Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Reviews

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is ranked in the 93rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10.0
May 8, 2018

It’s hard not to see Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze as a barrel of gaming perfection. When you peel back everything this top banana brings, you’ll find a Kong carried good time through well crafted and secret-packed stages.

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10 / 10.0
Jun 7, 2018

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is a masterpiece in the world of 2D platformers and is easily the best one out there to date. I will go as far to say that Tropical Freeze is easily better than any of the New Super Mario Bros games, and that Donkey Kong is truly the King of the genre.

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7 / 10
May 31, 2018

If you're one of the many gamers who missed out on the Wii U and want to delve into this enjoyable and charming platformer for the first time, it's definitely worth giving a go.

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9.3 / 10.0
May 27, 2018

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a fantastic 2D platformer that is challenging, filled with collectibles, and has a nice handful of characters to choose from. The game is beautiful, and the soundtrack is spectacular. The co-op element is wonderful, and the game is a ton of fun. Judging the Switch release without taking the Wii U version into account, this is definitely worth a purchase. However, here is the problem... Other than the higher resolution, the faster loading times, and Funky Kong, it's the same exact game that can be picked up for Wii U and a fraction of the price. Donkey Kong Country fans will not need convincing but for those who own the game on Wii U, the only reason to get this game is for the portability aspect of Switch. It was enough to warrant another purchase for me, but will it be for you? Other than that, this release doesn't add any incentive to double dip. For those who love challenging 2D platforming, this is definitely worth the purchase because of its extremely high fun factor and the challenging difficulty. Regardless of platform or year released, this entry is still a wonderful showcase of Retro Studios creativity and talent, a near masterpiece of exceptional gameplay and design.

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9 / 10.0
May 24, 2018

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is one of the best platformers that I’ve played in years

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9 / 10.0
May 1, 2018

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a perfect fit for the Switch, delivering impeccable platforming goodness with Donkey Kong and his family. It's beautiful both from a visual and auditory standpoint and each level you play has its own identity or unique flavour. The game is as tough as a gorilla in a barrel, but the Switch exclusive features such as Funky Kong and the generous items you can use help to assuage some of that frustration. A must for any Switch owner for sure.

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May 1, 2018

Tropical Freeze is another solid Wii U port from Nintendo and remains a perfectly playable, wonderfully designed platformer masterpiece, but it doesn't offer anything truly new.

Review in German | Read full review

Essential
May 10, 2018

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze was an amazing game on the Wii U and it's still the same delight on the Nintendo Switch.

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4 / 5
May 9, 2018

Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is one of the premiere platformers that’s released in the past decade and it’s move to Switch is a welcome one. Despite a higher than normal difficulty level, it excels in most areas to present a game that currently stands as one of the best on the Switch.

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95%
May 5, 2018

When focusing on the gameplay, the mechanics of it, the physics, level design and creativeness accompanied by the magnificent audio and visual presentation, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is one of the finest games available, even four years after its initial release on the failed Wii U. Making such a fantastic game available to a wider audience is not only a financially good decision for Nintendo, but also an altruistic one too. Obviously that’s a joke but in someways it does feel nice that these fantastic Wii U games are getting a second chance of life and being talked and shared around once more. In my opinion, as long as you didn’t have Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze on the Wii U, this game is absolutely essential. If you did have the fortune to play it four years ago like me then you may find it difficult to consider double dipping and that’s fair. It’s just a phenomenal game though, and one of the best platformers ever created.

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92 / 100
May 3, 2018

Those who missed out on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Wii U and own a Nintendo Switch should play this adventure.

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8.6 / 10.0
Apr 30, 2018

Even that the changes to the original from 2014 are very small and the price is higher than the original release on the WiiU back in 2014, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is a gorgeous and awesome playable plattformer and probably the best AAA-Jump N`Run you have faced in years. An absolute no-brainer for fans of the genre.

Review in German | Read full review

9 / 10
Apr 30, 2018

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was and still is a fantastic 2D platformer. It looks and sounds brilliant and plays just as well, constantly surprising you with new and creative ideas throughout its six-island quest. This may have been my second time playing through the Retro Studios platformer but I enjoyed every moment despite a disappointing lack of new content. And if you never got the chance to check out the big ape’s icy adventure back on Wii U then this Switch version is an absolute must.

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8.3 / 10.0
Apr 30, 2018

The Switch version is better simply by being portable. It's the same great game with a few added extras and the benefit of portability. If you own a Switch, you should grab Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. Even if you've played it on Wii U.

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7.4 / 10.0
Mar 9, 2014

Although a solidly good game, the pedigree of those behind its creation and the precedent set by previous games makes Tropical Freeze more than a little disappointing.

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8 / 10
May 21, 2018

"Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze" is a successful port, which sees itself as a fine tuning of the original Wii U version. A successful presentation, dreamy pieces of music, a varied gameplay and funny boss fights round off the game. The tricky levels have a fair amount of difficulty, but thanks to Funky Kong they are also more accessible for beginners. Pros can continue to play in the classic style and explore the jungle with Donkey Kong and his family. Only a new theme world would have been desirable for connoisseurs of the title. All in all a fun porting, which appeals to a wide range of players thanks to different modes.

Review in German | Read full review

7.9 / 10.0
Mar 23, 2015

DKCTF is a quality game that was released to both capitalize on the sleeper-success that was DKCR on the Wii and fill a gap in the Wii U's release schedule. While I cannot cite any glaring flaws in the game, the parts of the game that excite me most are more cosmetic than substantiative. Nevertheless, I do recommend this latest entry in the Donkey Kong franchise for fans of DK and platform games in general—just know that this isn't the next Mario Galaxy.

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Jan 28, 2017

"King of the jungle."

Review in Finnish | Read full review

9.1 / 10.0
May 9, 2018

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a top-notch example of what a 2D platformer should be so if you missed out on it last generation, now's a fantastic time to finally enjoy it in all its potassium-rich glory.

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8 / 10.0
May 1, 2018

As a strict port, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze has its pros and cons. 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. After completing the game on 99 red balloons, I have a real need to play Donkey Konga. Now, where did I put those Bongos?

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