Nintendo has long been a pioneer of creative controllers. There was, of course, the Wii remote which revolutionised mainstream motion-based gaming, the N64 controller which finally let you play a game with three hands, and, the crème de la crème, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat’s DK Bongos.
Many of us still have a pair or two of these GameCube novelty items sitting in the back of a closet somewhere, waiting for their time in the limelight once again. Bongo Souls came and went, but the jungle drums are beating once again. One designer from the game development YouTube channel Cobra Code has built a new PC game around the DK Bongos. Now that’s a rhythm we can get down to.
Created in Unreal Engine 5 over the course of three months, Beat Bull is something of a spiritual successor to Donkey Konga and Jungle Beat, with your movements dictated by banging the left or right drum or clapping overhead.
In the above video, Stephen Knall breaks down the process of building the game from concept right up to finished product. While the coding and design process looks seriously impressive, it is nothing compared to how cool the final play-through looks! Banging bongos while being a bull beating up bats? We’re in.
The best part about all of this is that Beat Bull can now be downloaded for free on Gamejolt on Itch.io, with each version supporting play by either the official DK Bongos or via regular keyboard controls — although, with the drum function available, we can’t imagine why you would want to play it any other way. Time to raid those closets, or hit ebay.
For more information about the game, check out Cobra Code’s official summary and some screenshots below:
Take control of an angry bull and navigate through a sky fortress by hitting your bongos with precise timing and clapping your hands to activate speed boosters or stun enemies. Engaging with large enemies will start a brawl in which you can swing your ax or block attacks using the bongo’s clap sensor.
In a sentence that we never thought we would write, blow the dust off your bongos, because Jungle Beat gaming is back!
What do you make of Beat Bull? Give us your thoughts in beat form below!
