Coming off of the heels of a DKCR playthrough I found myself not quite as blown away by this game as everyone else, especially with all I've heard about it. It still controls as pristinely as Returns (if not better), and many of the levels are crafted with unique gimmicks and immaculate visuals, but I didn't find it to be as well done as Returns, or perhaps it just didn't set itself apart from Returns as well as Returns did from the SNES era. The levels are certainly excellent for the most part, and there are some standouts, but not quite as many as Returns to me.

First and foremost, and maybe it's a bit masochistic of me, but I've come to adore the brutal difficulty of the DKC games, and I didn't feel like I got enough it from this game (relative to the other DKC titles). I definitely lost a fair amount of lives in the temple and world 7 levels, but the main content generally did not feel too challenging. I ended up coming to the same conclusion as a lot of people; Dixie Kong, and to a lesser extent Cranky Kong, are beyond busted. Dixie's hover is such a powerful tool that I found myself avoiding her on purpose so that I had to play the level more properly. This is, of course, a fair enough solution to have a more difficult game, but it never feels great to have to nerf yourself in order to get the experience you wanted.

I also don't think I cared much for the swimming. I didn't think the obstacles that you experience when underwater are nearly as compelling as when platforming. Donkey Kong also controls like a bit of a truck underwater, forcing you to make wide berths around obstacles, especially when trying to move quickly as the game sometimes requires you to.

Another thing that didn't do much for me were the secret exits, which most often needed you to bring the correct companion kong to the correct spot in order to access it - I think this kinda sucks! Secret exits should feel like the ultimate reward for thoroughness and perceptiveness, but instead they feel like a chore, having to trudge back through the level once more so you can cross a single row of spikes with Cranky Kong in order to reach it.

The fundamentals this game is working with were so solid that it would've taken a disaster for it to be bad - and it's definitely not. Tropical Freeze is plenty of fun, but very few of the additions to the gameplay thrilled me at all, and I had the most fun engaging with the levels requiring tight and precise platforming, but there's was just a bit too little of it for me to adore this game.