Details Emerge Of A Cancelled Donkey Kong Project From Vicarious Visions

Of all the studios to potentially work on a Donkey Kong project, Vicarious Visions (now known simply as Blizzard Albany) admittedly wasn’t particularly high up on our list.

However, details have emerged of a now-cancelled DK project at the studio via a new video from Did You Know Gaming (with prior reporting from DK Vine). According to the research, leadership at Vicarious Visions had wanted to collaborate more closely with Nintendo after the studio’s work on Skylanders: Superchargers (which, if you remember, included the likes of Bowser and Donkey Kong on Wii U, Wii, and 3DS). It had received developer kits for the Nintendo Switch and wanted to create something truly unique for the upcoming system.

Walls were reportedly erected within the studio in order to allow for a very select few developers to discuss the project. The demo was said to showcase a new Donkey Kong set on an open-world island, with a particular focus on character movement and fluidity. DK could, of course, climb walls and swing on vines, but the studio had also utilised its experience with Tony Hawk games to introduce a grinding mechanic.

Accoridng to the original DK Vine article, which DYKG was not able to verify, Miyamoto himself was also reportedly in close talks with Vicarious Visions and appeared apprehensive about the grinding mechanic, seemingly worried about DK getting rope burn on his feet. As such, Vicarious devised that DK wear makeshift banana peels whenever he would grind to alleviate the issue.

Other rumours surrounding the project include the idea that Pauline would feature as a playable character, along with a storyline in which DK’s home was polluted by some ‘ecological disaster’. Although some would christen the game as ‘Donkey Kong Freedom’ in the years since its short-lived development, DYKG clarifies that ‘Freedom’ was merely a codename for the project, and no actual title was decided upon.

So why didn’t this game come to fruition? Well, it was apparently Activision that ultimately pulled the plug, not Nintendo. Development had only lasted around six months, during which the setting had evolved into a jungle-infested cityscape in which you could build momentum to reach higher levels. Unfortunately, after sales of Skylanders declined drastically, Activision began to pivot away from single-player titles and decided to ditch the Donkey Kong project entirely.

Of course, Vicarious Visions itself would then go on to assist Bungie with the Destiny franchise before working on the excellent Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. It has since helped out on franchises like Call of Duty and Diablo and has changed its name to Blizzard Albany.