From Speedrun Skip to Infinite Flight: How “Donkey Kong Bananza” Fans Are Breaking the Game

In the short time since its release on the new Nintendo Switch 2, Donkey Kong Bananza has been celebrated as a stunning return to form for the iconic gorilla. Praised for its expansive, destructible levels and creative, sandbox-style platforming, the game has been hailed as a masterpiece. However, as is the case with many groundbreaking Nintendo titles, a new discovery from the game’s burgeoning speedrunning community is now challenging the very foundations of its design. Players have found a way to achieve a state of “infinite flight” that allows them to bypass entire sections of the game, a feat that is not only rewriting the speedrunning rulebook but also offering a new way to experience the world of Donkey Kong Bananza. It’s a testament to the game’s robust physics engine that a seemingly simple sequence of actions can lead to such a game-breaking, yet exhilarating, exploit.

The “infinite flight” glitch, as it has been dubbed by the community, is a complex but repeatable exploit that leverages the game’s unique movement mechanics. Unlike the previous Donkey Kong titles, Donkey Kong Bananza gives Donkey Kong a wide array of new abilities, including a powerful ground slam and the ability to rip chunks of the environment from the ground. The exploit is performed by perfectly chaining a ground slam, a jump, and a mid-air dash at the exact moment Donkey Kong lands on a specific, destructible piece of terrain. When executed correctly, the game fails to register Donkey Kong’s descent, allowing him to maintain his mid-air momentum indefinitely. This allows players to soar across vast chasms, reach previously inaccessible areas, and completely skip complex puzzle and platforming sections. The discovery has ignited a firestorm of creativity and competition within the speedrunning community, with new world records being set daily as players master the trick.

Beyond the Glitch: The Community’s Playground

While some might see such an exploit as a detriment to the game, the community’s response has been overwhelmingly positive. The glitch has transformed Donkey Kong Bananza from a carefully curated platforming experience into a massive playground for creativity and exploration. Players are using the infinite flight to discover out-of-bounds areas, explore the stunning, layered levels from new perspectives, and even find new routes that the developers almost certainly didn’t intend. The glitch has also led to the creation of new speedrunning categories, including “Any% Glitchless” and “Any% with Infinite Flight,” allowing for a healthy competitive scene that caters to both purists and exploit-lovers. The excitement around this discovery is a perfect example of how the gaming community can find new life and purpose in a game’s unintended features, a phenomenon that has defined the speedrunning culture for decades.

The developers have not yet officially commented on the “infinite flight” glitch, but the community is already speculating on how they might respond. Given Nintendo’s history, there is a possibility that a patch will be released to remove the bug. However, many in the community hope that the developers will choose to leave it in, as a nod to the dedicated fanbase that has spent countless hours exploring every inch of the game’s world. The glitch is not a “simple” bug like those found in older titles; it’s a deep, complex exploit that requires a significant amount of skill to perform. As such, it acts as a high-skill ceiling move for dedicated players, a kind of reward for mastering the game’s systems to an absurd degree. The sheer difficulty of performing the infinite flight makes it less of a “cheat code” and more of a “secret technique” that only a handful of dedicated players can consistently pull off.

The Legacy of a “Broken” Masterpiece

Ultimately, the story of Donkey Kong Bananza’s infinite flight glitch is a microcosm of a larger trend in gaming. The most beloved and long-lasting games are often those that allow for player expression and discovery, even if that means bending the rules. The joy of a game is not always in playing it as intended; sometimes, the real fun is in finding the cracks in the code and seeing what lies beyond the developer’s design. Whether Nintendo chooses to patch it or not, the “infinite flight” glitch has already left an indelible mark on the game’s legacy. It’s a powerful reminder that the most exciting things in gaming are often not the ones that are carefully planned and marketed, but the ones that are discovered by the players themselves. For now, the jungle of Donkey Kong Bananza is a little less grounded and a lot more thrilling, and it’s a truly wonderful thing to behold.