Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

2014

platform
action
single player
multiplayer
co-operative

The story

All the challenging ground-pounding, barrel-blasting, side-scrolling mine cart action from the Donkey Kong Country series is back along with a bushel of new game-play elements and features. And now, there are four playable characters! Dixie Kong is back to join the adventure as a playable character alongside Diddy Kong, and for the first time in Donkey Kong Country, bearded old hero Cranky Kong joins the adventure with his bouncy cane. Any of the three can buddy up with Donkey Kong, and each character offers a different gameplay experience. On their journey to reclaim Donkey Kong Island, Donkey Kong and his friends travel across five islands with a variety of stages that include underwater areas and frozen environments.

What it’s like

Bright, saturated tropical islands rendered in lush pre-rendered-style painterly textures, with sun-warmed jungle greens, glittering turquoise seas and snowy peaks that shift the palette into cold blues and pale whites. The camera follows the action in a 2.5D side-on view, with tight parallax layers of foliage and waterfalls drifting behind the characters as they bounce, roll and blast through barrels. The soundtrack is a lively, buoyant mix of tropical percussion, marimba and brass, with bouncy, playful cues that give way to icy, hushed textures in the frozen stages. Play has a satisfying, responsive weight at a smooth 60 frames per second, and the pace is brisk but forgiving, with stages that reward careful timing over reflexes. Vibe: sunny, energetic, warm-hearted fun, with a cheerful mischief that suits a weekend afternoon, a shared couch session, or a comfort replay. Its violence is cartoon-slapstick: enemies are stomped and bopped away with no blood or gore, and fear is minimal, with only occasional tense moments in the deeper mine cart sequences. It suits players who want co-operative platforming with four distinct characters, or anyone who likes gentle, skill-based challenge in a colourful world.

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