It feels strange to be seeing out the twilight months of the Switch with an HD remaster of a Wii game from 15 years ago, but such is the position we find ourselves in with the launch of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. Originally made by the folks at Retro Studios and now remastered by prolific Switch publisher and porting house Forever Entertainment, this challenging 2D platformer is itself an attempt to recapture DK’s glory days from the SNES, making this something of a double dip in the rose-tinted pools of nostalgia.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD reviewPublisher: NintendoDeveloper: Forever EntertainmentPlatform: Played on Nintendo SwitchAvailability: Out on 16th January on Nintendo Switch.
But having played Returns at the time, and again when it came to the 3DS in 2013, it is still somewhat heartening to realise that, yes, this wasn’t just a great platformer in its own right a decade and a half ago – it remains a cracking platformer even now, standing the test of time with its demanding athleticism, pitch-perfect timing and warrens of devious secrets. Viewed in isolation, this is as worth playing today as it ever was, and a stark reminder of just what a great Donkey Kong Country game can be.
However, it’s so rare we view things in isolation these days, and it feels doubly strange to be returning to this when its superior sequel, Tropical Freeze, was ported to the Switch back in 2018 (and still costs a sizeable £50 like Returns HD does). Back then, we were just over a year into the Switch’s lifespan, but to bookend the console with its simplified and slightly drabber-looking predecessor? You can’t help but feel the two games should have arrived the other way round, and if I had to pick one DKC game to play for £50 at the end of a console generation, it would be Tropical Freeze, no questions asked.
Still, let’s not get ahead of ourselves unnecessarily. As I said, there’s plenty to recommend Returns HD on its own merits, especially since it incorporates some of the 3DS version’s added extras, such as its more forgiving difficulty mode where players have extra health and items, and more besides. And right from the off, Returns HD pulls no punches when it comes to putting players through their paces, requiring a dextrous understanding of Donkey Kong and Diddy’s respective abilities and limitations to tackle rigorous run-and-jump gauntlets that surprise and delight in equal measure.