Home Donkey Kong Country Returns HD gives a much loved spinoff a Switch closeup

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD gives a much loved spinoff a Switch closeup

tl;dr

  • Donkey Kong Country Returns HD for Switch was featured in the June 2024 Nintendo Direct.
  • The game includes 80 levels, two-player co-op, and features characters like Donkey, Diddy, and Rambi.
  • Originally launched in 2010, the HD version releases on Jan. 16, 2024, for Nintendo Switch.

In a lineup starring Metroid, Zelda, and the Mario brothers, perhaps fans of old-old-old school Nintendo character Donkey Kong (among the first three) felt a little overshadowed during Tuesday’s June 2024 Nintendo Direct. If that’s you, well, here’s a closer look at Donkey Kong Country Returns HD for Nintendo Switch.

In addition to Messrs. Kong Donkey and Diddy, romping, stomping, rolling, and recovering their lifetime supply of bananas from the Tiki Tak Tribe, we also see the rhino Rambi rumbling through the hazards with the heroes aboard.

It’s more than just a coat of high-definition polish. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD will have 80 levels in all, which means the game gets all the extra levels that were included in the 2013 port to 3DS, called Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. It’ll also include two-player couch co-operative play, which seems like a natural fit for a game starring two characters.

The original Donkey Kong Country returns was a hit on two platforms

Originally launching for the Wii in 2010, Donkey Kong Country Returns reviewed well on two platforms. It sold even better, and very quickly at that, gathering more than 4 million units sold in its first month. It was followed in 2014 by Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, which later was ported to Switch in 2018.

Donkey Kong Country Returns was re-released on Wii U via the eShop, but it has since been delisted, probably when eShop support for that platform ended back in April.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD launches Jan. 16 for Nintendo Switch.

Featured image via YouTube

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Owen Good
Gaming Editor (US)

Owen Good is a 15-year veteran of video games writing, also covering pop culture and entertainment subjects for the likes of Kotaku and Polygon. He is a Gaming Editor for ReadWrite working from his home in North Carolina, the United States, joining this publication in April, 2024. Good is a 1995 graduate of North Carolina State University and a 2000 graduate of The Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, in New York. A second-generation newspaperman, Good's career before covering video games included daily newspaper stints in North Carolina; in upstate New York; in Washington, D.C., with the Associated Press; and…