The fifth installment of the Donkey Kong Country Series, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is filled with treats for the eyes and the mind. Retro Studios and Monster Games developed it following the Donkey Kong Country Returns sequence. It was released in February 2014 on Nintendo Switch and Wii U platforms. 

Following a  family of monkeys who venture through the wild to save their home, the game features new characters with special abilities that improve it. I had a great time exploring the world in this platformer game as attention was paid to the design, soundtrack, and level complexity. It also comes with the co-op play game, which means you can share its goodness with friends. The game goes for about $59.99.

Incredibly Dynamic Gameplay

Some villainous Snowmads have frozen over Donkey Kong Island. As a result, the Donkey Kong family has to journey through seven different islands to save their home. The final battle with the Snowmad leader Lord Fredrik takes you to the depths of a volcano for a red-hot finale, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The game follows the side-scrolling platform of the Donkey Kong series. There are a few new moves, such as plucking out items and throwing stunned enemies, which both come in handy. You also get to customize controls of your own, which give dynamic gameplay. Still, don’t confuse it; these features won’t make Tropical Freeze a walk in the park.

If you have played previous games, you know that the main character you control is Donkey Kong, but he goes around with a companion whom a second player can control. One of the most important aspects of the gameplay revolves around the character you choose to go on the adventure with. One new character in Tropical Freeze is Dixie Kong, who spins her ponytail into a propeller, slowly lifting you and enabling you to touch previously unreachable heights.

You also get Cranky Kong, who bounces over dangerous surfaces on his cane to reach elevated areas and defeat certain enemies. You will be able to defeat all the enemies on the screen once you have filled up your ‘Kong-Pow meter.’ I must state that the difficulty level in this game is not for the faint-hearted. You may sometimes need to go through a particular stage multiple times before you can crack a way through. I eventually got the hang of it the more I played, and the gameplay became more familiar but never easy. The major challenge comes in the boss fights, which are long and grueling. 

But as you play repeatedly, you discover that every boss has a tell that makes them vulnerable, which you can exploit to victory. You can waste more than ten lives trying to get past a single checkpoint as the game pushes you to think outside the box and look out for well-hidden treats. This may be why the developers included the ‘Funky Mode’ in the game. Funky Mode is basically an easy mode snuck in for newbies.

Co-Op Play Needs Some Work

The game’s difficulty level is even more upsetting with the co-op play. It is riddled with many challenges, the first of which is how the second player is carried on Donkey Kong’s back almost throughout. You cannot have total control as a co-op player, making you feel useless until Donkey Kong needs your special powers. I guess this would suffice If the second player is not as experienced with the game, but if you are a big Donkey Kong player, you would surely hate being carried around like Kong’s infant.

Then there is the same screen confusion. This cooperative play is so annoying that it feels rushed through, and little thought was given to it. For your second player to change, they need to leave the game completely, which messes up the gameplay altogether.

Visually Stunning Graphic Design

The game developers paid great attention to the game’s graphics. It looks like something off a Pixar or DreamWorks production. From the frozen wilderness and underwater idylls marred by giant octopus tentacles to the steaming volcanoes, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is visually stunning in many ways. This gets better when you play on a bigger screen because the quality remains the same, especially on Nintendo Switch.

The game comes with great depth and details in the backdrop. Every character also moves with fluidity and nuance. They felt like they were given specific designs on how each should move. This nuanced movement elevates the gameplay because you can choose to approach each level with a different set of movements.

Impressive Tropicana Soundtrack Sits Well With Gameplay

I can’t overstate how great the sound design for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is. It is spirited and keeps you going. The jamming Tropicana soundtrack propels you forward when you fall into pits or stand toe to toe with a mean boss owl or sea lions. The characters also come with specific grunts and sounds that are quite believable. All these make the six-hour-long adventure all the more worth it. 

Conclusion

In Conclusion, if you think you have experienced all that platformer games are willing to offer, you are in for a pleasant surprise with this one. Despite the somewhat difficult-to-overcome level, you experience the game in many different ways each time you play. Levels are long but enjoyable. The boss fights are longer than the average one but feel even longer because of how hard it is to overcome. 

I must confess I enjoyed the Nintendo Switch version more than the Wii U version for the smooth, improved gameplay and other subtle improvements. I would greatly recommend it if you enjoy overcoming obstacles. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is for you if you can fail 19 times and eagerly plunge in for the 20th time.