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Donkey Kong Bananza is getting DLC that lets you explore DK Island, complete with a new roguelike mode that’s available today

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Donkey Kong Bananza

Paid DLC for Donkey Kong Banaza Switch 2 expansion is just too small to be “worth $20,” players say: “I like my bananas without scum and greed”

Ashley Bardhan

16 September 2025

Also, I think it’s better when they’re just a little overripe, personally

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(Image credit: Nintendo)

The thought of Nintendo putting out a paid DLC for Donkey Kong Bananza might have been a lot more exciting to fans before they played it.

The $20 expansion, DK Island and Emerald Rush, was announced and released after this month’s Nintendo Direct, barely two months after Donkey Kong Bananza itself launched on Switch 2. This seemingly spontaneous timing might be why, to some fans, the minimalistic DLC is not so much like a cherry on top, but instead doughy banana bread in need of more time in the oven.
“It can’t really be defended,” one post on Reddit says, “but there is absolutely no way this dlc wasn’t already finished before the game was launched or at least close to finishing. This was just cut content, to make more money.

You may like

Donkey Kong Bananza is getting DLC that lets you explore DK Island, complete with a new roguelike mode that’s available today

Donkey Kong Bananza’s horrific poison swamp channels Dark Souls’ Blighttown, but its biggest sin is making me realize how underused DK’s transformations are

Nintendo, I am still waiting for a good reason to buy a Switch 2 – there’s exactly one launch game I care about, and I ain’t paying $500 for a JRPG I played on DS 10 years ago

“I like my bananas without scum and greed.”

DK Island and Emerald Rush consists of, well: a renovated map of Donkey Kong’s hometown DK Island, which includes familiar tropical getaways like DK’s treehouse from 1994 side-scroller Donkey Kong Country, and the new Emerald Rush mode. In the latter, players need to collect emerald ore while completing progressively harder challenges. The mode has a roguelike flavor to it – under the dash of “scum and greed,” of course.
Nonetheless, there are plenty of people who still want to buy DK Island and Emerald Rush “after finishing silksong,” a complete indie game that also happens to cost $20, “but i dont know if its worth the money,” one Reddit user writes.
“It’s not worth 20 dollars,” replies another user about the Donkey Kong Bananza DLC, starting the chorus.

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“I can’t help but think ‘is that it?'” says another.
It took Nintendo devs a year of “squashing and crushing watermelons” to record sound effects for Donkey Kong Bananza: “There were no more good watermelons.”

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Ashley Bardhan

Senior Writer

Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She’s been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she’s written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she’s not covering gaming news, she’s usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

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Donkey Kong Bananza is getting DLC that lets you explore DK Island, complete with a new roguelike mode that’s available today

Donkey Kong Bananza’s horrific poison swamp channels Dark Souls’ Blighttown, but its biggest sin is making me realize how underused DK’s transformations are

Nintendo, I am still waiting for a good reason to buy a Switch 2 – there’s exactly one launch game I care about, and I ain’t paying $500 for a JRPG I played on DS 10 years ago

Donkey Kong Bananza wins the praise of Donkey Kong Country artists who also had the job of redesigning the ape 31 years ago: “Reunited at last!”

Donkey Kong Bananza review: “Destruction isn’t just a flashy gimmick for the Minecraft generation, it’s one of the best inventions Nintendo has had in years”

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