Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Reviews

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is ranked in the 93rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8.5 / 10.0
Apr 25, 2018

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Unscored
May 4, 2018

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is much better suited to Switch and outperforms the original for a stable frame rate.

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Forbes
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Feb 21, 2014

This sort of game could have convinced some of the faithful to get on board towards the beginning of the console's lifespan, but it will have a tougher time today. This game will win few new converts, and for all its brightness, does not feel particularly fresh.

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6 / 10
Feb 17, 2014

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a usually fun, too-often frustrating, and always beautiful game. Being the first HD entry sets it apart somewhat, but if Nintendo intends to keep iterating on this series, it needs to fix some legacy issues and study which stages work to make the entire experience more pleasantly consistent.

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7 / 10
May 1, 2018

Tropical Freeze isn't perfect by any means, but having run through it a second time, I feel like it's aged well in the last four years. The challenge can be soul-crushing, but it's satisfying to finally make it across that one jump or beat that one boss. There are enough tools available to make the journey a little bit easier this time around, but not so much to completely diminish the challenge outright.

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8.4 / 10.0
May 1, 2018

Tropical Freeze is better than it has ever been on Switch. It still packs lot of fun and good old platforming challenges, but it fails to surprise the player with new ideas or interesting twists.

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9 / 10.0
May 3, 2018

An excellent platformer that is still as fun as it was 4 years ago. It's a shame that this Switch version includes just a few new features to justify a new purchase.

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Alex Donaldson
Top Critic
Unscored
May 2, 2018

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze may be a simple port, but if you didn't own a Wii U this title is a must-buy.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 17, 2014

However, each level of atmosphere conveyed by the visuals would be nothing if it weren't for an equally atmospheric soundtrack, and Tropical Freeze certainly delivers on that front. David Wise, the ex-Rare composer who worked on the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, has returned for Tropical Freeze, after missing out Returns, and his influence is an incredibly welcome one. While fans of the original trilogy will recognise the odd leitmotif here and there, these new compositions are fantastic. The Lion-King inspired savannah themes, and the chilled underwater tracks are certainly the highlights of the game.

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8 / 10.0
May 1, 2018

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a fantastic platformer for new players on the Switch but doesn't offer much for returning fans.

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8 / 10
Feb 17, 2014

Another high-quality first-party title for the Wii U.

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70 / 100
Feb 16, 2014

Tropical Freeze does little to justify the Wii U's existence, but it's still mostly a fun, challenging platformer. Fans will certainly enjoy this difficult, beautiful romp through Donkey Kong's islands, but it will frustrate less-enthusiastic players.

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89 / 100
May 1, 2018

Tropical Freeze includes virtually everything the series has done right. It's fun to play, has a ton of levels, and wows the eyes and ears with great aesthetics.

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7.5 / 10.0
Feb 18, 2014

The Wii U's latest exclusive is a well crafted trial of reflexes that rewards tenacity and endurance with the satisfaction of having achieved something far from easy.

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Feb 19, 2014

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze could have been a straight port of the Wii original, but Retro Studios took the winning formula and expertly built upon it. The sheer challenge, puzzle pieces, K-O-N-G letters, and hidden exits all combine to create an addictive and highly replayable side-scroller that is absolutely worth attention. Wii U owners take note, that this isn't a game you'll want to miss.

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75 / 100
Feb 18, 2014

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a solid, if at times frustrating platformer, but the inclusion of a couple new characters aren't enough to stave off the feeling that we've seen all this before.

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Guardian
Top Critic
Feb 16, 2014

[I]t's a great game – exactly what we expect from Nintendo. But in a way, that's also its problem: anyone with a Wii U would be a fool not to buy it, but so few people have committed to the Wii U, and in order to rectify that, Nintendo needs to woo the unconverted with all-new gaming experiences. And the gaming experience that Tropical Freeze provides may be rich, enjoyable, challenging and frequently hilarious, but it isn't anything conspicuously new.

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Feb 19, 2014

Nintendo's bounding ape returns again in a thumping, enjoyable but unambitious platform game.

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Ken McKown
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Mar 7, 2014

Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze might be a disappointment in theory, but once I started playing it, I couldn't help but fall in love. The level designs are some of the best I have seen in the genre, the soundtrack is stellar, and the difficulty is tough but never unfair. For the audience that owns a Wii U and desires platformers crafted to perfection, this is a must-own. Nintendo continues to pump out stellar releases for its console; I just wish the audience was there to purchase them.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 18, 2014

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is a master class in the art form of 2D platformers, but it's way too difficult for its own good and this makes the inherent flaws and limitations of the genre all the more obvious. Tropical Freeze is probably the best side-scrolling platformer we'll ever see from a technical standpoint. Now it's time for Nintendo to stop making them for a while and actually do something new.

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