When Nintendo released the bongo drum controllers used with the Donkey Konga games and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, the company probably didn’t envision them being used in a Call of Duty game. To be fair, neither did I. But in a recent Call of Duty: Vanguard match, Twitch streamer DeanoBeano managed to amass 105 kills and assists on a pair of DK Bongos.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is a Gamecube game in which you guide the titular ape through treacherous platforming levels by hitting bongos. So it’s not actually that much of a leap for a player to use the controller to charge through 3D maps in Call of Duty: Vanguard. Nevertheless, watching Deano shoot his way through a multiplayer Vanguard match on a pair of bongos is still a surreal experience. Take a look:
The feat was originally spotted by PCGamesN. Deano told Kotaku that he was inspired by how Super Louis 64 used the bongo controllers to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. While there are five total buttons on the DK Bongos (including the start button), Deano was able to maximise the number of functions by remapping the buttons and toggling between different commands. This allows him to use the scope, shoot, crouch, slide, and even emote like players using more traditional controllers. While his opponents can’t tell that they just got blasted by a dude playing with a set of bongos, that’s still really embarrassing for them.
To be fair, the streamer is a skilled and experienced Call of Duty player any way you slice it. While the bongos are an official (albeit unorthodox) controller, Deano has frequently played games using things that were never meant to be video game controllers. For instance, he’s played Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War with a recorder and a full drum set. The bongos seem to be his favourite, though, since he’s uploaded a dozen videos of himself playing various FPS games with these rhythmic controllers.
While his Twitch and YouTube successes are modest, his most popular gameplay video on TikTok has amassed almost five million views. He’s not limited to first-person shooters either. Here’s a TikTok of him kicking arse in Fall Guys using a drum set.
Watch out, competitive players. The fanciest next-gen controllers might not save you from the guy with the Donkey Kong bongos.
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