Transcription
What's up everybody? Damon here, and today's gaming news: Donkey Kong Bonanza might be a prequel to the original arcade game. Not really, but it's still kind of fun to think about. Plus, Marathon is delayed, and the director of the Elder Ring movie just found a cool sword in the game. This is your daily fix. [Music]
Nintendo has revealed new Donkey Kong Bonanza gameplay details in today's Direct, which has also confirmed that Pauline from Super Mario Odyssey and the original Donkey Kong will be your sidekick. This younger version of Pauline was previously leaked by Nintendo, then quickly scrubbed from the internet. Exactly how Nintendo's upcoming 3D platformer fits into the wider Kong storyline remains to be seen.
Pauline can use her singing talents to temporarily transform DK into new forms: a charging zebra or a flying ostrich that can drop egg bombs. Pauline can also be controlled by a second player, turning Bonanza into a co-op experience, where her vocals become explosive blasts, which can be aimed via the Joy-Con's mouth controls to help DK with his destruction. Using Game Share, this co-op offering can be played on multiple local Switch consoles, including Switch One, without your co-op partner needing a copy of the game themselves.
Other new gameplay features confirmed today included the ability to skate around on pieces of the environment that DK has torn out of the ground and even stick them together to form new structures, such as bridges. And then there's DK artist, a mode that lets you get creative with Bonanza's destruction effects and carve your own statues out of stone. Eagle-eyed viewers will likely have spotted returning classic characters like Cranky Kong and Rambi the Rhino. But did you also spot Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong? They're included, though what their roles will be remains uncertain.
Speaking of familiar elements, today's Nintendo Direct also featured a fresh version of the iconic DK rap from Donkey Kong 64 that's set to feature in Bonanza. When it comes to moving between layers, subterranean eels have your back. One notable omission from the Nintendo Direct was any confirmation as to which development team is behind Donkey Kong Bonanza. Fans had previously speculated that the game is the work of the company's talented Super Mario Odyssey crew. Whether Pauline's reappearance here is another clue remains to be seen. Donkey Kong Bonanza launches July 17th, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2.
Moving on, Sony and Bungie's Marathon reboot has been delayed to a new unspecified release date. The Destiny and Halo developer announced that its previously planned September 23rd release date had been officially removed from the calendar. The message comes with the promise that an update, as well as a new release date, will be delivered this fall. Bungie said, "Through every comment and real-time conversation on social media and Discord, your voice has been strong and clear. We've taken this to heart, and we know we need more time to craft Marathon into the game that truly reflects your passion. After much discussion within our dev team, we've made the decision to delay the September 23rd release."
The Marathon delay follows criticism revolving around a Marathon alpha test held in April. The conversation around Bungie's new take on the live service extraction shooter formula has been heated, to say the least, so a delay isn't too shocking. Shocking. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Herman Hol went as far as to address feedback just last week, calling the response from fans varied. His comments also included the promise that the Marathon reboot would get a release date set by March 31st, 2026, while assuring naysayers that the company had no intention of repeating the mistakes seen with last year's Concord. Bungie concluded, "You'll hear from us again later this fall when we can share the progress we've made alongside the game's new release date. Thank you again for your patience and much more importantly, your passion. Your continued feedback will help us make Marathon the incredible gaming experience we all know it can be." Bungie announced its Marathon reboot two years ago. I'll just leave you with this poll asking the IGN audience if they're excited for it.
And finally, today, the director of the upcoming Elder Ring movie, Alex Garland, is on his seventh playthrough of From Software's epic fantasy RPG and has revealed the boss he found the toughest to take down. Spoilers, it's exactly who you think it is. Speaking of Ain, ahead of the release of 28 years later, the zombie apocalypse film he has written 23 years on from penning the first movie in the franchise, the exmachina and civil war director revealed which of all the famed foes in Elder Ring that he has settled on being the most difficult. Garland explained, "No, it's it's millennia. It's the tough one. I'm now on the seventh playthrough of that game. I've leveled up. I've got lots of juice and cool sword and stuff like that and I just throw myself at them again and again and again and again." That was the technique I learned with Dark Souls. It's not that you get better. It's more like Monkeys and Typewriters. You just keep doing it and eventually one day they're dead. But it turns out Garland never had quite the trouble with Star Scourge Rodon. Instead, offering his very own game help guide on how to take down the horsemen, Dan's really easy. I thought Red was quite easy because as long as you sort of activated the people who can assist you in that fight, they get on with fighting him and then you just, you know, they take off with whatever it is, half of his energy and you sure you finish him off. It's all about activating those little summon signs dotted around.
We know next to nothing about the Elder Ring movie, which is in the works from Garland as writer and director, Elder Ring publisher Bandai Namco, and A24. Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, who helped create the original Elder Ring, is attached as a producer. And that's your daily fix for Wednesday, June 18th. Now that you're caught up on the news, watch that full Donkey Kong Bonanza direct. I'm Damon Hatfield, and for all your video game news, stay tuned to IGN.