Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
★★★★ | King of Kong
The distributor provided a review copy.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD isn't just a monster of a title, it's a remaster of a remake based on a 30-year-old title originally released for the Super Nintendo. By all accounts, it should be laughed out of the room for what it is. And yet, the original game is so iconic – so brilliantly designed – that it stands the test of time even after this many iterations. Even as a remaster of a remake, Donkey Kong Country is a joy to play.
The foundations remain unchanged from the original Nintendo Wii title, though it now comes with some extremely welcome quality-of-life improvements that help with the often diabolical difficulty.
In the beginning, players can choose between classic and modern modes, the latter of which provides much-needed boosts to the amount of lives the player has, and introduces an in-game store, where you can purchase upgrades and assists for future levels.
It doesn't make Donkey Kong Country Returns HD a cakewalk, but it does make it a bit more palatable to those who already find the precise platforming sections enough of a challenge.
Luckily, with that out of the way, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD remains a stellar example of brilliant level design that is both challenging and rewarding in equal measure. It's full of secrets, collectibles, and new mechanics to learn, all discovered organically through gameplay. There's an immense joy in finding a hidden part of the world, only to realize that you'd seen similar mechanics way back in the first levels.
The adventure itself is split across a mammoth 80 levels of gameplay, each offering a challenge to even the most hardened gamer. Upon its original release, Donkey Kong Country Returns was criticized for its overbearing difficulty, and despite the more accessible Modern Difficulty setting, the game itself remains a trial.
It's never bad enough that I wanted to stop playing out of frustration, but some times came close. Platformers are a difficult genre to get right, and while Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is one of the best in the business, it still struggles with the balance at times.
Graphically, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD isn't exactly a stunner, but it's everything it needs to be: bright, colorful, and easy on the eyes. Levels are easy to parse, and even without any stand-out accessibility features, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is surprisingly good about letting everyone in on the fun.
The soundtrack, originally composed by David Wise, is reworked for the new release, but the foundational compositions remain as elegant and catchy as ever.
Joonatan
Despite the occasional gripe about difficulty, and the fact that this is the third remaster/remake of a title from 30 years ago, Donkey Kong Country HD remains such a joyous experience that it deserves a recommendation.
Yes, older gamers will grumble that we've seen all this before. Newer generations may balk at the difficulty spikes that remain from the days of yore. But nobody can argue that this isn't the kind of superlative fun we don't get that often anymore. It's a wild, rambunctious experience that's consistently funny, challenging, and immensely rewarding.
It's Donkey Kong as we remember it, and sometimes that's enough.
