Why, after all these years, Donkey Kong is still the gorilla of my dreams…

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (Nintendo Switch, £49.99)

Verdict: Prime among primates

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When it comes to the pantheon of Nintendo heroes, I never really understood the allure — or even the purpose — of that gurning gorilla Donkey Kong. Why bother, I thought, with a bunch of jungle-themed platforming games when you could be playing Mario instead?But that was before I experienced Donkey Kong Country Returns in 2010. That’s when Donkey Kong clicked for me — and, I’d like to think, when he clicked in general.

This was a masterpiece of a platformer. Full of colour, character and some of the most enjoyably demanding levels that this jumptastic genre has to offer.

And now Donkey Kong Country Returns has, well, returned — in a new, re-prettified HD version for the Nintendo Switch.

Time hasn’t just been kind to this one; it’s tickled its fur and fed it a thousand bananas. Returns is still special.

And difficult. Very difficult once you’re past, say, the first quarter of its 80 or so levels. This is a game that requires calm nerves and precise button presses. And there are some especially frustrating passages, such as those involving runaway minecarts, when even those qualities might not be enough. Prepare to lose life after life after life.

Thankfully, Returns is so good - and has enough extra little side-challenges - that you’ll want to keep on trying. Besides, for the cackhanded among us - like, er, me - the game features more concessions than ever before. After try-try-trying again, you can even watch a Super Kong complete the level for you.

But aside from the HD graphics and those new concessions, there isn’t much to this new version that wasn’t in the original. I suppose that’s a compliment to our primate friend - how can anyone improve on his 2010 outing? But it’s also something of a disappointment to this evangelical Kongvert.

 Dynasty Warriors: Origins (PlayStation, Xbox, PC, £64.99)

 Verdict: Takes on all corners

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One swipe of my sword and — swoosh! — a hundred enemies go flying into the air. A pirouette in another direction and — argh! — a hundred more enemies fall to the mud.

Welcome to Dynasty Warriors, a series that has, in recent years, been lending its exhilarating, one-versus-a-thousand gameplay to other universes. We’ve had Zelda spins on Dynasty Warriors. Fire Emblem ones too.

But now, with the aptly named Dynasty Warriors: Origins, the series is back where it all began — in a mythologised version of 3rd-century China. And, in some ways, it’s back to its best, too.

Here, you pick up the sword of an amnesiac chap named (you and he learn) Ziluan in order to cleave through various warring factions and unite the... yadda, yadda, yadda.

Origins has stripped away various modes from previous games, meaning that Ziluan’s story is its main focus — so it’s a shame that that story is something of a bag of clichés.

Still, most people won’t be here for the narrative. They’ll be here for the knockabout — and that’s where Origins really shines.

Naturally, the battles have received a visual upgrade. It’s now hard not to stop and gasp as you sprint through rays of light towards the rows and rows of soldiers ahead.

But they’ve also received a mechanical upgrade, with more options for controlling the friendly troops around you. Which is just as well — since even the standard enemies, let alone the bosses, seem cleverer and more tenacious than ever before.

It all adds up a to a more tactical experience than I was expecting. Yes, you send hundreds flying with each flick of your blade. But it’s your brain that’s doing all the hard work.