"Donkey Kong: Going Bananas" Leads with a 91 Score — NS2’s First Year Is Really Rock Solid!

A strong first year.

As someone who plays competitive games, when I look at a platform’s first-year lineup, it feels a lot like watching a character’s opening matchup sit at 50-50. If the first few months have nothing to offer, people will start calling it all spin and no substance later on. But this time, Switch 2 has kept the pace steady.

Nintendo officially launched Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, 2025. By the time reports came out on March 24, 2026, less than a year later, it already had two exclusive games breaking into the 90-point range on Metacritic. For a brand-new console’s first year, that counts as coming out with immediate pressure.

First, the top scorer. Donkey Kong: Bananza earned a 91, the highest among the Switch 2 exclusives mentioned in this article. The reasons behind the strong media scores are clear: first, with the boost from NS2’s hardware, the visuals hit harder; second, the level design is genuinely creative, not the kind of assembly-line product that just stacks assets.

And that matters a lot. What do platformers fear most? Floaty controls and levels that feel like the same combo string repeated over and over. If Donkey Kong: Bananza can stand at 91, that means it’s not just coasting on nostalgia—it’s because the pacing and content are genuinely well put together.

Then there’s Pokémon Pokopia. Its Metacritic average has risen to 90, and it also earned the golden “Must-Play” badge. For the Pokémon series, that’s a major signal. The report directly calls it a new critical high point for the franchise, which makes the message very clear: this time, it’s not just the IP selling—the media reception has gone up too.

The most common criticism around Pokémon in recent years has been technical execution and overall polish. So if Pokémon Pokopia can break into the 90 club, that at least shows Nintendo’s current exclusive lineup isn’t relying on a single breakout hit—it’s delivering on two fronts.

On top of that, Mario Kart: World is currently sitting at 86 on Metacritic. That’s not a low score by any means, but it’s still one step short of all-time-great territory. And precisely because the first two both cleared 90, the density of NS2’s first-year lineup feels even more outrageous. In under ten months, two 90+ exclusives and one 86-point title providing support—at that point, the question is no longer whether there’s anything worth playing, but whether you even have time for it all.

My own take is pretty straightforward: the biggest concern players had—that the new console’s first year would be short on major titles—has basically been put to rest. While other platforms are still busy competing on specs and paper performance, Nintendo is sticking to its usual playbook: lock in steady pressure through the games first. Hardware matters, sure, but without software, it’s just a swing at empty air.

If you’ve been on the fence about whether Switch 2 is worth it, there’s at least one very practical benchmark now: if you’re into Nintendo exclusives, especially gameplay-driven titles like platformers and Pokémon, then it’s time to seriously consider picking one up. On the other hand, if all you care about is third-party performance, then keep watching the upcoming lineup—no need to spend just yet.

One last thing. Whether a new console’s first year really stands up isn’t determined by trailers, but by review scores and release cadence. This run from Switch 2 isn’t flashy, but it’s highly effective. Getting two 90-point exclusives on the board that early—that’s the strongest proof there is.