{"id":135745,"date":"2026-01-21T01:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T01:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-196442"},"modified":"2026-01-21T01:25:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T01:25:00","slug":"donkey-kong-country-returns-hd-gets-a-free-switch-2-update-and-adds-dixie-kong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2026\/01\/21\/donkey-kong-country-returns-hd-gets-a-free-switch-2-update-and-adds-dixie-kong\/","title":{"rendered":"Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Gets A Free Switch 2 Update And Adds Dixie Kong"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/3f62727ccaf23\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/3f62727ccaf23\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<figure class=\"youtube\" data-videoid=\"sl2YybDiluQ\" data-start=\"0\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sl2YybDiluQ?rel=0&amp;hd=1&amp;showinfo=0&amp;modestbranding=0&amp;autohide=1\">\n<p>[embedded content]<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Nintendo has announced a free update for the Switch title <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/donkey_kong_country_returns_hd\">Donkey Kong Country Returns HD<\/a> and it&#8217;s available today!<\/p>\n<p>This update comes with multiple improvements when playing the game on Switch 2, including enhanced resolution, higher-definition graphics, and faster load times. There&#8217;s also GameShare support.<\/p>\n<p>As for the content in this update (available across both the Switch and Switch 2), players can now play as Dixie Kong in single-player and the two-player local co-op mode. Along with this, a Turbo Attack mode has been added to the game.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the full patch notes for this latest update, courtesy of <a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/en-americas-support.nintendo.com\/app\/answers\/detail\/a_id\/68317\">Nintendo&#8217;s official support page<\/a>:<\/p>\n<h2>Donkey Kong Country Returns HD: Ver. 1.1.0 (Released 20th January, 2026)<\/h2>\n<h6>General<\/h6>\n<p><strong>The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You can now play as Dixie Kong. Her action when jumping is different from when Diddy Kong jumps.\n<ul>\n<li>When playing alone, as you grab a barrel, you can switch between either Diddy Kong or Dixie Kong as the character that appears.<\/li>\n<li>When playing with two people, P2 can switch between Diddy Kong or Dixie Kong by pressing the stick (the L Stick in the case of playing with both Joy-Con 2 or Joy-Con controllers) on the world map.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>A Turbo Attack mode where you can race through the stage at high speed has been added.\n<ul>\n<li>If you clear the course once, it will appear at the same time as the Time Attack mode.<\/li>\n<li>If you can clear it within the time limit, you will acquire a turbo medal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Now supports Brazilian Portuguese language.\n<ul>\n<li>You can switch the language in the \u201cLanguage\u201d setting in the \u201cSystem\u201d menu of \u201cSystem Settings.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Several other issues have been addressed and image quality enhancements have been made to improve the gameplay experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Now supports \u201cGameShare (Local User).\u201d\n<ul>\n<li>You can select \u201cGameShare (Local User)\u201d from \u201c2 Players\u201d on the game start screen or the menu screen of the world map.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.<\/li>\n<li>The loading time is now shorter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"cols cols-2\">\n<div class=\"col col-1 col-width-50\"><a title=\"Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Update - Nintendo Life IMG\" class=\"scanlines\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/60ad68da38e09\/donkey-kong-country-returns-hd-update-nintendo-life-img.large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/60ad68da38e09\/donkey-kong-country-returns-hd-update-nintendo-life-img.445x250.jpg\" width=\"445\" height=\"250\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Update - Nintendo Life IMG\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col col-1 col-width-50\"><a title=\"Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Update - Nintendo Life IMG\" class=\"scanlines scanlines\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/f77874af5dc0e\/donkey-kong-country-returns-hd-update-nintendo-life-img.large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/f77874af5dc0e\/donkey-kong-country-returns-hd-update-nintendo-life-img.445x250.jpg\" width=\"445\" height=\"250\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Update - Nintendo Life IMG\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Images: Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/aside>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"cols cols-2\">\n<div class=\"col col-1 col-width-50\"><a title=\"Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Update\" class=\"scanlines\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/c23c6662402d3\/donkey-kong-country-returns-hd-update.large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/c23c6662402d3\/donkey-kong-country-returns-hd-update.445x250.jpg\" width=\"445\" height=\"250\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Update\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col col-1 col-width-50\"><a title=\"Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Update\" class=\"scanlines scanlines\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/dcab6d4fae3bc\/donkey-kong-country-returns-hd-update.large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/dcab6d4fae3bc\/donkey-kong-country-returns-hd-update.445x250.jpg\" width=\"445\" height=\"250\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Update\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Images: Nintendo Life, Nintendo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/aside>\n<p>This update follows the release of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/animal-crossing-new-horizons-nintendo-switch-2-edition\">Animal Crossing: New Horizons &#8211; Nintendo Switch 2 Edition<\/a> last week, which included a paid upgrade. You can find out more about Nintendo&#8217;s Switch updates and Switch 2 upgrades in our previous coverage.<\/p>\n<p><!-- cache: html:nintendolife.com\/ssl\/nintendo-switch-2\/related-articles:176206,193215,183718,183260 @ 1768996187 --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"block object-related\"> <\/aside>\n<p>Will you be revisiting this game on the Switch or Switch 2? <em>Let us know in the comments.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[embedded content] Nintendo has announced a free update for the Switch title Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and it&#8217;s available today! This update comes with multiple improvements when playing the game on Switch 2, including enhanced resolution, higher-definition graphics, and faster load times. There&#8217;s also GameShare support. As for the content in this update (available [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}