Donkey Kong Bananza fans need to check out Big Hops

3D platformers are alive and well in 2026

A game doesn’t need to be directly inspired by another to be in conversation with it. That’s something we learned several times in 2025, whether it was through RPGs that reflected on a pandemic, a sudden wave of kart racers, or several ninja games that begged comparisons to one another. We’re already getting another great example of that in 2026, thanks to Big Hops, an unexpectedly perfect chaser to Donkey Kong Bananza, seven months later.

Developed by Luckshot Games, Big Hops is a colorful 3D platformer that certainly feels like a Nintendo game. It has clear shades of Super Mario Odyssey in its deceptively deep movement and proud collect-a-thon structure. But its open-ended approach to puzzle-platforming is closer to Bananza, a game that only recently pounded that same idea to smashing success. Big Hops couldn't have been inspired by Bananza considering the little time between their releases, but the former plays like a response to the latter’s weakest points.

In Big Hops, you take on the role of an adorable frog named Hop who is whisked away from home by a mischievous spirit with mysterious motives. To return home, Hop must traverse a few biomes and track down three airship parts. Along the way, he can collect tons of Dark Drips, earn gameplay modifying badges, catch (and eat) insects, and nab other hidden items. It’s an airtight genre game delivered with cheery visuals and an earnest tone that calls A Short Hike to mind.

What sets it apart from its peers is its froggy hero. Hop primarily interacts with the world with his tongue, which can be used to open chests, pick locks, and swing off of grapple points. That last part is where Big Hops really makes its mark, as the game has a momentum-driven movement system that has players launching themselves around each map. Tongue grappling combines with air diving to create an expressive traversal system where players can cross long gaps with the right planning. Roll off an edge, jump, and dive to extend movement in the same way Mario can with Cappy in Odyssey. It all feels remarkably smooth, especially when combined with some Breath of the Wild-esque wall clinging that allows players to cut through stages any way they like with careful stamina management.

Bananza didn’t cross my mind at first as I was tumbling through a desert and solving puzzles with my tongue, but it came flooding back to me the first time I picked up an acorn. Big Hops’ extra twist is that Hop can find an assortment of seeds and fruits in the world that all have different functions: a hot pepper can burn dry weeds, mushrooms create jump pads, etc. When thrown against a wall, acorns produce climbable vines. Bananza has its own version of that idea in its Forest Layer level, where Donkey Kong can toss seeds at wooden surfaces to create pathways.

I was thrilled the first time I experienced that in a hands-on preview of Bananza. I knew that terrain smashing would be the main event, but it seemed like that would be paired with environmental puzzling that gave a bit more depth to traversal. That depth never really came in the full game. Forest Layer’s excellent idea was little more than a standalone biome gimmick. Other areas introduce a loose idea here or there, like Resort Layer’s excellent rainbow platforms, but they are often contained to that area.

It felt like a missed opportunity, and it played into what became my biggest critique of Bananza: It’s a puzzle-platformer with very few solutions. On its surface, Bananza presents itself as an incredibly open-ended game. You can track down Banandium Gems in any number of ways, smashing through walls and ceilings to completely bypass telegrapher routes. Yet the more I played, the narrower my options felt. Most “puzzles” can only be solved in two ways. You either complete the intended platforming setup or smash around it. The limited player expression makes its glut of samey layers lose some of their luster eventually, even if the charm of punching everything to smithereens never totally wears off.

Big Hops inadvertently works as a constructive counterpoint. Throwables, like acorns, aren’t just one-time gimmicks that are strategically placed to telegraph specific solutions. Every item can be stored in Hop’s backpack and used out at any time. That small twist breaks Big Hops’ puzzle potential wide open, as any environment can be turned into Hop’s own custom jungle gym with clever thinking.

If I have a bag full of cacti, which create rope bridges, I could pair that with some well-placed acorn vines to cross a long chasm, then climb up a wall on the other side that I don’t have enough stamina to scale. I found my way up one tower that I didn’t have the stamina to climb by placing a few rope bridges and tossing some bouncing fruits between them, so I could grapple from rope to rope. I got through a wallrunning section entirely by throwing water bubbles that I could swim in, bypassing the intended solution entirely. Combine that with Hop’s technique-chaining movement, and you’ve got no shortage of ways to get around.

The dialog with Bananza goes the other way too. As much as Big Hops nails its platformer problem-solving, it lacks a certain level of polish and direction that makes Bananza a standout of its genre. Some of Hop’s techniques, like his spotty wall run, cut into the fluid movement, and the world design lacks some of the personality that makes Bananza’s layers such a joy to destroy. Both developers have takeaways they can learn from one another on their next projects. That’s part of the joy of gaming: It’s an ongoing design conversation that unfolds in front of players.

Big Hops is a little delight for those who love thinking about craft. It approaches a well-explored genre with a bright-eyed and playful attitude, finding new ways to turn a structured 3D platformer into a parkour playground built for its pint-sized, amphibious hero. May it spark something in another creator’s imagination, carrying a torch that’s been burning bright since the ’80s forward.