Good Game Get! Donkey Kong Country Returns

The platformer is a Nintendo genre. No one has ever really done it better, and Nintendo’s intelligent decision to have Retro Studios refresh Rare’s old Donkey Kong Country franchise could not have come at a better time in the Wii’s life-cycle.

The game is hard, and some reviewers have complained about that - but they seriously should reconsider the initial origins of gaming which focused heavily on difficulty. Donkey Kong Country Returns focuses on creative level design from start to end and whilst doing that it ramps up the difficulty gradually - until yes it has become fucking hard.

Co-operatively it is an absolute blast and is in fact more difficult with the exception of boss battles to play with another person. You’ll jump on a crumbling platform and your partner won’t be ready and he’ll tumble below and lose one of your shared lives. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but it will force you to communicate with your partner which is a good thing.

We like nostalgia and especially like feeling young. A side-scrolling platformer is a classic formula and while Retro has introduced nothing that feels too new, it does feel almost perfect. Without a doubt Donkey Country Returns is the definitive platformer of this generation.

- Kyle