It’s hard to believe it’s only been a couple of months since ‘Donkey Kong Bananza’ dropped, and we already have fresh content to dig our claws into. The ‘DK Island & Emerald Rush’ DLC, brought to us once again by Nintendo, is a roguelite take on Donkey Kong that I was eager to get my hands on.

But, before we get into the details, if you wish to read our full thoughts on Donkey Kong Bananza, you can find the wonderfully written review by the talented Bradley Thorsen here.

Donkey Kong and Pauline waste no time embarking on their next adventure together, this time returning to a very familiar location. DK Island. Upon returning home, Donkey Kong discovers that Void Kong has resumed his mischievous mining operations. Rather than kidnapping Pauline again, this time Void Kong is after emeralds, and he enlists Donkey Kong to help him collect the precious green gems. To ensure DK plays along, Void Kong forces him to wear a mining cap designed by Void Co.

This story setup also serves as a clever way to strip away all of your abilities from the base game in preparation for the new game mode, Emerald Rush. In this roguelite mode, you’ll rediscover your abilities as you smash through terrain and collect emerald ore as quickly as possible.

Emerald Rush is round-based, and each round, Void Kong sets a quota of ore you must reach. At the start, the targets are pretty basic, usually around 50 ore, which you’ll collect in no time thanks to the amount of ore veins. However, in later rounds, that number climbs into the thousands. Higher difficulty levels even raise the quotas further, providing a real challenge that I failed a few times. With a strict time limit in place, finding more efficient ways to smash through terrain becomes crucial.

Donkey Kong can recover his lost abilities by smashing Banandium Gems scattered throughout the randomised levels. Health upgrades, base abilities, and even his Bananza transformations must all be rediscovered. Breaking the Banandium gems also grants perks, which often enhance your ability, such as earning extra ore from specific enemy types, spawning more chips from chests, or increasing ore amounts based on the number of skills you’ve unlocked. Perks can also be found by uncovering fossils, turning what were once simple collectibles into essential items for success.

Even Banandium Chips serve a new purpose; they now act as skill points for unlocking your abilities. For example, once I’ve found my health perk, I can use the chips to gain additional hearts. And much like ore, Banandium Chips are found throughout the level, embedded in terrain, hidden in chests, or awarded for completing goals assigned by Void Kong.

Since ore veins don’t respawn between rounds, these goals quickly became my main focus. Completing each goal initially earns you 150 ore, but this amount can be increased through perks. At one point, I was earning 750 ore per goal. Goals also reward a solid number of Banandium Chips, and as soon as you finish one, another appears almost instantly. On higher difficulties, I often found myself tunnel-visioning these objectives and prioritising perks that complemented my build.

Whether you win or fail a round, you’ll earn rewards based on your performance, specifically, the amount of ore collected, the number of skills unlocked, and how many rounds you survived. These ranking points unlock new cosmetics, perks, and additional layers to play Emerald Rush. Eventually, there is even a nice little secret which I won’t spoil.

The cosmetics are fun, Void Co. themed items such as an employee lanyard for DK or Void Co. patterned clothing for DK & Pauline. Our excellent duo even earn promotions based on ranking points, becoming a Banana manager and beyond.

Overall, Emerald Rush is a fun game mode that offers replayability through its randomised perks, different layers and difficulty spikes. While maybe repetitive to some, if you just want more Donkey Kong Bananza shenanigans, this is perfect for you. Of course, Emerald Rush isn’t the only new addition. I briefly mentioned DK Island, which is great to have back, looking fantastic on the Switch 2.

A great nostalgia kick, Donkey Kong & Pauline can relax here at famous locations, take photo ops with some returning characters like Cranky or Diddy Kong and allow Squawks to find statues for the islands, which will cost you some Banandium chips. These statues of characters from Donkey Kong Bananza can also be picked up and used to smash terrain, offering a humorous way to use your new collectibles.

DK Island & Emerald Rush is a much bigger adventure than I expected for a DLC released so soon after launch. While some players might drop off quickly, if what you’re craving is more Donkey Kong Bananza, this expansion delivers the perfect roguelite playground to go bananas all over again. It’s also a great reminder of why this is one of the best games of the year.

Written by: Dylan Kocins