New Co-Op Steam Game is Like Donkey Kong Country Meets Crash Bandicoot

Key Takeaways

Nikoderiko is a new platformer that blends elements of Donkey Kong Country and Crash Bandicoot, available on Steam and consoles.
Nikoderiko has levels, music, and gameplay reminiscent of classic platformers.
Nikoderiko aims to fill a void left by neglected platformer franchises for genre fans.

Nikoderiko: The Magical World is a recently released platformer that feels like a combination of Donkey Kong Country and Crash Bandicoot, and it’s readily available to play on Steam. Steam is home to its fair share of excellent platformer games, and now Nikoderiko: The Magical World can be added to the list.

Previously released on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch earlier this year, Nikoderiko: The Magical World has finally made its Steam debut. Nikoderiko is highly derivative of other platformers, and it has some texture pop-in issues and occasional jank, but it’s still a very fun entry in the genre. And with no brand-new Donkey Kong Country or Crash Bandicoot games in sight, Nikoderiko can help fill the void for fans of the classic platformers.

Composer David Wise Discusses Creating Nikoderiko: The Magical World’s Music

In a Game Rant interview, David Wise talks about composing all the music for Nikoderiko: The Magical World, using virtual sounds, and much more.

Nikoderiko is a co-op platformer that mixes 2D side-scrolling and 3D platforming. Players take on the roles of Niko and Luna as they explore a variety of colorful levels filled with hazards and enemies. The game is not shy at all about its Donkey Kong Country inspirations, and in fact, it often feels like you’re playing Retro Studios’ Donkey Kong Country Returns. Levels end with the button mashing gimmick from Donkey Kong Country, rockets hidden throughout the levels take players to secret mini-game stages (but instead of collecting yellow bananas, you collect yellow stars), and there are animal mounts, just like in the DKC games.

Nikoderiko is Inspired by Donkey Kong Country and Crash Bandicoot

On top of all that, Nikoderiko even features David Wise as its composer. Wise has worked on dozens of game soundtracks over the course of his career, including the Donkey Kong Country games and Playtonic’s Yooka-Laylee. Clearly, the developers were hoping to pay homage to the DKC games, and they definitely succeeded in doing just that with Nikoderiko: The Magical World.

When Nikoderiko isn’t taking its cues from Donkey Kong Country, it’s borrowing from Crash Bandicoot. Many times throughout the game, the camera switches from its usual side-scrolling perspective to a rear-view angle that is highly reminiscent of the PS1 Crash Bandicoot trilogy. With all these borrowed ideas, it sometimes feels like Nikoderiko doesn’t have an original bone in its body, but that’s not a bad thing. It successfully fills a void left by the neglected platformer franchises and is an easy recommendation for fans of the genre looking for something new to play, especially if they want to play co-op.

Nintendo has not announced a new Donkey Kong Country game, but it is porting the Wii’s Donkey Kong Country Returns to the Switch as Donkey Kong County Returns HD in January 2025.

I haven’t finished the game yet, but what I’ve played of Nikoderiko has left me impressed enough to want to recommend it to fellow platforming fans. Nikoderiko‘s co-op support and homages to classic platformers make it a must-play for fans of the genre.