Technologies

I Played Donkey Kong Bananza. It’s the Switch 2’s Killer Ape

If you’re looking for a reason to get a Nintendo Switch 2, this game has a peel.

You fall out of the sky and find yourself on a day-glo series of underground islands. You have to smash your way through them with your gorilla fists to find secret objects and fossils. Occasionally you can turn into a magic ostrich. Also, a woman named Pauline rides your back and throws words at things.

Donkey Kong Bananza, a game that’s only available on Nintendo Switch 2, is the best handheld gaming console’s new must-get game. After a few hours of playing it at a Nintendo preview in New York, I’m excited to play more. So is my kid who, after discovering it was an exclusive that’s not coming to the original Switch, said «OK, this is what might convince me to get a Switch 2.» He never said that with Mario Kart World, Nintendo’s other Switch 2 exclusive game.

What I love about Bananza is how vast and new it all feels. I got vibes and styles from all sorts of Nintendo games — Super Mario Odyssey, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Splatoon and even Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — but this game’s also full of its own styles and surprises that are utterly fresh. This is a big, welcome blast of New Nintendo.

Donkey Kong Bananza comes out July 17. It’s available for preorder now for $70 from Nintendo.com and other retailers.

Playing Donkey Kong Bananza I encountered some familiar formulas. It’s a huge 3D platformer, but it has 2D throwback moments, just like Super Mario Odyssey did. The smash-everything gameplay involving digging tunnels and unearthing treasure feels at times like Minecraft, at times like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s craft-everything freedom. The bright colors and bold characters remind me of Splatoon. The big multi-tier levels I explored — and tried to find secrets in — evoked the larger levels in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Bananza was actually made by the Mario Odyssey team, and you can tell. This is game’s similarly epic-looking, multidimensional and … musical. The songs occasionally sung by Pauline, your sidekick and friend, feel destined to appear in a future Donkey Kong Bananza animated movie. Odyssey had a lot of music riffs in it, too.

I didn’t get that much time to play. It was just a few hours and they flew. I was torn between freely exploring the huge levels, digging up stuff like fossils, crystal bananas (Banandium gems, which can be collected like many other things) and treasure chests, and finding the hidden bonus challenges. There are more straightforward goals per level, too, with a pop-up 3D map or directional arrow hint to show the way. I needed the help, since these levels can feel pretty gigantic.

I just started to feel like I was getting the hang of all the different game controls, including ripping chunks of rock off cliffs and surfing them, turning into a super-powered Bananza mode to single-punch through metal walls, and climbing all over the place. Getting skill points to add other abilities, and collecting clothing that offers other boosts, just feels like a wild amount of freedom.

I also got to try the co-op mode. A second player becomes Pauline, who can shoot solid words made of her voice that can destroy objects and enemies. The controls use the Joy-Con 2 mouse mode, making it feel like a targeting shoot-em-up. Bananza also supports Game Share to stream the co-op mode to another nearby Switch (either another Switch 2 or an original Switch). I want to try this with my family at home, but sadly, there’s no deeper co-op here. Consider it sort of like Odyssey’s hat-throwing co-op mode, but better.

I’ve gone back and watched the Nintendo Direct deep dive after my Bananza session, and I want to know more. I’m in. So’s my kid. And I’m glad this game is a step into new territory, despite starring old favorite Donkey Kong. The Switch 2 was already excellent but it feels even more vibrant now. With a few more big exclusive games like this, the Switch 2 is going to become a must-get for a lot more people. Actually, that moment might already be here.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 26, #929

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 26 #929

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is full of fun pop-culture references. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Golden state cliches.

Green group hint: Funny films.

Blue group hint: Rock on.

Purple group hint: Not white.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: California-based character tropes.

Green group: Comedy subgenres.

Blue group: ’70s rock bands.

Purple group: Black ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is California-based character tropes. The four answers are movie exec, surfer, tech bro and Valley Girl.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is comedy subgenres. The four answers are buddy, cringe, screwball and stoner.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is ’70s rock bands. The four answers are America, Chicago, Foreigner and Journey.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is black ____. The four answers are Forest, Friday, Panther and Widow.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 26 #663

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Dec. 26, No. 663.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one, but you might struggle at first to see a connection between the words. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please hold.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Cats love these more than they love expensive toys.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BOXING, CHEAT, HEAT, SMOCK, MOCK, LATE, TEAM, MEAT, TEAMS, LOOT, TOLE, BALL, BALE, KALE, TALL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

GIFT, SHOE, TOOL, LUNCH, MATCH, PIZZA, BALLOT, TACKLE (All are words that can be placed in front of «box.»)

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is BOXINGDAY. To find it, start with the B that’s four letters down on the far-left row, and wind across and then down.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 25, #1650

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 25, No. 1,650.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle has some tough-to-guess letters. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with P.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with M.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a geometric figure.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is PRISM.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Dec. 24, No. 1649, was SPOOL.

Recent Wordle answers

Dec. 20, No. 1645: WHITE

Dec. 21, No. 1646: QUILT

Dec. 22, No. 1647: CONCH

Dec. 23, No. 1648: GLINT

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Don’t be afraid to use our tip sheet ranking all the letters in the alphabet by frequency of uses. In short, you want starter words that lean heavy on E, A and R, and don’t contain Z, J and Q.

Some solid starter words to try:

ADIEU

TRAIN

STARE

NOISE