by Kyle Y.
Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010)
Retro Studios’ Donkey Kong Country Returns is by far one of the best platformer games I’ve ever played. After the Tiki Tak Tribe take over Donkey Kong Island and steal all of Donkey Kong’s bananas, the player must go through eight worlds to defeat the Tikis. Each world has about seven levels, and each level is incredibly creative and fun. From riding whales to traversing a music themed factory, the level concepts in this game are unexpected, extremely creative, and well designed. And the small details in this game are personally my favorite part of the game, particularly the transition between worlds. When transitioning from one world to the next, the level doesn’t just place the player in a different environment. The first level of the forest world, for instance, does not simply start in a forest. It starts with the previous world’s environment, which is the cave. The player climbs up a giant, hollow forest tree which connects the cave to the surface before actually entering the new forest world. And the level transitions get even more creative than this one. For example, how does one transition from a prehistoric cliff to a factory? Retro Studios makes the player start in the cliff world, but there is an intense smoky fog that makes the player only able to see silhouettes of the level. This allows the transition to go smoother as Retro Studios doesn’t have to create a background environment and can simply slowly replace the stony, unstable cliff platforms with machinery and steel. By the end of this level, when the player is deep into the factory, the player learns that the smoky fog in the beginning was created by the factory and after turning on a switch and removing the smoke, the player can finally fully see the factory environment. While this detail is a small one that most players would overlook, I personally think that the small details such as this one all contribute to making this game one of the best platformers. Additionally, there are two types of collectibles in every level. One type is KONG letters, which usually involve tricky platforming to obtain. The other type is puzzle pieces, which are more about completing bonus rooms and finding hidden areas in the level. Both add more depth and challenge to the already well designed levels. The only criticism I have of this game is that this game uses motion controls of the Wii remote, and while I have become mostly used to these controls, many people dislike these unresponsive motion controls. Overall, this game is amazing and one of my personal favorites. 9.5/10.