Nintendo Switch 2 Reviews A-L

I have mixed feelings about Donkey Kong Bananza. On one hand, it ticks all the boxes you'd want in a 3D Donkey Kong adventure. It has 15 worlds to explore, a slew of moves, fresh new ideas, and a destruction quotient that's off-the-charts. So why am I not loving it?

In order to exhibit the raw power of the Switch 2, Bananza is a demolition showcase. Not only can Kong punch through just about everything in sight, but he can tunnel up, down, and through walls. Doing so unearths gold nuggets, bananas, fossils, discs, and endless other collectable artifacts. You can practically reduce each stage to rubble.

The smash-em-up mechanic is amazing for the first ten minutes or so. Burrowing can be disorienting as Kong himself is often obscured by dirt and rock. In addition, the endless item collecting gets a little old. I don't have the patience to dig for every last item. You need gold nuggets to enable the "bananza" power-up but they're fairly ubiquitous.

The stages feature all the obligatory locales (beach, desert, forest, ice) and they extend in all directions (especially up). Fortunately a helpful map always marks your next destination. There are a lot of ways to travel quickly including gameways and a new "turf surf" move. Just grab a chunk of ground and use it to surf over the muddy landscape.

I didn't find the stages to be particularly interesting. In fact, I found them to be quite ugly, cluttered with endless junk to bust up. Most are populated by rock monsters that fill you in on what your current objective is. For completists there's plenty of bonus stages to complete, including a few that call to mind Donkey Kong Country (SNES, 1993).

What puts this game over the top is that Nintendo polish. The attention to detail is outstanding, with a cute storyline, charming animations, and upbeat musical numbers. There's a lot to explore, the difficulty is low, and the boss encounters are mercifully short. Donkey Kong Bananza has moments but I'm less-than-thrilled with its "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" approach. © Copyright 2025 The Video Game Critic.

Nintendo continues to pump out unwanted Kirby games like there's no tomorrow, yet I can't get a new Wave Race to save my life. What gives? Judging by the title, Air Riders would appear to be an easy-breezy racer, but it's pretty involved! Upon starting it up I was greeted with a message instructing me to "update via the internet", prompting me to fully extend my right arm and slowly raise my middle finger. I've no time for that nonsense. I bought the cartridge for a reason.

I did feel obligated to work through the tutorials, but didn't realize what I was in for. These things are so tedious and repetitious. Do I really need multiple practice rounds to work on my proficiency in steering? I'm not an idiot! Air Riders uses a mere three buttons, so why are there 29 tutorials? By the time I worked through them all, I had forgotten the basics - and was feeling nauseated to boot!

Kirby Air Riders might be described as a cross between Mario Kart World (Nintendo, 2025) and Super Smash Bros. (N64, 1999). Kirby is a pudgy pink blob who swallows enemies to harness their powers, such as the ability to weild a sword or breathe fire. He races around colorful elevated tracks while standing on a board or floating vehicle. With five opponents and tracks peppered with items and creatures, you can expect all sorts of mayhem between the start and finish.

The control scheme adopts a weird stop-and-go mechanic. By applying the brake when approaching the next corner, you can then shoot forward into the next straightway. This technique works fine on courses with lots of hairpin turns, but in general it's hard to get into a flow. And don't even get me started on having to waggle the thumbstick to initiate a spin attack.

The high-speed tracks are a blur of elevated roadways and flashing colors. You'll glide over lava floes, splash down waterfalls, and wind through caves. Sometimes you'll grind rails like Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm glad the game doesn't let you veer off track or else I'd be flying off every two seconds. I had high hopes for the overhead mode, which offers a perspective similar to Super Off Road (NES, 1990), but erratic controls and confusing icons render it a complete mess.

What salvaged this game for me was the Tour mode, which distills everything down to a series of small, digestible challenges. There are time attacks, treasure hunts, battles, survival challenges, and bosses mixed in with normal races. There seems to be an endless variety. It's all very easy, producing so many unlockables I got tired of clicking through all of them.

Kirby Air Riders has that trademark Nintendo polish and a staggering amount of content. Unfortunately, the underlying game just isn't very good. When playing with friends, most races were reduced to button-mashing and thumbstick-wagging. Brad remarked how everyone would finish within a few seconds of each other regardless of skill level. I gave Air Riders a chance, but this game just makes me want to chip in for Kirby's retirement party. © Copyright 2026 The Video Game Critic.