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Hi everyone. Today we’re talking about the Switch 2’s first big killer exclusive, but first...

This week’s top gaming news:

• The ousted leaders of Subnautica 2 sued South Korean video-game publisher Krafton Inc., saying they sabotaged the game
• Roblox Corp. is rolling out new safety features, including an AI age test
• GameStop Corp. sold a “StapleGate” Switch 2 for $250,000

Going bananas

Six weeks after hitting store shelves, Nintendo Co.’s Switch 2 has its first must-play single-player game. Donkey Kong Bananza stars the insatiable gorilla pounding his way through endless layers of dirt and rocks on a quest for crystallized bananas.

In June, I wrote about how buying a new video-game console is always a long-term investment. Purchasing the Switch 2 in its first year is essentially betting on its potential. You’re spending $450 plus tax plus accessories in the hope that Nintendo will support the console with a regular cadence of top-notch games for the next few years, like it did for the original Switch. A new gaming machine gets more valuable the longer it’s on the market.

The Switch 2’s launch lineup was thin outside of Mario Kart World, a fantastic multiplayer game that will undoubtedly sell four kajillion copies but is not the type of meaty solo experience that many fans were hoping to play. Some new owners may have wondered: Is that it?

Enter Donkey Kong Bananza, which came out Thursday and is now the fourth-best-reviewed game of the year. (We won’t count the Switch 2 versions of two old Zelda games.) The Washington Post called it “one of the best Nintendo games in recent years.” IGN described it as a “masterpiece” in a rare 10/10 review.

Few video-game characters are as long tenured as Donkey Kong, who first made an appearance in arcades in 1981. Back then, he helped to turn Nintendo into a household name while launching the storied career of his then mortal enemy, a jumpy plumber in a red hat. In those early games, DK was the villain, kidnapping women and chucking barrels at anyone in his way.

Although he was always overshadowed by said plumber, Donkey Kong became a hero in his own right — complete with a snazzy red tie — thanks to 1994’s Donkey Kong Country. The excellent platformer series, designed by the British studio Rare, pushed the Super Nintendo’s graphics to its limits. While the noble Mario was always rescuing princesses, Donkey Kong had a more self-interested quest — hunting down a hoard of bananas that was stolen from him by a gang of marauding crocodiles.

Since then, the gorilla has been the hero of several good games. But he’s never been in the A-tier of Nintendo’s franchises. He’s less a Batman or Superman and more of a Blue Beetle. So it was a surprise to see Nintendo announce that he’d be the star of the Switch 2’s first big single-player title.

Even more of a surprise was the revelation that Donkey Kong Bananza was developed by the makers of 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey, one of the finest platformers ever made. Many fans wondered: Why were they doing this Donkey Kong experiment instead of another elite Mario game?

But given the team’s pedigree, it should be no shock that Donkey Kong Bananza is a worthy successor to Super Mario Odyssey and one of Nintendo’s finest action games yet.

I’ve spent a few hours with the game, and from the start, the team’s design chops are on display. The premise is simple: our lovable ape finds himself trapped underground and must keep going deeper so he and his pals can get back out. Assisted by a teenage version of Pauline, his very own iteration of Princess Peach, DK burrows into the earth, hunting for bananas along the way.

The main gimmick is that Donkey Kong can smash into any wall or surface, sending rock fragments and gold pieces flying as he carves out caves and tunnels. This gameplay conceit is plenty fun on its own, but it’s even better in conjunction with other tools. DK can slap his hands on the ground to emit a radar that senses nearby bananas and other collectibles, so you know exactly where to start punching. There’s little aimless digging. The game is constantly giving you goals to accomplish and treasure to find.

Donkey Kong Bananza extracts every possible interesting idea out of destructibility. Our monkey can rip a piece of rock out of the wall and throw it at enemies or use it like a skateboard to move around faster. He can swing it to break through otherwise invulnerable thorn walls, or he can jump in the air and then jump again on the rock to elevate higher than would normally be possible.

What’s remarkable is just how much of the world you can destroy. It’s easy to stumble upon unintended solutions to puzzles by digging your way around them, and much like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the game seems much more interested in saying yes to the player than in obeying rigid constraints.

Donkey Kong Bananza is structured a lot like Super Mario Odyssey. As DK and Pauline descend underground, they find new worlds, each segmented into different areas and populated with fun new critters, like talking rocks — who you can, of course, break apart. There’s a main story quest that sends you on various tasks, like unclogging a water reserve and fighting rival apes from a malicious corporation. Along the way, there are all sorts of diversions that will often lead to new bananas.

Like moons in Super Mario Odyssey, bananas are not rare but just uncommon enough to feel like a satisfying reward for solving a tricky challenge or tunneling into the right cavern. They also help unlock a skill tree full of enhancements that can make DK stronger and faster.

The game is full of little flourishes that help remind you why Nintendo is so revered. Try to punch a friendly character and DK will simply give him a high five. Dig into a cave and the music will fade and reverberate, then swell again when you return to the surface.

I don’t know if Donkey Kong Bananza can single-handedly justify the purchase of a Switch 2. But if the new console picks up more games like this in the months to come, it will soon be a must have.

What to play this weekend

If you’re looking for something a bit less frenetic, check out Nurikabe World, a meditative, Minesweeper -inspired puzzle game in which you have to carve out islands in just the right way. I’ve been playing it at night on my Steam Deck. It’s excellent in 30-minute bursts and a nice way to wind down.

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