4.5/5 ★ – jkrgamer's review of Donkey Kong Bananza.

Proof that no one makes a platformer like Nintendo. Scratch that -- proof that no one makes a VIDEO GAME like Nintendo. I love this game, but when I started it I had a nagging hot take YouTuber voice in the back of my head going "Destruction? That's not a good 3D platformer, where's the design?" but I soon silenced that voice when I saw just how HARD these devs went: The level design, destruction mechanics, and overall progression are EXCELLENT. First off, the destruction with voxels is super fun. But crucially, you're not destroying EVERYthing, as there are so many different surfaces that have different properties. Some are soft and can be stacked, some are hard enough that they can't be broken without other specific materials, and some have other really interesting interactions with others that I won't spoil here. There's thought and care put into what is otherwise really chaotic and fun action-packed moment to moment gameplay. The exploration of these sandboxes is also really fun. The levels are laid out so you're always trying to get deeper, but the route isn't always straightforward and there are new mechanics introduced practically every level to keep things fresh. The best design choice imo was to have the main collectibles, bananas, power a skill tree system. Theres an ungodly amount to collect, but you're never disappointed to find one because it just makes you stronger! Phenomenal, content-rich game by some of the best game designers in the world. The question is not whether it's better than Mario Odyssey. We get BOTH. We WIN!