Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Critic Reviews

The real challenge, of course, comes not just from beating each world, but clearing them completely and unlocking all goods hidden throughout. It may not take an exceptional amount of time to simply finish the game, but you’ll certainly put a lot more hours into chasing all the extras.

It's an incredibly crafted platformer with an HD sheen and an insane attention to detail, and any fan of the genre owes it to themselves to experience it. With the addition of control options to the already proven formula, Retro Studios' rendition of Donkey Kong is pretty much flawless.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is oozing with quality and polish in every aspect, and easily surpasses the already outstanding previous instalment on the Nintendo Wii.

Its blissful platforming is the stuff that inspires people to play video games and make even better ones. I loved every minute I spent getting the Kongs back home, and truly wish that Retro rounds off a trilogy with one last DKC game.

Everything in Tropical Freeze was made with extreme care and attention. From the landscapes and enemies to the music and level design. Each island has its own ecosystem so filled with details and different things to do that, as soon as one level is over, the question of what will Retro do next always looms around, and the developer always surprises.

If you’re a Wii U owner looking for something to play, you really can’t go wrong here. It’s exactly the kind of game Nintendo does well, and it’s among their best.

With stunning audio and visuals, combined with gameplay depth and variety, Tropical Freeze has easily cemented itself as one of the best platformers I’ve ever played.

A truly fantastic arcade game that not only plays well (with a few 21st century tweaks) but looks amazing on this next-gen console.

Donkey Kong returns in an outstanding game that, even though is not as surprising or as fresh as the Wii version, becomes one of the best 2D platformers.

Just like the previous game, I yelled alternating cries of agony and relief working through particularly challenging areas. Almost everything is fair and doable with enough focus and patience; the bonus stages are a little ridiculous, but that's to be expected.

Tropical Freeze is a great challenging plattform game. More difficult than its predecessor, better HD visuals and great gameplay. This game is not for all kinds of gamers, but if you're a core gamer, it's for you.

As challenging as the game is, it’s never unfair. It’s rare to come across a game that has you screaming profanities at the screen one moment in a fit of rage, and then jumping for joy the next as you finally succeed.

Tropical Freeze isn't the most ambitious game, but it throws its characters into unique and clever challenges with each new level. Nintendo would be pushing it if they went for another Donkey Kong game in this style, but for now, Tropical Freeze can sit alongside Super Mario 3D World as one of the finest platformers of this generation.

Tropical Freeze is a great platformer full of tense sequences and tough levels. Boss battles are a huge highlight, and it’s packed with hard-to-find secrets and collectibles.

The kongs are back in one of the most beautiful platformers we have seen in high definition. Maybe it lacks innovation, but its incredible rhythm and funny gameplay makes it a must-have for Wii U owners.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze utilises the Wii U’s graphical capabilities beautifully, with levels both stunning in design and looks, and impressive set-pieces that never skip a frame and can test any gamer’s skills. As a single player experience it is near flawless, but the precision of the level design can lead the often fun multiplayer into moments of chaos.

We can't really say that Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is revolutionary because in the end Retro Studios just follows the recipe that worked well on the Wii, but with undeniable success. The HD textures allow better graphics, and the dynamic camera adds depth to the environment. Though the gameplay is precise as ever, we still regret that the gamepad features were not used at all. A bad point when you think that the co-op was well improved during the treasure hunts. The try and die mechanics are quite rage-inducing, but not enough to shake Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze on its feet. Undoubtedly, this game is an instant classic of the Wii U, the first of 2014. Now we wait for the rest of the promised games.

It has an endearing quality that will capture you, and a challenge level worthy of even the most skilled players. The new characters and online features add just enough extras to keep things fresh.

You will try and fail, just to try again in an instant. Donkey Kong's relentlessly addicting simplicity scratches an itch that the more playful Marios and Raymans just don't.

Nintendo didn’t want us to talk about bonus levels and bonus worlds and more hidden goodies, but finding and playing these hidden levels is too good not to add to the report card. Nintendo fans have helped the company through thick and thin, but Tropical Freeze is a love letter to them.