It says something when a game that is as colourful and *seemingly* kid-friendly as Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle can tilt the review scales extremely north. But the game's challenge, its presentation, pacing and humour are next-level. Imagine our (not) surprise then when the first major gameplay expansion for Ubi's new franchise, Donkey Kong Adventure, offered up the same incredible experience.


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The story, as with Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, is ridiculous, but it does carry over from the base game. In fact you can’t tackle the new content until you’ve completed the first world in Kingdom Battle because Spoiler: Rabbid Kong requires a narrative base for revenge, and in the original game, you send him flying from his pedestal both literally, and emotionally figuratively. And, for whatever reason… let’s say, locational context, our heroes are warped to a new, mysterious island (Donkey Kong island) where Rabbid Kong has eaten some gnarly, mutated bananas that make him infinitely stronger, and now he’s king of the land and has his Rabbid minions out trying to collect up all the bananas they can to try and make him stronger. Your goal, obviously, is to stop that. And off we go.

Humour here is king, and while Donkey Kong himself is kept relatively wrapped in Nintendo cotton wool, Ubisoft has gone next-level with their Rabbid Nintendo alter egos. Rabbid Peach is as gloriously ignorant and obnoxious as ever, while their treatments of Rabbid Cranky -- a parallel to the already hilarious Cranky Kong from Rare’s days behind the Donkey Kong franchise -- is comedy gold. And his delivery is made all the more impressive because he, and Peach, as well as all the Rabbids, don’t speak. It might seem odd to have this as an elevated point in a review about a game, but when nestled deep inside Nintendo’s biggest franchises and characters, to see Ubisoft continue to flex their comedy muscles (with a bit of adult humour thrown in for good measure), it just adds the overall charm of the product.

Click here for our Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle - Donkey Kong Adventure review.