The Switch 2's higher processing power has led Donkey Kong Bananza and its destructible environments to be a truly unique gameplay experience, Nintendo says. Calling Donkey Kong's ability to manipulate and explore the environment a "chain reaction of destruction and discovery," a Nintendo of America executive said that the game was something the company thinks hasn't been seen in other games.

ScreenRant spoke to Bill Trinen, Nintendo's Vice President of Player and Product Experience, who highlighted the increased processing power of the Switch 2 compared to its predecessor. Pointing to Donkey Kong Bananza as the perfect example, Trinen stated:

"That game is really doing something that I don't think we've seen happen in a lot of other games... You can literally punch through just about anything in that world, and it tracks your progress. Those things will interact with other things in the environment that will unveil something hidden in the terrain and cause you to want to explore."

Through environmental manipulation, players can destroy much of the game world, literally carving new paths of exploration for themselves. Essentially, based on what's been shown of Bananza, the Switch 2's processing power can lead to new and unique experiences in games.

Nintendo's New Games Couldn't Be Done On Old Hardware

Better Technology Means New Features

With Nintendo championing Donkey Kong Bananza and its capabilities, one might wonder how long the company has had ambitious ideas like this for the character. With a brand-new style of gameplay and even a new look for Donkey Kong, the Switch 2 hardware is giving the franchise a refresh that wasn't technically possible on previous hardware.

The beefier specs of the Switch 2 allow Nintendo to push things further and infuse new features and ideas, like the fully destructible environments of Donkey Kong Bananza. Plus, it allows developers to add to the original Switch games with upgrades like Zelda Notes for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom and even new gameplay content as seen in Super Mario Party Jamboree.

What Other Games Feature Destruction Like Donkey Kong Bananza?

Destruction In Games Is More Common Than You May Think

While Donkey Kong Bananza is the first in the series to incorporate fully destructible environments, previous games have had their own takes on the feature. One of the biggest examples is 2009's Red Faction: Guerrilla. While Bananza encourages destruction in order to find new methods of exploration, Red Faction pushes destruction as a force of violence. Players can topple walls, chimneys, and whole buildings to stop an impending attack or to infiltrate a building. It is not necessarily for creating new paths like with Bananza, but rather to barrel your way through to the end objective.

Another game that also messes with destruction capabilities is the Battlefield series, something that will reportedly carry through in the next installment. In modern Battlefield games, players can take down trees, destroy cover, and demolish buildings. After enough damage is done to a structure, it will come crashing down. Again, this feature is not employed like Donkey Kong Bananza does with the reward of exploration. Instead, the destruction is simply to hinder and take down an enemy force.

It seems that with examples like Battlefield and Red Faction, the destruction is more aligned with war and violence. Meanwhile, Donkey Kong Bananza uses the destruction of the environment to find something hidden and new.

Source: ScreenRant