Games Like Donkey Kong Country
Quick Answer
The closest games to Donkey Kong Country are Donkey Kong Country 2, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Super Mario World, Rayman Legends and Yoshi's Island. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Donkey Kong Country, and what does not.
What Made Donkey Kong Country Work
Donkey Kong Country is a precision platformer with two characters you swap between, secret rooms in nearly every level, and mine cart sections that turned into the series signature. The rendered graphics dated; the level design did not.
Donkey Kong Country is Rare's 1994 SNES platformer. Its graphics were pre-rendered from 3D models, making it look unlike anything on the console, and David Wise's soundtrack is still widely celebrated. Donkey and Diddy Kong travel through Donkey Kong Island, swapping between the two, riding animal buddies like Rambi the rhino and surviving mine cart sections. Fans usually want another precise, challenging 2D platformer full of secrets.
9 Games Like Donkey Kong Country
1.Donkey Kong Country 2
The best of the trilogy, and much harder.
Why it fits: Rare's 1995 sequel, subtitled Diddy's Kong Quest, stars Diddy and Dixie Kong and is harder, with more secrets.
What is different: Diddy and Dixie replace Donkey Kong, Dixie can spin her hair to glide, and the levels are harder.
Where to play it: SNES and Game Boy Advance.
More about this game →2.Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
The modern entry, and one of the best platformers ever made.
Why it fits: Retro Studios' 2014 Wii U game, released on Switch in 2018, brings back David Wise for the soundtrack.
What is different: Polygonal 3D on a 2D path, with longer levels and a harder set of bosses.
Where to play it: Wii U and Switch.
More about this game →3.Super Mario World
The SNES platformer it competed with, and the secret exits are the same idea.
Why it fits: Nintendo EAD's 1990 game has secret exits and the Star Road hidden in its world map.
What is different: A world map full of secret exits and a cape to fly with; Mario is more forgiving than Donkey Kong's one-hit rolls.
Where to play it: SNES and Game Boy Advance.
Games like this →4.Rayman Legends
The most polished 2D platformer since, with the same secret-hunting.
Why it fits: Ubisoft Montpellier's 2013 platformer has precise controls and hidden collectables.
What is different: Music levels and four-player co-op instead of barrels and mine carts; brighter and faster.
Where to play it: Wii U, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC and Switch.
More about this game →5.Yoshi's Island
The other great SNES platformer, and far stranger.
Why it fits: Nintendo EAD's 1995 SNES game has a hand-drawn look and a distinctive egg-throwing mechanic.
What is different: Slower, and about collecting flowers and red coins while you protect Baby Mario rather than surviving to the exit.
Where to play it: SNES, and Game Boy Advance as Super Mario Advance 3.
Games like this →6.Celeste
If the precision was the appeal more than the collecting.
Why it fits: Maddy Makes Games' 2018 platformer focuses on precise, challenging movement.
What is different: No partner and no animal buddies, only one climber, a dash and short screens that kill you many times.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
More about this game →7.Kaze and the Wild Masks
Made deliberately to be Donkey Kong Country again.
Why it fits: PixelHive's 2021 platformer, published by Soedesco, is openly inspired by Donkey Kong Country.
What is different: An open homage to DKC with a rabbit hero and masks that turn her into animals.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
More about this game →8.Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Beautiful, precise 2D movement with more exploration.
Why it fits: Moon Studios' 2020 Metroidvania has fluid movement and precise platforming.
What is different: A metroidvania with one connected world to explore and a real combat system, not a run of separate levels.
Where to play it: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Switch.
More about this game →9.Crash Bandicoot 4
The same feel translated into three dimensions.
Why it fits: Toys for Bob's 2020 game, subtitled It's About Time, is a challenging platformer with a mostly linear design.
What is different: Mostly 3D runs away from and into the screen, with masks that bend time and gravity.
Where to play it: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC.
More about this game →
Where to Start
Donkey Kong Country 2 is the best next step. Tropical Freeze is the pick for a modern entry. Kaze and the Wild Masks is the indie game closest in feel.
How We Picked These Games
Every pick is a 2D or 2.5D platformer with precise controls and secrets to find. We included the best of the Donkey Kong Country series, the SNES classics of the same era and modern games that share its challenge.
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How These Picks Match Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country is catalogued here as a 2D platformer on the Super Nintendo. All nine picks share at least one of its genre tags — nine platformers and three arcade games among them.
Going by the "where to play it" notes, five can be played on PC, four can be played on a PlayStation, nine can be played on a Nintendo system and five can be played on an Xbox. Celeste, Kaze and the Wild Masks and Ori and the Will of the Wisps are from small or self-published studios. Donkey Kong Country 2, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Super Mario World, Rayman Legends, Yoshi's Island, Kaze and the Wild Masks and Crash Bandicoot 4 are, like Donkey Kong Country, games a child and an adult can play together.
| Game | Genre | Shares with Donkey Kong Country | Where to play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donkey Kong Country 2 | Platformer, Family, Arcade | Platformer, Arcade | SNES and Game Boy Advance. |
| Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | Platformer, Family | Platformer | Wii U and Switch. |
| Super Mario World | Platformer, Family, Arcade | Platformer, Arcade | SNES and Game Boy Advance. |
| Rayman Legends | Platformer, Family, Arcade | Platformer, Arcade | Wii U, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC and Switch. |
| Yoshi's Island | Platformer, Family, Puzzle | Platformer | SNES, and Game Boy Advance as Super Mario Advance 3. |
| Celeste | Platformer, Indie | Platformer | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. |
| Kaze and the Wild Masks | Platformer, Indie, Family | Platformer | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. |
| Ori and the Will of the Wisps | Platformer, Action, Indie | Platformer | Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Switch. |
| Crash Bandicoot 4 | Platformer, Family | Platformer | PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC. |
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