4/5 ★ – MichaelROLeary's review of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a very good “One of those.” It meets my expectation of a solid DKC game with interesting and fun bosses, challenging but not mean-spirited platforming, and it never overstays its welcome. Something I had always heard about with Tropical Freeze is that is was pretty hard but I found that to not be the case, not in an “I’m very good at video games” kind of way, just in that there are moments where the challenge ramps up but it’s those ebb and flow, it’s not a constant level of difficulty I was fighting against. Soon after those moments it’s also very generous with letting you recoup lives whether it’s organically through collecting bananas or buying them from Funky Kong. But it’s a fun 8 or 9 hours of platforming and collecting, and I adore that the trio of partner characters having their own distinct ability. Cranky is just Scrooge in DuckTales with a boosted cane jump, Diddy hovers, and Dixie hovers before helicoptering up a little higher a la Yoshi’s flutter jump. I found Dixie to be the most universally helpful, but each is beneficial in different ways and will help unlock specific hidden areas and whatnot. I do wish there was a bit more variety in the “vehicle” characters, as you only have Rambi to ride around. I didn’t expect Expresso the Ostrich or Winky the Frog, but there are swimming levels so I did feel the void where Enguarde should have been. Of course, mine cart levels are still a thrill and the rocket levels add a new layer of challenge to the roller coaster routine. I don’t find them to be as good, but it’s a nice change of pace from just “more mine carts.” I still think I prefer DKC 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, but Tropical Freeze is a pretty close second place for me.