Sank another two hours into DK. Upping my strength REALLY makes it much more easier to bash stuff. The constant smashing of rocks still has to grow on me
but after prioritizing power upgrades (and getting the 'Bananza mode') it's a
bit more fun. I'm still not in love with it though.
My kid is completely over it. He liked it at first but got bored. The game is either mindlessly smash things in a sandbox environment to grind collectables or OMG THERE'S SUDDENLY AN AVALANCHE OF SPIKES, GET GUD QUICK.
Doesn't even wanna try assist mode, he just wants to switch to Mario Kart World (save me, I am forced to play Mario Kart World so often).
My kid is pretty young but he can still play the Yoshi games, M64 and Mario Kart pretty well-- I wouldn't recommend this game for little kids. It doesn't really gradually 'train' you to get better. You just jump in and it's either mind numbingly easy or suddenly there's a bunch of spikes and you're losing gold.
BUT to be honest, I didn't get this game for my kid, I got it because I'm a DK simp but I'm hoping it's gonna get... cooler?
I am also liking DK's new design less and less. It looks a bit Tumblr-y the more I look at it.
DEFINITELY not worth the 70+ USD.
Nah I’m im the same boat as you here. It’s not scratching a 3D platformer itch for me and the camera issues remind me of the PS1 days
I am not getting ANY 3D platforming satisfaction. The most platforming is climbing and occasionally jumping from said climbs. Then smash smash smash smash,
Edit:
Sort of a cheat-- if you go to Thorny Hill Speed Surf (Hilltop Layer Challenge Coarse 2) you can easily just farm medals by replaying it over and over. It's a really fast level. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo patched this later.