Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

 Switch
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 746 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 631 out of 746
  2. Mixed: 67 out of 746
  3. Negative: 48 out of 746
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  1. TheDoomSlayer
    Jun 22, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great game, fun platformer w zabi w 9lawiya w nik souwa ta3 matkom y'a Zab ta3 nami… Expand
  2. TitaniumDragon
    Mar 8, 2020
    6
    Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is the fifth game in the Donkey Kong Country series, though it is more of a direct sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns than it is to the first three games. As with the other games in the series, it is a 2D platformer whose central movement “gimmick” is the ability to roll along the ground or off ledges and do an air jump. This creates a burst of speedDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is the fifth game in the Donkey Kong Country series, though it is more of a direct sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns than it is to the first three games. As with the other games in the series, it is a 2D platformer whose central movement “gimmick” is the ability to roll along the ground or off ledges and do an air jump. This creates a burst of speed and momentum which can propel you along.

    The other central gimmick of this game is having a secondary character ride along on your back. These characters are released from barrels in levels, and in addition to giving you two extra hit points (on top of your normal two), they give you the ability to float in midair (Diddy Kong), do a floaty double jump (Dixie Kong), or pogo bounce super high and avoid getting harmed by spikes if you time your jumps correctly (Cranky Kong). This sounds really neat, but unfortunately, 95% of the time you want Dixie Kong and the other 5% of the time you need Cranky’s ability to pogo jump and dodge getting hit by spikes instead, with Diddy’s ability being almost totally worthless. As a result, this mechanic, as cool as it sounded at first, is pretty underdeveloped. Each of them also has an underwater “propulsion” ability, but again, Dixie Kong’s is not only the most useful, it’s the only one that is necessary to reach certain secrets.

    Like previous DKC games, the game consists of a series of middling difficulty 2D platforming levels, each of which has its own particular gimmick. This can be anything from going through a fruit factory and jumping off of sliced fruit to navigating through an underwater maze to jumping off of a bunch of cloud-covered platforms that propel themselves through the air and fade as you ride on them, forcing you to move swiftly to avoid falling into a bottomless pit. Indeed, the game is rather fond of bottomless pits in general, particularly in the more difficult stages, where you must jump from platform to platform or enemy to enemy, often with a time limit due to the platforms starting to fall apart after touching them.

    Interspersed with these levels are “vehicle” levels, which really consist of three kinds of levels:

    • Mine cart levels, where you ride in a mine cart and jump over obstacles while moving forward along rails at a constant speed.
    • Rocket levels, where you ride along on a rocket that can be navigated up and down, but which progresses laterally at a constant rate of speed, forcing you to dodge obstacles as you go
    • Rambi the Rhino levels, where you ride on the back of Rambi the Rhino, who can crash through obstacles, walls, and enemies with ease, resulting in lots of environmental destruction and speed as he charges around horn-first.

    Unfortunately, while the game does have a reasonable amount of variety, and the game has a lot of visual spectacle, it doesn’t really quite feel like it is as good as DKC 2 or DKC 3, which is a bit of a let-down.

    The most obvious way that this was the case was the lack of variety in the “bonus rooms”. In this game, there’s puzzle pieces and KONG letters, both of which serve as collectibles in each level. Some of the puzzle pieces are acquired via going into secret bonus rooms, either hidden barrels or entrances in the wall or whatever, which takes you to a separate mini-stage. In DKC 2 and DKC 3, these were all unique little mini stages, each appropriate to the level. However, in this game, the bonus stages are all the same – there’s about six or so room layouts, and they’re repeated throughout the game. They’re all pretty easy, and none of them are creative in any way. This is quite the letdown, and makes them a lot less interesting than they were in the original games.

    But the other issue is more subtle – the levels just don’t feel quite as high quality as the original games’ levels did at times. This game is much more visually impressive, and some of the levels have rather cute gimmicks to them, exploiting the background and doing more in the department of visual spectacle. And yet, the levels still feel slightly lacking, a bit rote. There's just a bunch of niggling little flaws that all add up to make the experience less than amazing.

    Overall, this is a pretty solid platformer. It was fun enough to play through, and while the game wasn’t overly long, probably clocking in around 20ish hours to grab all the collectibles, it wasn’t overly short, either. But it just doesn’t have that extra level of quality to put it over the top in the way that DKC2 did. In the end, I’m left feeling content but ambivalent about the game.    … Expand
  3. donmopa
    Nov 12, 2020
    5
    Mediocre sequel

    I don't fully understand those reviews saying that this game is the 2D platform ever developed or a masterpiece. I have played DK1 & DK2 not so long ago and they are still great games. Not to mention other great SNES' 2D platformers like Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Mega Man X, or Super Castlevania IV. As pros, this game has impressive art and good animations.    Mediocre sequel

    I don't fully understand those reviews saying that this game is the 2D platform ever developed or a masterpiece. I have played DK1 & DK2 not so long ago and they are still great games. Not to mention other great SNES' 2D platformers like Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Mega Man X, or Super Castlevania IV.

    As pros, this game has impressive art and good animations. Boss fights are it top notch. And, of course, in nice to play with Donkey Kong as our heart hero from the old days.

    However, it is clearly obvious that this game was developed by a team that didn't understand the essence of prior games of the series. Game mechanics are not well designed, sometimes it's difficult because it required skill development, just because it's has clumsy controls and you have to try and try to achieve advance. Game design experience doesn't really dare you to explore the world, this was one the most important thing of prior installments. Music is only a remix, no matter that Davis Wise is still in the project. Additionally, bonus games are repetitive and uninspiring. And finally, main characters as Diddy & Dixies were relegated as mere Donkey's accessories, not to mention that they completely erase secondary characters and only keep Rinho, with this the game lost a complete set of alternative game mechanics.

    It's not a terrible game, indeed it could be enjoyable. However, really far away to be a need to be played or a must-have.    … Expand
  4. GoldfingerXL
    Apr 19, 2020
    5
    Having been a big fan of nintendo's franchises all my life and missing out on the Wii U, I decided to give this title a go on the Switch. During the first hour I was high on nostalgia. The memories of playing DKC2 and 3 as a kid came back to me and I liked the feeling. After that initial rush however, I started to notice some serious issues and as of right now, I am in world three andHaving been a big fan of nintendo's franchises all my life and missing out on the Wii U, I decided to give this title a go on the Switch. During the first hour I was high on nostalgia. The memories of playing DKC2 and 3 as a kid came back to me and I liked the feeling. After that initial rush however, I started to notice some serious issues and as of right now, I am in world three and struggling to pick it back up and continue where I left off.

    Firstly, the controls feel so unresponsive. I never seem to time a jump right and DK moves so sluggish. It also doesn't help, that the y button has two actions attributed to it. A roll and slamming the floor. This often results in rolling of a platform when you just wanted to slam a box.

    Secondly, the level design is poor. It is just based on trial and error. When I was not dying rolling off platforms or untimely jumps, I died because said platforms suddenly collapsed right under me without any warning. The levels I played looked great, but they did not play great. In past games of the franchise, that was a totally different story.

    Overall, I am quite disappointed with the game. Great visuals and nostalgia are nice and all, but it goes to show that a tight control scheme is vital for a platforming game to succeed. Combine the unresponsive controls with bad level design and here's a game from a beloved franchise I don't know if I will want to finish.    … Expand
  5. lomri
    Jun 9, 2018
    7
    My biggest complaint for this game is that it's not fun.
    The levels are really hard, and I rarely get to a point where I try to find the puzzle pieces or the KONG letters. On most of the levels I'm on a 100% focus, since I really hate returning to the previous checkpoint. They also put hidden bonuses right after a checkpoint (which you have to do over again every time you die), which is    My biggest complaint for this game is that it's not fun.
    The levels are really hard, and I rarely get to a point where I try to find the puzzle pieces or the KONG letters. On most of the levels I'm on a 100% focus, since I really hate returning to the previous checkpoint. They also put hidden bonuses right after a checkpoint (which you have to do over again every time you die), which is just annoying and doesn't contribute to the difficulty of the game.
    I know they added the funky kong to target that problem, so I'm just talking about the regular play mode.    … Expand
  6. GlenGames
    May 11, 2018
    7
    If you loved DK on the SNES you'll love this game. It's pretty short though and pretty easy. The controls are kind of whacky which will result in you rolling to your death when you'd rather ground pound and vice versa. The final boss is an absolute travesty though, way too repetitive and easy. I wish funky mode was something other than just super easy mode.
  7. robertoiglesias
    Apr 29, 2020
    6
    Sigh, another Switch port, that's not worth getting. I'm sick of Nintendo doing this
  8. kunkun
    May 7, 2018
    6
    no tengo claro si es el juego o la muy mala calidad de los controles de nintendo, pero parecerian no ser 100% precisos,sino fuera por eso le pondira un 7, no creo que merezca mas que eso
  9. KyoshiLoneheart
    May 23, 2018
    5
    A great game brought down by now being an overpriced port. $40 would have been a perfect price point.
  10. Denvers
    May 5, 2020
    7
    Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a terrible port of a fantastic game. The game, as compared to the Wii U version, is almost identical with all of its flaws. It was much easier to excuse the flaws of the game years ago, but its much harder now, especially when they could have been easily fixed. Movement is uncomfortable at times, Dixie Kong is the only Kong worth using, and the menuDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a terrible port of a fantastic game. The game, as compared to the Wii U version, is almost identical with all of its flaws. It was much easier to excuse the flaws of the game years ago, but its much harder now, especially when they could have been easily fixed. Movement is uncomfortable at times, Dixie Kong is the only Kong worth using, and the menu is unbearably bad. Overall, it's definitely a good game, but the port could have been so much more.… Expand
  11. bancandrei
    May 24, 2020
    6
    I wish I were a child now, so I could better enjoy the great platformers which are coming out. At least visually this is one of the best. But it does contain a bit more railroading than I would like, and the whole genre just has the feeling of a reheated meal for me.
  12. MaddoxWhite
    Apr 25, 2021
    7
    It's pretty good. I mean, I know everyone says it's amazing and all, but it was just fine for me, sorry. Still good, tho.
  13. Andante
    Dec 17, 2022
    6
    This is a good game you should check out but in my opinion some design choices and technical issues spoil the overall experience. First and foremost many levels seem to be almost identical to each other and somehow lack identity, I know that this is something subjective but I find that the levels and worlds are kind of generic and not a product of real inspiration like in the classicThis is a good game you should check out but in my opinion some design choices and technical issues spoil the overall experience. First and foremost many levels seem to be almost identical to each other and somehow lack identity, I know that this is something subjective but I find that the levels and worlds are kind of generic and not a product of real inspiration like in the classic masterpiece Donkey Kong Country 2. Graphics are very good and although music is ok it sadly also has this generic touch in most of the themes...The second thing I noticed is the sheer difficulty of the game. Although it was cool at times to finish a difficult level I quickly found out that the fun factor had been lost during the process of memorizing the patterns and playing the same sections of a level over and over.....Don't get me wrong this is a good game but some sections are so insidiously designed and the game is so unforgiving that in the end once you finish the level all you want to do is stop playing because you are already fatigued and annoyed from trying. Donkey feels heavy to control, is not so responsive and his companions play unfortunately a rather passive role adding only 2 extra lives and a special ability in complete contrast to the old DKC games where every companion played a very active and important role to the experience. Overall an ok game if you like trial and error but nothing special....… Expand
  14. Refreshment
    Feb 25, 2020
    7
    Donkey Kong tropical freeze is a good and entertaing game... But really short and easier than the previous game on the nintendo Wii (that doesn't mean this one is easy, in fact it's a hard game, but easier than country returns). The biggest issue of this Donkey Kong is what happens with most nintendo games: they're too expensive. Even if they are ports of games with many years like thisDonkey Kong tropical freeze is a good and entertaing game... But really short and easier than the previous game on the nintendo Wii (that doesn't mean this one is easy, in fact it's a hard game, but easier than country returns). The biggest issue of this Donkey Kong is what happens with most nintendo games: they're too expensive. Even if they are ports of games with many years like this one. Paying around 50 bucks for just 15 hours of play (in my case) is too much in my view.… Expand
  15. michaelb1928
    Apr 21, 2020
    6
    Decent Game. Has some fun mechanics are some of the levels are great. Overall though didnt find myself having too much fun. The rewards for completing challenges like puzzle pieces or the KONG pieces are laughable. Still images that look like an amateur painting. Figurines which are just models of the enemies. Thats another point, There is basically no enemy variety. They are all the sameDecent Game. Has some fun mechanics are some of the levels are great. Overall though didnt find myself having too much fun. The rewards for completing challenges like puzzle pieces or the KONG pieces are laughable. Still images that look like an amateur painting. Figurines which are just models of the enemies. Thats another point, There is basically no enemy variety. They are all the same and are very easy to avoid/kill.The bonus stages are all the same with slight variations. Overall not a bad game just didnt have much fun with it.… Expand
  16. Masterofswagger
    Mar 26, 2019
    7
    While DKC Tropical Freeze is an amazing 2d platformer, i feel like there was real stuff added to this game, other than funky mode, which is an easy mode, i would've liked for them to add in some more stuff to warrant a full price release. But a solid game all around.
  17. Genius73
    Dec 16, 2018
    7
    Es un muy buen port, el juego esta muy bien para la gente que le guste los juegos de plataformas, al principio pensé que era un juego de plataformas como cualquier otro, pero al cabo de un tiempo jugando me he dado cuenta de que es un juego entretenido y muy divertido para jugar con algún amigo coma es en mi caso y también para jugar solo. y lo eso de poder estar jugando-lo
    tranquilamente    Es un muy buen port, el juego esta muy bien para la gente que le guste los juegos de plataformas, al principio pensé que era un juego de plataformas como cualquier otro, pero al cabo de un tiempo jugando me he dado cuenta de que es un juego entretenido y muy divertido para jugar con algún amigo coma es en mi caso y también para jugar solo. y lo eso de poder estar jugando-lo
    tranquilamente en el autobús jugando y pasando el rato no tiene precio.    … Expand
  18. sergio123456
    Feb 19, 2020
    7
    Juego entretenido de plataformas en 2D, que se hace bastante corto, cumple con lo que promete.
  19. DonnieTrump
    Feb 2, 2021
    7
    Tropical Freeze is one of these games that has gained a cult following after it - supposedly - was panned by critics and is nowadays hailed as one of the best 2D platformers of all time. After all, this is a triple A game coming from a studio that consistently has developed great titles such as the masterpiece that is Metroid Prime and DKC Returns. The problem is, as much as I want to loveTropical Freeze is one of these games that has gained a cult following after it - supposedly - was panned by critics and is nowadays hailed as one of the best 2D platformers of all time. After all, this is a triple A game coming from a studio that consistently has developed great titles such as the masterpiece that is Metroid Prime and DKC Returns. The problem is, as much as I want to love this game... I just can't.

    One of the best aspects of Tropical Freeze is without a doubt the world building. Each level is a joy to behold. The game consists of seven worlds - six regular and one unlockable - and they all look gorgeous. Especially world three in the savannah and world five with a fruit factory as a theme are some of the best pieces of level design I have seen in the entire series. Each level is characterized by how interactive it is, the level is literally built up or destroyed before your very eyes. In the fruit factory slices of fruit come and go when you progress through the level. Backgrounds are really well animated and each level feels vivid and organic. From the burning savannah in Scorch 'n Torch to a chase scene with a giant octupus in Irate Eight, each level is a masterclass in level design.

    This is extended with a soundtrack composed by David Wise. Wise is a fan favorite who also composed the magnificent soundtracks of DKC 1 and 2. Wise outdid himself with a soundtrack that surpasses the soundtrack of DKC1 and stands on equal footing with the soundtrack of DKC 2. Just go to Youtube and listen to the ten best songs of Tropical Freeze. I will ensure you that you'll like the music. Wise mostly composed an original soundtrack that fits the game superbly. The savannah is upbeat, windmills have a more calm character and the factories feel like a frantic place. In some places you will find some remixes with Aquatic Ambiance as the highlight of the game. When it comes to presentation this game is top of its league.

    But then there's the gameplay and unfortunately it is here that the game falls short. The game is really hard, but that's not a bad sign. On the contrary, most gamers will appreciate a challenging 2D platformer. The thing is however that Tropical Freeze is challenging for all the wrong reasons and with counter-intuitive gameplay as the main culprit. You see, each 2D platformer has an 'ideal path' you want to follow. In the DKC series this has been marked by bananas since the mid ninetees. If you follow this path in a regular cadence it's only a matter of seconds before you will be punished. Platforms will appear or disappear all of a sudden, enemies throw random things at you, you're hindered by slow moving objects, etc.

    A good example is the end of Irate Eight. In this level you're chased by a giant octopus and in the end you need to evade falling rocks. The bananas mark the ideal path, but if you follow them you're sure to be hit by a falling rock. One can call this challenging, I call it counter-intuitive. Another example is Fruity Factory where at one point a number of platforms appear in a very frantic way and one can barely keep up with the pace. On one moment you need to go back to land on a platform while everything up until then has built up on the right part of the screen. Again, it's indeed challenging, but I don't see it as a good gameplay mechanic. Tropical Freeze is full of these moments.

    There were also plenty of occassions where I died more than twenty times, but it was my own fault. I wasn't skilled enough and Tropical Freeze didn't play with my mind. These are my most enjoyable moments with the game. My skills are put to the test here. Unfortunately this is in the minority of cases. Playing Tropical Freeze is a trial and error experience based on memorisation, rarely on skills alone. And this is my biggest gripe with the game.

    The most fun levels in the game are without a doubt the levels where these counter-intuitive mechanics are reduced to a minimum such as the mine cart levels. Progressing in these levels is more based on skills and therefore much more enjoyable. The pacing is also set on a fixed rhythm resulting in an uninterrupted and fluent flow.

    The pacing of Tropical Freeze is also highly irregular. Tropical Freeze is supposed to be a fast-paced game - otherwise there wouldn't be a time attack mode available - yet gameplay mechanics are designed in such a way that it's sometimes fast, sometimes painfully slow. There are plenty of moments in the game where you need to stop to pull something from the ground or your pace is blocked by a very slow moving object like the snowflakes in world six. Waiting is not always synonym for boring gameplay, but it just breaks the flow of a level. One can argue that you need to 'git gud' but that's something you can say about almost any game. Rayman Legends is also a difficult game, but never feels cheap and was always fun. Tropical Freeze only on some occassions.    … Expand
  20. SuperClaudio64
    Feb 28, 2021
    7
    Una boccata di aria fresca rispetto al Country returns, Dk Tropical Freeze tenta di ricreare la magia dei Kremlin introducendo una nuova banda di nemici vichinghi, sicuramente portando con se un po più di carattere rispetto al titolo per wii. Purtroppo il gioco ha una meccanica cooperativa che porta il giocatore più esperto ad avanzare nei livelli mentre il secondo giocatore continua aUna boccata di aria fresca rispetto al Country returns, Dk Tropical Freeze tenta di ricreare la magia dei Kremlin introducendo una nuova banda di nemici vichinghi, sicuramente portando con se un po più di carattere rispetto al titolo per wii. Purtroppo il gioco ha una meccanica cooperativa che porta il giocatore più esperto ad avanzare nei livelli mentre il secondo giocatore continua a subire rimanendo indietro, inoltre è pieno di morti istantanee date dal non riuscire a vedere il pericolo imminente, molto spesso si cade nel vuoto senza accorgersi che il pavimento non è stabile. Buon gioco ma non al livello della trilogia classica.… Expand
  21. DianeTheGamer
    Feb 17, 2023
    7
    It's a Donkey Kong game but control and feel nothing like the Donkey Kong Country games for the Super Nintendo. This feels closer to The Donkey Kong Bongo Games from the GameCube and I think it's really over hyped. I didn't like it and I usually love all Nintendo games. It's not bad but the controls I don't like, it's not a Country game, and doesn't hold a candle stick to the SNES originals
  22. CopperCone89
    May 29, 2021
    6
    This game is just too short for AAA game price... i make it in just 5-7h...
  23. jake45367
    Dec 20, 2022
    6
    The bad: The difficulty goes beyond challenging at times and forces the player to do trial and error to complete many of the levels. The bosses are fun but also incredibly frustrating. The game is too short, 6 main worlds for a $60 game that can be completed in 10 hours?

    The good: graphics are amazing and the level design is really good. The new Funky mode is also a plus. Overall a    The bad: The difficulty goes beyond challenging at times and forces the player to do trial and error to complete many of the levels. The bosses are fun but also incredibly frustrating. The game is too short, 6 main worlds for a $60 game that can be completed in 10 hours?

    The good: graphics are amazing and the level design is really good. The new Funky mode is also a plus.

    Overall a weak installment and seems to be the reason Nintendo has not made a new DK game since. Bring Back K Rool!    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Best Switch Game of 2018
10
#10 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018
10
#10 Most Shared Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 70 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 75
  3. Negative: 0 out of 75
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Sep 5, 2018
    95
    If you enjoy the thrill of Kongquest – er, conquest – over a worthy challenge, this game should satisfy. [Issue #34 – July/August 2018, p. 74]
  2. CD-Action
    Aug 2, 2018
    90
    Retro’s creativity is infinite and I simply cannot imagine any platforming fan overlooking this gem. [07/2018, p.77]
  3. My Nintendo News
    Jul 15, 2018
    80
    If you missed out on the Wii U version, fetch your wallet. But if you’ve played the original, re-investing is simply optional and you won’t miss out on anything new.
    Read full review
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