Donkey Kong Country Returns HD review roundup: 'a fine remaster'
Nintendo is starting the new year off with some serious monkey business
🍌 Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has a Metacritic score of 77 after 63 critic reviews
🐒 The game has 73% positive reviews, 24% mixed, and 0% negative
🐵 Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a remaster of the Donkey Kong Country Returns for Wii
📆 The game is out on January 16, exclusively for Nintendo Switch
The tie-wearing ape is back in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD for Nintendo Switch, and despite being a remaster of Donkey Kong Country Returns for Wii, which was released in 2010, the game has scored fairly well with reviewers.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is currently on a Metacritic score of 77 after 63 reviews. That’s 10 points less than the game first received when it released on the Wii, but that’s understandable considering this remaster is fairly barebones remaster.
Still, let’s see what critics had to say about Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong’s return for Nintendo Switch.
Vooks enjoyed revisiting DK and Diddy after all these years, and gave the game an impressive 9/10.
“Returns is great, but I am so ready for a new Donkey Kong, whether it be a Country game or something else. We’ve had this game for 15 years and yes it stands up, Tropical Freeze we’ve been treated to twice as well. Now Returns is available to play in the best way possible, so if you’ve never dipped in there’s no better time to, but if you’ve already played this before there’s nothing new here really for you. Still a modern classic.”
TheSixthAxis also appreciated how well the Wii game has held up after all these years, giving it 8/10.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a fine remaster of the Wii platformer, bringing along all the tweaks from its Nintendo 3DS port. It's not much more than that, but it’s still a great platformer.
As did IGN, which gave the game 8/10 and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is “almost as fresh and fun today as it was 15 years ago” though called the remaster “a passable update”.
“DK’s satisfying, weighty movement paves the way for a challenging, momentum-based platformer that demands more skill and precision than the average Nintendo game. But it stays fun rather than frustrating thanks to incredibly impressive level design that explores every clever idea to the fullest and a ton of hidden collectibles worth tracking down.
“As a remaster specifically, it’s no more than a passable update, with graphics that can only really be described as “good enough” and some outdated elements that could have used more modern touches, like a lack of checkpoints during boss fights and a few obnoxious sections full of one-hit kill obstacles. But Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is still a competent update and easily the best way to play one of the greatest 2D platformers Nintendo has released this century.”
Not everyone was bananas about DK’s return, though. Nintendo Life gave the game 7/10 and said it’s unlikely previous players will double dip.
“Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a fine way to play the 2010 original, but it’s also lacking any real reason for fans to double-dip beyond waggle-free controls. It’s less of a remaster and more of a port, to be honest, which would be all well and good if it wasn’t being sold at such a premium. There's plenty of fun to be had, but we can't help but walk away from it with a slightly sour taste in our mouths. Our advice? Grab the superior Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze instead.”
Eurogamer was even less enthusiastic about Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, lamenting the effort of the remaster. It gave it 6/10.
A straightforward remaster that struggles to outshine the Switch port of Tropical Freeze, but Returns HD is still a challenging and satisfying platformer that stands the test of time.
Overall, it sounds like Donkey Kong Country Returns is great for newcomers and fans of Tropical Freeze. But if you already played it over a decade on Wii, you might be best off waiting for DK’s next installment.
Check out the upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox games lists to see what’s up next for Sony and Microsoft’s consoles.
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Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.