Submit a news tip



Retro Studios

Donkey Kong Country Returns developer

If you’ve been wondering who the developer is behind Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, we now have that answer. It turns out Forever Entertainment is working on the port. That news comes from an official notice posted following the announcement.

This is the first time Nintendo and Forever Entertainment are working so closely together on a re-release. In 2021, Forever announced that it was receiving “significant financial backing” from the company. Read more about that here.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD graphics comparison

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD was just announced for Switch today, and a new video offers a graphics comparison that puts it up against the original Wii version. 3DS is technically included here as well, as that was essentially the Wii version at a lower resolution.

As far as we know, Donkey Kong Country Returns will now run in full HD on Switch, but otherwise it’s largely the same. One bonus is that the new levels made for the 3DS version will be included in the latest version.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD

Nintendo has sent out the official boxart for the newly-announced Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. Additionally, we have some screenshots as well.

Here’s an overview of the game:

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond

Nintendo has passed long a handful of screenshots from Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. These images are essentially come from what was shown in today’s trailer, but we now have images in direct-feed high quality.

Nintendo simply says that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond involves Samus embarking on a new mission. While the company isn’t going into any further details, we do know that Sylux – who first appeared in Metroid Prime Hunters – will be involved.

Metroid Prime 4

During today’s Nintendo Direct, a long-awaited update was finally provided on Metroid Prime 4, which now has the Beyond subtitle. The game will be launching in 2025.

To say that it’s been a long wait for Metroid Prime 4 has been an understatement. Nintendo unveiled the project in June 2017, but announced in January 2019 that the entire project was being rebooted with Retro Studios – the series’ original developer – taking over. Little information has been shared since, but we did at least get Metroid Prime Remastered last year.

Here’s the new trailer:

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is heading to Switch, Nintendo just revealed. It releases on January 16, 2025.

Donkey Kong Country Returns originally released on Wii, and later 3DS. Speaking of 3DS, new levels from that version will be included.

Find more details in the following overview:

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze martian theme

If things had gone in a different direction, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze could have featured a martian theme.

The game ultimately starts out with the Snowmads freezing DK Island, and players go on a journey to take down Lord Fredrik. However, Retro Studios artists that worked on the title says that the martian theme was considered, albeit briefly.

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze Cranky Kong

Some of you may recall that in 2013, former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime appeared at VGX to show off Cranky Kong in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. VGX was the new take on the Spike Video Game Awards that ran for a decade prior. It only took place that single year – Geoff Keighley then went on to form The Game Awards.

Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, who worked for Nintendo for over a decade, reflected on the whole thing in an episode of Kit & Krysta Podcast. Ellis started out by sharing the following, which goes into why the Cranky Kong news was chosen in the first place:

Retro Studios Adept The Blob Game

Thanks to Did You Know Gaming, we have insight into a couple of short-lived Retro Studios projects – specifically Adept and “The Blob Game”.

Adept was playable in a rough state, but was ultimately just a pitch that Nintendo turned out. It was running in the Metroid Prime 3 engine and was intended to show off mechanics. In late 2007 and into early 2008, Retro was working on Adept that took inspiration from Portal while evolving on the premise – primarily by introducing combat.

After years of rumors and speculation, Metroid Prime Remastered was unveiled during a Nintendo Direct last week. Even better, you can play it right now by picking it up from the eShop. The physical version will also be in stores very soon.

Metroid Prime Remastered obviously isn’t a new game, but some of you might be playing it for the first time. We’re also sure that some of you only played it back on the GameCube and haven’t revisited it until now.

No matter what your experience is, what do you think of Metroid Prime Remastered? How do you feel about the upgraded visuals? Which control style are you going for? Let us know in the comments below.


Manage Cookie Settings