Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush

DK Island and Emerald Rush is a dichotomous, albeit controversial, DLC addition to the already fantastic Donkey Kong Bananza. The former is a love letter to DK’s past; it’s a letter that is best appreciated by those who want that trip down memory lane. The latter, though, is a highly replayable and ever-so-engaging roguelite mode that takes things up several notches to truly test your mastery of Bananza’s mechanics. You shouldn’t consider this DLC unless you’ve completed Bananza or intend to do so.

Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush is such an exciting chunk of DLC that breathes new life into an already incredible experience. From chilling at DK Island to frantically punching everything in sight during Emerald Rush, you'll have a barrel of fun.

Ultimately, the DK Island & Emerald Rush DLC is a ton of fun and took me a lot of time to fully complete. DK Island may be lacking in substance but is filled with nostalgic bliss. I also found myself quickly addicted to the Emerald Rush mode and had a blast learning and strategizing along the way. While there are a few minor issues I still think it’s a solid addition to the base Bananza game and I highly recommend it to people that are in love with the mechanics Bananza and are looking for a new way to enjoy them within the same world.

If you loved Bananza, this DLC is a no‑brainer. It’s a banana‑blast of nostalgia and new thrills that keeps the jungle party going—and proves that Donkey Kong still knows how to surprise us.

While there’s no discernible reason that DK Island shouldn’t have been included as a bonus layer at the end of the base game, especially with the DLC releasing so soon after launch, Emerald Rush nonetheless adds worthwhile replayability to Donkey Kong Bananza with an engaging new mode that encourages you to take full advantage of the game mechanics. If you’ve already completed the main story and are looking to prolong the game further with a more challenging roguelike twist on Banandium destruction, Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush is paid DLC that is worth your consideration.

If you’re looking for a fast, frantic roguelite Donkey Kong experience, Emerald Rush is perfect for you. The core gameplay loop is focused and rewarding, with new systems turning old levels into fresh experiences. The progression system is simple yet effective. And the mechanics of the base game are given new life in the DLC. On the other hand, the whole thing feels pretty insubstantial. After a couple of hours, you feel like you’ve seen it all, more or less. While there’s a lot of potential meat on the bone, it’s all wrapped up in perfecting your runs. If you’re not in love with that arcade, roguelite style, there’s really nothing for you. Though it’s definitely not for everyone, you might end up having a lot of fun with Donkey Kong Bananza’s DK Island & Emerald Rush DLC.

If you're into roguelikes, you're likely to enjoy DK Isle + Emerald Rush, with its secrets and unlockables, although those who don't see the appeal of this gameplay formula may find it a little lacking in new content. At least it has plenty of nods and curiosities for fans of the series.

Rougelite attempts are divisive by nature, but if you are the kind of player who enjoys this absolutely fine, then you will have a blast here. It also showcases the best parts of Donkey Kong Bananza in small pick-up-and-play chunks. The itching feeling that the location should have been included in the base game rarely goes away, however, especially with very little to do outside of Emerald Rush mode and the rich price tag. One for completionists only.

Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island + Emerald Rush is a DLC that does a very good job at delivering a challenging experience and at rekindling the players' relationship with the original game thanks to its new, stimulating roguelike mode and to the nostalgia-inducing settings of old DK Island. This DLC does not intend to reinvent DK Bananza's experience, so it focuses its value on adding new experiences to the original game, but it does so in a very fun and friendly way which fits nicely with fans of Bananza who want to get a bit more out of that game.

I wish Emerald Rush had introduced more new abilities and enemies to keep me around a bit longer than the 10 hours I’ve put in so far. If you’re hungry for more DK and aren’t opposed to a remixed, roguelite formula, Emerald Rush is probably worth the additional investment. Otherwise, Bananza’s DLC is an enjoyable but inessential expansion to DK and Pauline’s grand adventure.

Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush feels like a split banana. The new roguelike mode is a lot of fun, gelling surprisingly well with the game's core mechanics and giving me a welcome excuse to swing back into my beloved Bananza, but the other half of the deal, DK Island, left me feeling a little short-changed with its lack of appeal outside of the new game mode. Bananza constantly reminded me of Odyssey as I played through the base game, and now it seems, much like its platforming predecessor, I'm going to be forever thinking about the DLC potential that never was.

Donkey Kong Bananza’s DK Island + Emerald Rush DLC is a decent enough expansion that is NOWHERE near worth the asking price.

It's a hard sell at the price of $30 AUD. With little to do on DK Island but to appreciate the nods to the past, Emerald Rush needs to add enough to give players something to do, which it does, depending on how much you enjoy time-based smashing challenges through layers you’ve seen before. Hopefully, there will be a sale on the DLC at some point; otherwise, I could only really recommend it for those who love Donkey Kong Country or roguelite side modes.

Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush gives you a neat, though largely empty, rendition of DK Island to explore and a cool side mode to master. It’s a fun little extra that would’ve made for a fantastic free update, but it's certainly not worth the relatively steep asking price.

Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island and Emerald Run breaks the house, but not in the way we'd like. This Nintendo icon's return home via DLC isn't the one we'd dreamed of. While this Emerald Run mode extends the experience of satisfying gameplay (provided you've completed the game), it doesn't offer enough varied and entertaining content to make it a must-play. Similarly, DK Island serves only as a destructible backdrop for this side mode: no banandium crystals to discover or other challenges to try, despite the environment being pleasant to explore. As Pauline so aptly puts it at the end: emeralds aren't worth bananas...

Maybe if you’re extremely desperate to play more Donkey Kong Bananza and really enjoy the roguelite genre, you may have some fun with DK Island & Emerald Rush. Otherwise, you’d probably be better off just replaying Donkey Kong Bananza or buying a true roguelite game, which costs $20 and features twice the content.

The first DLC of Donkey Kong Bananza never comes close to the highs of the main game. Its new roguelike elements are underdeveloped, resulting in a tiring and repetitive experience.

DK Island + Emerald Rush get old quickly and don’t feel like sizeable additions to the experience to carry that price tag. Only the most diehard fans looking to reexperience a handful of levels will really get much out of it.

DK Island & Emerald Hunt tries to feel fresh, but mostly comes off as a quick cash grab. Fun for a short while, but the repetition kicks in fast and the fun quickly fades.