It's the animations and the more vibrant colors that steal shows here to me. A leap to what was done before really. 

Btb, the monkey is coming for us tomorrow. Kinda excited !! We will join him for sure :3

Bananza is gaming and therapy combined in a GOTY tier platformer.

The best way to describe DKB is that rather than being a 3D Mario with a different lead it's more it's own thing that fills the void left by titles such as Banjo and Conker while having elements of Odyssey in it, DKB is very animated a bit like those animate movies from the likes of Illumination.

Elegant way to put it but yes, DK Bananza has more in reminiscences with the like of Banjo-Kazoie deuteragonist platformers than the likes of Mario usually does. Once again, it's just similar due to some UI and aesthetic choices but it feels like it's own thing nonetheless. 

I think that perception has mostly crossed people's mind already after the last Direct.

Though, I'll see for that myself in a few hours !

Anywoo, I'm also picking Shadow Labyrinth since it has a free upgrade path for Switch 2 and because it might end up being a weird/interesting Metroidvania starring Pacman for Christ sake lol

Fitting, considering who made the insanely popular Mario movie in 2023.

Going into DKBananza with the expectation of 3D Mario was an error on my part. Made the first few hours a bit tedious. Once I moved past that…I’ve been enjoying the game! Movement feels very good!!…not as good as SMOdyssey ofc, but definitely better than any other platformer I can think of. Also, after having been spoiled by the OST of MKWorld for the past month-and-a-half, I feel quite underwhelmed with DKBananza’s OST. Nothing super memorable so far. Can’t even put my finger on a main theme.

Opinions still need to settle, though. Haven’t even gotten past Sublevel 101.

The only annoyance I have personally found is that layers reset when you go back to them... The colours definitely pop more on my TV than in handheld, that screen is awful and washed out.

But the destruction is heaps of fun. Brings back memories of Red Faction back in the early 2000's which is where it seems to have drawn some inspiration from, at least as far as destructibility is concerned... Mix in Banjo and it's a good time.

Shadow Labyrinth is out now on Switch 1 and 2