Last year’s marriage of Ubisoft’s Rabbids and Nintendo’s Mario series
produced one of the most unique, surprising, and amazing crossover games we’ve ever seen.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle dazzles with its unique take on the strategy RPG genre,
and it’s back for another round with the new story DLC update, Donkey Kong Adventure.
In this side-story, Rabbid Kong, along with Peach Rabbid, are sucked into another dimension -
the world of Donkey Kong.
Spread across four different zones filled with plenty of puzzles and secrets,
you team up with Nintendo’s iconic primate and the Rabbid version of the original Kong, Cranky,
to take on hordes of enemies under the control of Rabbid Kong.
This new mode does not share its progress with the main campaign, so you can easily jump in right away.
At times, it feels like it could qualify as a stand alone sequel
and it is easily worth the $19.99 investment for the Mario + Rabbids season pass
required to gain access to the DLC.
While Peach Rabbid handles much the same as before,
allowing veterans to easily get back into the swing of things,
Cranky Rabbid and Donkey Kong come with some unique abilities to spice things up.
Donkey Kong can pick up any enemy, ally, or even various objects on the map,
carry them around, and hurl them like projectiles.
Meanwhile, Cranky can perform a devastating attack when launched into the air
by unleashing a wide spread shot from his weapon.
On top of the new abilities, there are new enemy types to contend with
that will push you further than before,
as well as different objectives that really up the intensity factor
like having to prevent enemies from reaching a goal within a certain amount of turns.
Things don’t get quite as challenging as the later portions of the main campaign, but it’s also no pushover.
Not all of the new additions are for the better, though, as the new mini-bosses are a bit of a letdown.
They don’t feel all that unique compared to the same type of encounters in the main campaign,
and the ones in the DLC are too similar in style to each other.
The main enemy simply runs away whenever attacked
and summons more support units every so often to keep you distracted.
It’s a rinse and repeat formula that gets old fast.
While some of the technical issues from the main campaign have been ironed out,
a few still remain, like the spotty performance every now and then when navigating the worlds.
However, the game still looks great and boasts some of the most impressive visuals on the Switch hardware.
The soundtrack makes great use of classic Donkey Kong tunes and sound bytes
that are sure to deliver a jolt of nostalgia each time you hear those famous notes.
Donkey Kong Adventure clocks in at around 3-4 hours just to complete the story,
though you can add on another few hours
if you’re trying to do everything the DLC has to offer.
It’s every bit as good as the main campaign,
yet it manages to work in some new additions and surprises to keep things fresh.
Even if you have no interest in the other components of the Mario + Rabbids season pass,
Donkey Kong Adventure is easily worth the price, and it’s the next best thing to a proper sequel.
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