Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Donkey Kong Adventure DLC Switch review - A great, if lightweight, addition to the game

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, surprisingly, turned out to be one of the best games on Switch – perhaps even one of the best strategy games there has been in this current generation of games.

There was also promise of more content to come, and after around a year of waiting, the new Donkey Kong AdventureDLC has landed, bringing the big ape along with a heap of new content.

It's a fairly brisk affair that will remind you why you fell in love with the game in the first place, and while it doesn't outstay its welcome, it also feels like it has a lot more to offer.

Walking like a big monkey man

The key additions to the Donkey Kong Adventure DLC are the big man himself, Donkey Kong, and a Rabbid version of Cranky Kong.

The former has the highest HP of your party, his primary attack can hit multiple targets in one go, and he can pick up almost anything on the map and throw it at his enemies – including units themselves.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Donkey Kong Adventures DLC Screenshot 1

DK can also use specific jump pads to traverse the arenas, giving him a ridiculous movement range, and you can pick up and throw your teammates to move them around at the same pace.

Cranky Kong is low in health and not as movement-focused, but his shotgun obliterates anything in his path, and he can use a devastating Team Jump move which blasts down on a wide area around where he lands.

Rabbid Peach rounds off the trio, complete with all her moves from the main game – she's mostly a healer, but she still packs a punch with her multiple slide attacks during her movement phase.

Pick it up

The main storyline has 20 battles to work your way through, with a ton of block-sliding puzzles to complete along the way if you want to grab all the collectibles and unlock the best weapons from collecting puzzle pieces.

There's a few objectives thrown into the mix for combat – you have to collect parts in some battles, while in others you need to defeat certain enemies before they reach their goal – but it's all still fairly standard fair.

You'll also face off against huge bosses, though these end up being something of a letdown. The first two mid-bosses you encounter are incredibly similar, and the final confrontation is remarkably easy and an unworthy payoff for the time spent in the game.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Donkey Kong Adventures DLC Screenshot 2

Far more enjoyable are the pre-boss puzzle sequences, which stack an additional challenge on top after completion, topped off with a timed puzzle room once you beat that.

These are the truly tricky puzzles, and you're rewarded with beefed-up weapons for taking down mid-bosses with upon completion, so they're well worth the effort of finishing.

Annoyingly, however, if you miss any puzzles or collectibles, you can't go back for them until you've finished the entire main storyline. Miss a single jigsaw piece – which unlock three amazing weapons once all of them have been found – and you'll just have to wait until the final boss is dead to get them.

Selfie shtick

Overall, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battles' Donkey Kong Adventure DLC is a great addition to the game, though it doesn't add much new into the game beyond two of its main characters.

Its let down by an inability to return to earlier areas until you finish the main quest, and some disappointing boss battles, but everything else is as sharp and entertaining as the core game.

There's a bunch of great puzzles, some truly tense combat encounters, and endless funny moments to enjoy, so if you want more Rabbids-based strategy action in your life, this is well worth checking out.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Donkey Kong Adventure DLC Switch review - A great, if lightweight, addition to the game

It's not as interesting as it could've been, but the Donkey Kong Adventures DLC is a worthy addition to the core Mario + Rabbids experience
Score
Ric Cowley
Ric Cowley
Ric was somehow the Editor of Pocket Gamer, having started out as an intern in 2015. He hopes to take over the world the same way.