If we dial the clocks back just a bit to January of 2013 and… Oh. Oh my. That was almost a decade ago, wasn’t it? Well that sure feels weird. But anyway, back then FDG Entertainment had just released what would go on to be their most successful mobile game to date, at least during that time: Banana Kong. Entering an overly-crowded genre of auto-runners, Banana Kong managed to stand out with its blending of gameplay mechanics, multiple environments to run through, and an impossibly charming art style with the hilarious expressions and animations of the ape protagonist. Following a big content update in the fall of 2016 Banana Kong hasn’t seen a ton of love in terms of new updates, though FDG has made sure to keep up with maintenance updates so the game is still running strong on modern devices. It turns out though that there’s more in store for Banana Kong as in conjunction with Engine Software they are readying the release of a sequel, aptly titled Banana Kong 2. Check out the trailer.

As you can see, the graphic style has been switched over to full 3D from the more cartoon-ish, illustrated style of the original game, but that doesn’t stop the game from still oozing all sorts of personality. The expressiveness of the characters and wonderful animations really bring the game to life. Some other mainstays of the first game can be spotted here too, like the dash meter, the little hog you can ride, and the gigantic pile of banana peels chasing you down. It seems Banana Kong 2 wants to retain the feel of the original while expanding on it with lots of new mechanics and environments, and as a huge fan of the first game I’m excited to try this one out. It won’t be long until that happens either, as FDG and Engine have recently announced a July 14th release date for Banana Kong 2, and it’s available for pre-order on the iOS App Store as well as the Google Play Store for Android right now. See ya next month, ya big ape!