Donkey Kong Bananzais set to be the second major Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive afterMario Kart World, and DK’s latest adventure seems to already be pushing the limits of the new console.Bananzawill not be one of theSwitch 2’s launch-day games, but will still come out just a month later. It’s an ambitious-looking title, with almost entirely destructible terrain, and it appears to be using the Switch 2 hardware to its fullest.
According toDigital Foundry, by way ofEurogamer, aDonkey Kong Bananzademo was a joy to play, but also hinted at some of the game’s potential performance issues.Bananzaaims to hit 60 frames per second while running at a native 1080p, butthere are reportedly a number of noticeable frame rate inconsistencies, at least in the demo build.Digital Foundry’s full quote onBananza’s frame rate issues is as follows:
“Bananza targets 60 frames per second, but it’s not quite consistent - especially on the map view, where performance ping-pongs rapidly between 30fps and 60fps: classic double-buffer v-sync. Also the photo mode view appears to drop to 30fps more frequently than main gameplay, which suggests it’s using a higher resolution, or settings, than the regular gameplay.
“Also, there seem to be different frame-rates in gameplay. The target is 60fps, but there are noticeable drops. Not only that, but some physics-based interactions – like any time DK punches a fence or barrel to the distance – may see animation update at closer to 30fps, while the foreground gameplay updates at 60 as usual. It looks like some physics-based logic runs with a frame rate cap, creating a disconnect between the camera movement – which runs at 60 – and the objects within the frame.”
Donkey Kong Bananza Has Some Frame Rate Drops
Targets 60fps
Digital Foundryaptly comparesDonkey Kong BananzatoRed Faction: Guerilla, which came out in 2009 and has long been held as the pinnacle of destructible environments thanks to its GeoMod 2.0 engine. From the trailers,Bananzaappears to have fully destructible environments, letting players carve tunnels through the ground, and rip boulders from the terrain to throw. While impressive,this appears to be taxing on its performance, with “notable drops” in frame rate throughout gameplay, according toDigital Foundry.
Although it’s impossible to say definitively until the game is out, from the above quote, it seems thatDonkey Kong Bananzatries to mitigate these drops by lowering the frame rate of animations in the distance. Such practices are very common, especially lower-resolution models for objects far away in-game. Animations with decreased frame rates in the distance are especially noticeable amongPokémon Scarlet and Violet’s many notorious performance issues, which can hopefully be improved by theirSwitch 2 updates.
Bananza Is A More Technically Dense Game Than Usual Nintendo Fare
Its Destruction Is Truly Impressive
Nintendo has long been a gameplay-first developer, and especially in service of its hardware, which has long lagged behind competing consoles in raw computing power, its games have shirked many of the industry’s modern bells and whistles. The Switch 2 is narrowing the gap, though, supporting up to 4K resolution and utilizing technology like ray tracing, butDonkey Kong Bananzais still more technically demanding than many of the company’s games.
Destruction specifically has been a difficult feature to implement widely.Battlefield, for instance, built some of its reputation on destructible maps, but each successive entry since 2010’sBad Company 2has scaled back the possible non-scripted environmental destruction. Games likeThe Finals(developed by many formerBattlefielddevs at Embark Studios) are making great strides in environmental destruction, though, andDonkey Kong Bananzais quite literally breaking new ground for Nintendo with the idea.
Arguably the most technically impressive Nintendo title isThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and even it does not feature terrain that can be fragmented in any number of ways. Even only about three months from its release,Donkey Kong Bananzamay be a work in progress, and it’s possible that its performance improves. Nintendo typically has a high bar when it comes to polish, so the optimistic outlook is to believeDonkey Kong Bananzawill have its most noticeable wrinkles ironed out before launch.
Source:Digital Foundry/Eurogamer
Donkey Kong Bananza
Donkey Kong Bananza marks the iconic ape’s triumphant return to 3D platforming, offering players an expansive underground world to explore. In this adventure, Donkey Kong embarks on a mission to retrieve stolen golden bananas from the nefarious VoidCo. Utilizing his formidable strength, he can demolish terrain to uncover hidden paths and secrets. The game introduces a new sidekick, Odd Rock, who assists in overcoming obstacles and navigating treacherous environments.
