PS5 Slim review: Two-minute review

The PS5 Slim picks up where the original launch model of the PS5 left off and offers a brilliant current-generation gaming experience. Adding a couple of quality-of-life improvements to the original and shrinking the footprint right down, while maintaining the excellent performance and experiences you would expect from a PS5, means this is still one of the very best gaming consoles to buy.

The PS5 Slim launched at the same price that the original launch model PS5 had. This differs from the last generation when the PS4 Slim arrived with a slightly lower price tag, which was very welcome at the time. While that’s disappointing, the PS5 Slim is now the dominant variant of the console - coming in both disc and digital editions too -and discounts and deals are now frequent. As such, while we heartily recommend it at its list price, it can offer exceptional value for money.

The biggest changes with the PS5 Slim are indeed as its name would imply: its small footprint and form factor mean the PS5 Slim is around 30% smaller, which is welcome given the original’s heft. It’s of the same design language, but not exactly the same either. While the form of the PS5 Slim still features the fanned, larger end, the console’s shell is now split by a gap (‘filled in’ by the black plastic of the console’s main body underneath), making for four separate plates.

One small difference is the front ports both being USB-C on the Slim too, trading the launch model’s USB-A port for the second USB-C one. And apart from a slightly larger hard drive - the PS5 Slim sports a 1TB SSD as opposed to the original’s 825GB - it has the identical PS5 specs within it that offer that wonderful performance we’re used to from Sony’s current console. You’ve also got a host of customization options with the PS5 Slim, thanks to Sony releasing a wide number of different console covers that can be easily slotted on.

It is that performance, combined with the new design, that makes the PS5 Slim so easy to recommend. PS5 games run like a dream and with a library that’s bigger than ever, now offers more adventures than before. Sony’s first-party titles in particular are dreamy from a performance standpoint - whether you prefer resolution and detail or frame rate speed and smoothness. PlayStation 4 games also still run like a dream which means your backlog can be taken onto PS5 Slim with ease. The DualSense Wireless controller is still the same original one which is great for the haptic features that help make the PS5 stand out, but its battery life is still underwhelming.

The PS5 Slim doesn’t reinvent the PS5 by any means - that evolution is handled by the new PS5 Pro - but its new design makes it an exceptionally sleek version of Sony’s current-gen machine. With the same great performance, quality hardware and specs, and a larger-than-ever library, it’s an easy console to recommend.

PS5 Slim review: Price and availability

• List price: $499.99 / £479.99 / AU$799 (disc) / $449.99 / £389.99 / AU$679.99 (digital)
• Launched on November 10, 2023
• Same price as the original PS5; regular offers are often available

The PS5 Slim is now the default PlayStation 5 model and is widely available in every region, replacing the launch model almost entirely. It took over the same price point and is thus a straight swap.

However, since the PS5 launched, several regions have been hit by PS5 price rises (sometimes multiple price rises) and the PS5 Slim represents the newer, adjusted price points in those countries, not the original one. The US price has remained the same, however. Offsetting this somewhat, now we’re into the console’s fifth year, is that deals and discounts on the PS5 Slim are becoming more frequent, with genuinely good bundles and offers being put on by Sony itself, as well as various retailers.

In the market, it’s priced almost identically to the Xbox Series X console, which has also seen some regional price rises. The PS5 Slim Digital Edition also now has direct competition from an Xbox Series X Digital Edition console but undercuts its Microsoft counterpart in price considerably.

Within the PlayStation 5 ecosystem itself, we now have the PS5 Pro to factor into the equation. Coming in at a mighty $699.99 / £699.99 the Pro is considerably more expensive than the Slim, and its performance and benefits are a little more niche, and for an enthusiast audience. As a result, the PS5 Slim offers good value in relation to its more powerful brethren, given the experiences it offers are still excellent.

PS5 Slim review: Specs

PS5 Slim review: Design & features

• Slick and chic design, more compact than that of the original
• Detachable disc drive, and excellent controller
• Wide choice of replaceable console covers for personalization

The main selling point of the PS5 Slim is indeed in its design, aesthetic, and form factor. Sony has a history of making refined, smaller, and slimmer versions of all its home consoles. so the PS5 getting the trimming-the-fat treatment was expected - and it delivers too, coming in at around 30% smaller than the launch model PS5.

There’s a similar design language here, however, with a flare remaining at one end (for the fans) and the sweeping curves of the PS5 hardware family remain across the Slim, making for a slick-looking form. The console’s covers are now in four parts, not two, with a gap between the plates forming a striking ‘black’ line across both the console’s top and bottom.

These, like the original, can be removed and swapped for others that Sony has made (or other third-party ones, if you fancy), meaning there are plenty of customization options to personalize your PS5 Slim. The disc drive is detachable by default too, so if you buy a digital variant and later decide to add a disc drive then that’s some extra flexibility right there.

While the vertical stand for the PS5 Slim is a nicer-looking, slicker metal ring, compared to the original’s bulky black plastic model, it doesn’t come with the console by default which is a mark against the console’s value. If you do buy the stand, the result is a console that looks sharper when standing upright compared to its predecessor. If you stick with horizontal orientation, you can rely on the two small cheapish-lookin plastic feet that are provided.

In terms of features present on the Slim, it is exactly the same, spec-wise, as the original model apart from two minor quality-of-life amendments; one internal, one external. The internal change is that of a boost to storage, with the PS5 Slim being equipped with a 1TB SSD compared to the launch model’s custom 825GB drive.

PS5 Slim review: Performance

• Excellent gaming experiences and performance
• Haptics and triggers on the DualSense are superb
• Fantastic interface and intuitive user experience

Much like how the original PS5 won us over with its excellent gaming performance, the PS5 Slim continues that and offers the same breathtaking experiences. The best PS5 games run beautifully with adventures such as God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, Astro Bot, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 being particular first-party highlights that really take advantage of the PS5’s hardware.

PS4 games run like a dream on the PS5 Slim too, and the same backward compatibility level with the previous gen’s discs and digital titles remains a simple part of the day-to-day PS5 experience. I’ve been revisiting Doom (2016) recently, for example, and the extra boost to loading times in particular makes it a joy to play. The PS5 Game Boost mode will also improve performance across the board (in principle) for PS5 games, and makes some games run smoother, with faster frame rates, or in higher resolution - or a combination of all of those.

You can even experience older games on your PS5 with the updated and modern arrangement of Sony’s PS Plus subscription. The top premium level can give you access to PS3 game streaming from the cloud, as well as some select PS1 and PS2 games to download. While perhaps not quite as generous or deep as Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, a PS Plus subscription does make the experience of having a PS5 Slim even better and feels essential.

On that note of streaming and downloading games, it is worth noting that in all my testing, on Wi-Fi and Ethernet, I still never get close to my actual download speed on the PS5. This is something I have experienced on every PS5 I have owned sadly, and not a problem on Xbox Series X.

On a practical performance level, using the PS5 Slim is a joy too. It’s incredibly simple to set up, and transfer files from one to another if need be, and removing the console covers to access the M.2 PS5 SSD slot or change them entirely is very easy, and quite satisfying. The extra USB-C port and slightly larger SSD means that day-to-day usage is improved too, and benefits the whole experience.

The DualSense, while exactly the same as it was in 2020 - there’s no V2 like there was with the PS4’s DualShock 4 controller, sadly - remains absolutely excellent. While a generally top gamepad, the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers continue to feel brilliant. The PS5 Slim is compatible with all PS5 (and almost all PS4) accessories too, so if you own any from a previous machine from this or last generation then these will be able to be used on a PS5 Slim.

This is made extra simple because the UI and operating system layout are identical to the launch PS5 - and PS5 Pro. Navigating the PS5 Slim, from games to screenshots, and from streaming apps to save files and deeper settings is simple and intuitive. There are also now more customization options on offer with the UI being honed and enhanced since the launch model’s initial release.

Thus, the PS5 Slim is an easy recommendation. It’d be an easy recommendation if the launch model of the PS5 existed still, but now that it has taken over the position of the ‘standard’ console from its predecessor - and improved on it slightly - it’s the easiest current-gen console recommendation I can make right now.

Should I buy the PS5 Slim?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider...

If you’re still undecided about committing to the PS5 Slim, then here are two fine alternatives to consider for console gaming in 2025.

How I tested the PS5 Slim

• Tested over the course of months, replacing my original PS5
• Compared to PS5 Pro and launch PS5
• Used it multiple days a week for months playing a variety of games, transferring data, and with a range of accessories

I’ve tested and lived with the PS5 Slim for several months now with it being my office PS5, and regular ‘normal’ PS5 console (alongside my main PS5 Pro machine). As a result, it’s been used for testing hardware, and games, and has been used for regular gaming of PS5 and PS4 titles in my own time when not using my PS5 Pro.

I have been able to compare it to my PS5 Pro, as well as the original PS5 model I have owned from physical footprint and design to performance and everyday use. I have engaged with the console on multiple levels; using the SSD bay, using it in both horizontal and vertical positions, and also changing the console covers from white to Volcanic Red.

I have played both digital and disc games on the console in combination with an Acer Predator X32QFS 4K gaming monitor, and I have tested multiple accessories with the PS5 Slim including a SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7P headset, SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless headset, a Sabrent M.2 PS5 SSD, and Seagate Game Drive external SSD for PlayStation.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed October 2024-January 2025

Rather than just the bombast of dizzying intergalactic battles, modern science fiction tales are imagining futures shaped by pervasive inequality and technological conquest. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, a roleplaying game by Gareth Damian Martin and one-person studio Jump Over the Age, is a science fiction tale of that pedigree.

It also brings to mind a New Yorker profile of science fiction writer Liu Cixin from a few years ago, who achieved international acclaim for his book, The Three Body Problem. Liu insisted science fiction merely allows readers to indulge in escapism rather than serve as metaphors for real-world affairs. Perhaps this reflects his perspective that Chinese people are more concerned about immediate needs like healthcare and the economy, as opposed to more altruistic concepts like individual liberty - a nice to have, but not a necessity.

It’s an outlook that’s difficult to reconcile with, especially when confronted with a tale as introspective as Starward Vector that carries shades of moral complexity. For instance, an early contract - the game’s more treacherous gigs - involves preserving a data core with immense historical value, or selling it to a mercenary who’ll inevitably scrap the relic, so as to get the fuel you need to escape your captor.

It’s a choice between addressing immediate needs versus pursuing a more humanistic goal for the far future. But while most games would clumsily nudge you towards the latter, presenting this quandary as a form of delayed gratification by promising better, future rewards, Starward Vector tackles this choice more elegantly, gently suggesting that you lean on community in times of need.

On the run again

Like the first Citizen Sleeper, Starward Vector puts you in the shoes of a Sleeper, an indentured android and an emulation of a flesh-and-blood human being who owes a tremendous debt to a corporation. This time, however, you’re on the run from a sinister figure named Laine who wants you - his property - back. What this means is that you’ll need to stay one step ahead of his relentless pursuit, as you trawl the Helion solar system on your ship (which is also stolen from Laine) to eek out a living.

Of course, this is a perilous journey. For those who have played Citizen Sleeper before, Starward Vector will largely be a familiar experience, but for the uninitiated, this cadence will take a bit of getting used to. The game progresses through cycles, with dice rolls determining how well you perform your tasks; the higher the number, the better the outcome. That said, there are a few key differences from the original, such as a distinct lack of a condition bar, as this particular Sleeper is no longer reliant on drugs to prevent their body from decaying.

But instead of a failing artificial body, you’ll accrue stress from, well, almost anything. A poor outcome from a dice roll can induce stress, as well as having to plow through work while starving. Accumulate too much stress, and your dice can disintegrate. Once broken, they cannot be used, limiting the amount of actions you can take per cycle until you garner the right components to repair them.

Occasionally, you’ll also need to embark on contracts, which are high-risk jobs that offer a significant amount of cryos (the game’s form of currency). Make too many mistakes during these contracts, and you can set off crises, events that put you in pressure cooker conditions; the longer you take to complete contracts, the more stressful the gig will be.

This is how Starward Vector reminds you of the precarity of your situation. Even a streak of utterly perverse luck can derail your cycles, like a horrid day when Murphy’s Law is in full swing. For a Sleeper, the stakes are infinitely high, the specter of certain failure ratcheting up the tension at every turn.

A motley crew

Fortunately, you’re not alone. A ragtag crew of spacefarers will join you over the course of your expedition, with the first being Serafin, a close friend who’s instrumental in breaking your oppressive servitude under Laine. Then there’s Juni, a quiet character you’ll meet during the game’s earliest contract with the data core. These crew members have skills they are particularly adept in, and that you can leverage during contracts.

Your crew will have their own dice rolls, which you can select to perform tasks they’re inclined towards. Juni, for instance, gets a bonus to her Interface trait, so you’ll do well by assigning her to a task that requires that particular skill. Doing so effectively is vital in helping you complete contracts without burning yourself out. That’s because, unlike most RPGs, being self-sufficient isn’t the point; depending on your class, some skills cannot be maxed out or even unlocked.

But rather than frame your companions as additional resources to exploit, the game’s impeccably polished prose helps to embellish the crew’s growing kinship with the Sleeper. Serafin, for all his dour cynicism, is a welcomed presence, his steely visage betraying a deep affection for the Sleeper - and all these are inferred just from the game’s pithy, yet ornately penned paragraphs.

Thus beyond just matters of survival, your relationships offer something more: community. Take the data core contract; Juni, a relative stranger then, asked that you give her the data for archival purposes, in exchange for nothing more than a promise of assistance with your fuel problem.

Despite initial misgivings, you can hand the data to her, with her later returning the favor in unexpected ways. Another branching story, which involves potentially assisting a union leader, also feeds into this sense of camaraderie. Such instances of solidarity suffuse your ill-fated journey with something perhaps resembling hope, an aspiration of not having to struggle against the hegemony of corporate power over the working class alone.

That said, it’s possible to make a comfortable living and save a handsome sum of cryos, the cycles of stressful resource management a thing of the past. Eventually, you may become adept at gaming the very system itself.

Even a single cycle marred with sheer, unbelievably bad luck - a series of shoddy dice rolls, perhaps leading to an exhausting, energy-draining day of labor - becomes easier to recover from. What you do with this excess, however, is up to you, such as choosing to pay another crew their fees, turning down the payment owed to you by another worker, or just burning all your cryos at a gambling den.

Tinged with hope

The game’s onerous system points to a reality that’s attuned to our wretched times: a pandemic that has exposed structural inequality, governments that are slipping into authoritarianism, and countries that refuse to acknowledge genocides. But Starward Vector is more than just a bleak universe writhing with doom and peril; its bright spots are undoubtedly its well-written, likable characters, whose aid and support you’ll learn to lean into even as structural oppression looms.

It has achieved the rare feat of balancing its narrative with a multi-faceted system without drowning its humanity in these details - all the while imparting the value of collective action and mutual aid. For a tale set in a cyber dystopia, it’s an uncharacteristically hopeful tale.

Should you play Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector?

Play it if...

Don't play it if...

Accessibility features

Starward Vector offers three difficulty settings: safe, risky, and dangerous, which can be changed at any time during the game. This changes the penalties from poor dice rolls, such as increased energy depletion and permanent death in the dangerous setting. Scene text can be enlarged, while the text scroll speed can be increased and reduced.

How I reviewed Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

I spent around 16 hours on the game, completing the main quest, exploring its extensive solar system and planets, and experiencing its side content in the form of its contracts. I also reviewed the game on an original LCD Steam Deck, playing the game in handheld mode, with the device providing hours of seamless gameplay.

First reviewed January 2025

Razer Blue Screen: one-minute review

The Razer Blue Screen is a premium and convenient solution for those wanting a pro-grade green screen that's easy to set up and provides marvellous results. Think of it as a competitor to Elgato's similarly-specced solution, with the key (pun intended) difference being its colour.

The reason for this being a blue screen is because, according to Razer, it's easier to key out than the classic green - a statement that I found accurate in my testing. In addition, it's also more in line with what the professionals use in the name of giving your content more of a pro-grade appearance with the right care and attention.

The Blue Screen can extend up to 94-inches, or 2.38 metres, in height, making it suitable for head, or even full body, shots. In addition, it features quality fixtures and fittings with a sturdy metal frame and seam-free polyester material. While expensive, it remains one of the best green screens we've tested.

Razer Blue Screen: Price and availability

• $149.99 / £159.99
• Sold only via Razer directly
• Available in the UK & US

The Razer Blue Screen clocks in at £159.99 / $149.99 and has been around since October 2022 as a more premium option for those looking for a simple pull-up blue screen for keying out backgrounds in a professional manner.

Other peripheral brands have leaned into the green screen space in the past, with the likes of Elgato's Green Screen offering a similarly priced package with a pull-up screen designed for streamers.

The key difference between the pair of these screens is color. A blue screen is arguably closer to what's used in some professional environments and is generally better in low light conditions than a green screen.

Otherwise, the premium price tag attached to Razer's option will also buy you some entire kits from the likes of Neewer that include a green sheet held up with its included stands, as well as a pair of soft-box lights, bulbs, umbrellas, and more. You do have to have a fair amount of space for a full kit like that, whereas the Blue Screen pulls up and down and thus can be stowed away easily.

Razer Blue Screen: Specs

Razer Blue Screen: Design and features

• Wonderfully easy to set up
• Tall enough for head and full-body shots
• High-quality polyester fabric

The Razer Blue Screen is a sleek and modern entry into what can often be quite a clunky enterprise. Setting up a green screen isn't the easiest if you're using one of those kits that's simply a piece of green fabric that needs to be clipped to a surface or attached to a stand.

With this in mind, Razer's choice makes it all easy, simply pulling up out of its enclosure to a height of 94 inches, or 2.38 meters. To erect it, you push against a tab on the top side, and pull up. The screen is on runners, so it almost pulls up itself with minimal effort required.

It's a stable setup, too, with the entire stand comprised of thick metal, and a pair of fold-out plastic legs that prevent the Blue Screen from falling over. In addition, the pull-up portion is reinforced with cross-braces on the reverse side that keep it straight and true.

In addition, as with the Elgato Green Screen and other similar pull-up options, Razer's Blue Screen is easily stowable in a cupboard or the corner of a room as it slides down to nothing into its base. It's a lot easier than dealing with a full-size kit, that's for sure.

The screen itself is made of polyester and is both seamless and wrinkle-free out of the box. Being totally smooth means it's easier to key out in the editing stage for a more professional look to your content.

Razer Blue Screen: Performance

• Fantastic keying results
• Works well in low-light conditions
• Simple set-up is brilliant

The Razer Blue Screen is, in one word, convenient. Other green screens I've tested in the past have come in the form of sheetings with additional stands, which can take more than a few minutes to set up.

With Razer's choice, it's as easy as pulling it up in a matter of seconds, sitting down in a chair, recording some content, and then booting up the software to key the background out.

The mere fact it's blue made keying out easier in lower light conditions, especially when I only have space for a single key light off to the left of my desk. Once I had balanced the correct color to key out in my software, the Razer Blue Screen produced wonderfully clean and smooth results on Windows or MacOS.

With this in mind, as a literal piece of pull-up fabric, compatibility isn't an issue with the Blue Screen. It'll work with whatever software and operating system you're using for keying the background out, such as Final Cut Pro on macOS or DaVinci Resolve on Windows, as I used in my testing.

Should I buy the Razer Blue Screen?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider...

Still not sold on the Razer Blue Screen? Here's how it compares to two similar products.

How I tested the Razer Blue Screen

• Used and tested for more than one week
• Tested it with Windows and macOS editing software
• Evaluated against other green screens

I used the Razer Blue Screen for a week as a screen for recording test film that was captured in OBS as if I was streaming for keying the blue screen out. I also recorded test footage that was edited in both DaVinci Resolve on Windows and Final Cut Pro on macOS to best utilize the blue screen.

Throughout my period testing the blue screen, I compared it against the Elgato Green Screen and Neewer Green Screen Kit, as well as a similar full-size kit I had purchased myself prior to the review.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed January 2025.

Rareware’s trilogy of Donkey Kong Country platformers was a huge statement back on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Not only was Donkey Kong back, but he could stand up to Mario himself when it came to the 2D platforming crown with three excellently designed games released back to back from 1994 to 1996.

After a fourteen-year absence, Donkey Kong Country finally returned in 2010 with Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios taking over the mantle from Rare with the aptly named Donkey Kong Country Returns. And now fourteen years on we’re getting the game again, but this time without the forced waggles of the Wii version or the hindered framerate of the later 3DS port, meaning Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is finally the definitive version of the game - but it’s not much else.

Admittedly, I was disappointed at the announcement of this port. It’s been just over 10 years since the last game in the series – the phenomenal Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – with the big ape since being relegated to spinoffs. However, over the past few years, it has felt like Nintendo has been building up to something with Donkey Kong between his prominent role in the Super Mario Bros. Movie and the new theme park area in Japan. So for the grand return to be a 14-year-old Wii game ported over, there wasn’t too much to get hyped about.

Much like the 2018 Nintendo Switch port of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, there really isn’t anything new to Donkey Kong Country Returns HD aside from a brand new easy mode – which is nice, but it’s not something I’m interested in playing. Although Tropical Freeze at least dressed up the easy mode with a playable Funky Kong, something absent from Returns HD. This could be excused if it was released for a lower price perhaps, like the substantially visually overhauled Metroid Prime Remastered, but Donkey Kong Country Returns HD follows last year’s Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD as a full-priced game that, on the whole, brings nothing new to the table and is a middling Nintendo Switch game in 2025.

Ooh, banana

Donkey Kong’s banana hoard has been stolen once more – which is tantamount to killing a family member as far as the tie-wearing ape is concerned. Retro Studios abandoned the iconic Kremling army from the SNES trilogy in favor of the Tiki Tak Tribe, who are a band of sentient Tiki masks. While the Tikis themselves are pretty boring, their power of hypnotism allows the boss fights to get a bit more ‘out there’ as DK gets to scrap with various jungle creatures under their control. Each boss ends with a satisfying battering after every fight that evokes the feeling of GameCube classic Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

Compared to Mario, Donkey Kong Country is a more hardcore platformer series. Donkey Kong himself is extremely heavy (as you would probably expect from a gorilla), and that weightiness transfers to the platforming perfectly. Where Mario can breeze through stages with massive jumps and power-ups, Donkey Kong is more momentum-focused with strategically placed jumps and rolls required to really breeze through levels, but a lot of the time it’s best to take things a bit slower. Later levels get extremely tough, requiring you to be top banana to get through, but that just makes it all the more satisfying to clear.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD also brings Diddy Kong back into the fold as a pseudo powerup. Getting him works like in the SNES games where you find a DK barrel and smash it to get your pal. But unlike on the SNES, you can’t switch to Diddy Kong; he mainly acts as a jetpack hover to DK’s jump and allows you to infinitely roll. This was disappointing back in 2010, and it’s still a disappointing aspect of the game now, especially considering a second player can take full control of Diddy Kong in the game’s co-op mode. This would’ve made a nice addition to the new port, but alas, it’s not here.

Jungle Japes

Developer Retro Studios had big shoes to fill, and like most nostalgic platformer returns, a lot of the early game of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD feels very much like a cover band playing the hits of that original trilogy. While the levels are good, it feels a lot like trying to recapture the magic of the originals. However, as the game progresses, Retro introduces unique biomes like the Factory and Volcano worlds, which not only up the difficulty but are far more interesting to play through than the opening hours.

One of the big things associated with the series is collectibles; each level contains hidden 'KONG' letters to collect, as well as puzzle pieces. These are key to unlocking all manner of things like concept art, music, and even bonus levels that will really test your platforming skills (including the previously 3DS-exclusive levels). The letters are mercifully pretty easy to find on a first go, but some of those puzzle pieces will test your eyes as well as your platforming.

Another iconic Donkey Kong staple is the unique level gimmicks. Animal friends return from the SNES trilogy, although this is sadly limited to just Rambi the Rhino here. Meanwhile, the dreaded minecart stages that would test your reactions with their brutal difficulty also make a return this time around, and this is one area where Retro really outdid Rare. The weight of DK in this game, alongside the Returns physics, makes the jumps in these even more satisfying, and there’s always a wealth of extra pathways to add to the risk/reward factor.

Finally, there are the Rocket Barrel stages, which are a flight mode akin to Flappy Bird (yes, it was released four years prior, but everyone knows Flappy Bird). Hold A to rise, and let go to dip as you avoid all manner of obstacles. Truthfully, I’ve never loved these stages, as the slower on-rails nature of them feel like a less interesting version of the minecart stages, leading them to drag on a bit.

Here he comes banana slamma, congo bongo’s hero

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD’s entire purpose seems to just be making a version of the original game that brings the extra content and a good control scheme from the 3DS to a console that looks good and runs at 60 frames per second (fps) like the Wii original. And to that end, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD nails it; it sure is that. But while other ports have had even the bare minimum of extras like Captain Toad Treasure Tracker’s Odyssey levels or Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition’s Breath of the Wild costumes added, Donkey Kong is just the same game from before.

And don’t expect a Metroid Prime Remastered-level visual upgrade either; while it is a definite bump in quality in the jump to HD, it isn’t an impressive leap. While Returns HD does upgrade DK to have more fur compared to his flat Wii model, the fur in Returns doesn’t look on par with its Tropical Freeze counterpart. One area where the visuals feel like a downgrade however is the lighting in the volcano level, which is more of a dull magma color rather than the bright orange of the Wii edition.

You’re still getting a good game here (albeit, a game that’s a reskin of probably the weakest Donkey Kong Country title), but it’s really hard to recommend this to anyone who has played the game before; you’d be better off picking up the far better (and probably cheaper) Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. If anything, this just recontextualized how good the sequel was to me; the jump in quality from Returns to Tropical Freeze is nothing short of incredible.

Should you play Donkey Kong Country Returns HD?

Play it if...

Don't play it if...

Accessibility

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD features a brand new ‘Modern Mode’ that offers up an easier experience for players less attuned to DKC’s more hardcore platforming. You’ll get an extra hitpoint for both DK and Diddy, as well as the ability to bring nine of the helper items as opposed to just one in original mode (including some items that are exclusive to modern mode like Diddy Kong barrels and the Green Balloon).

Outside of that, the game doesn’t have many accessibility options. You have the option to swap the Roll/Pound/Blow button (X/Y) with the Grab button (ZR/ZL), but other than that, you’ll need to remap your controls from the console settings.

How I reviewed Donkey Kong Country Returns HD

I played roughly 13 hours of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, and in that time I completed the main game, including collecting all of the KONG letters and completing optional levels. I also completed the extra levels that were introduced in the 3DS version of the game. I played the game in the ‘Original’ setting outside of trying out a few levels on ‘Modern’ after rolling credits.

I played the game primarily in handheld mode on a Nintendo Switch OLED using the Joy-Con controllers, with a bit of playtime in docked mode on my Samsung Q60D TV and Samsung HW-T450 soundbar with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and CKRD Neo S controller.

First reviewed December 2024 / January 2025