will really get much out of it. 

Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island + Emerald Rush is available now on Nintendo Switch 2.