It’s been a rather slow year for the Nintendo Switch so far, as only a few triple-A releases have stormed the console since Super Smash Bros. While I’ve enjoyed the games I’ve gotten my hands on, the side-scrolling Yoshi’s Crafted World really stands out. Although it isn’t a perfect game, as it can suffer from feeling too short, and there’s no denying that it is very easy to play, it’s not what I expected; and I say that in a great way.
The story is truly nothing special, the Yoshis are chasing after some gems before Kid Bowser, and Kamek get their hands on them. But on the way to your end goal of collecting all six gems, you’ll face a variety of levels, each with its own unique aspects. This can include things like using a giant Yoshi Mech that destroys everything in its way floating down a river, jumping from log to log while avoiding obstacles, and searching for smiley flowers that are needed to progress to the next world, some of which aren’t so easy to find. To my surprise, I spent quite some time on a few levels looking for these.
Lastly, how could I forget trying to collect every last coin so you can buy every costume for your favorite Yoshi to wear? There’s a great selection of them in every world for you to collect. The costumes themselves could be better designed, some being just the same costume in a few different colors, and they don’t really add anything to your experience, but they’re a nice touch.
My time with the demo truly wasn’t enough to do the title justice. It seemed like a simple and easy cash grab for children, but what I got was so much more. The collecting aspect of the coins and flowers offered the right amount of challenge and replay-ability to each level, whether you are trying to find that last flower or flipping the level around and running it backward, chasing after every dog in the set amount of time, some being much tougher to catch than others. You’ll encounter fun (but, sadly, far too easy) boss fights that follow the traditional Mario 3-hit battle system and mini-games that’ll have you shooting your limited amount of eggs at targets in a very short time. As I’ve mentioned, the game is easy, without a doubt. But you’ll definitely experience challenges on your way to 100 percent completion.
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I can certainly say that I was pleasantly surprised by Yoshi’s Crafted World, and my expectations were very low. I’ve never been one to care for the cute-style games, and until this, the last Yoshi game I played was Island. The charming yet gorgeous visuals captured my eyes, plus the music really fits in well. The level design offered great variety and length, I never felt any were tedious or too short. And most importantly, the gameplay was fluid and controlled nicely with both the Pro controller and handheld.
Yoshi’s Crafted World was a wonderful game to play and a great break away from my norm. I’ll definitely be visiting the older Yoshi titles after this and giving them the attention that I feel they may have deserved in the first place. The game could’ve used more challenges and perhaps even more worlds, and it’s not quite worth the retail price at release, but if you’re starved for something new, it will definitely do the trick.
Yoshi’s Crafted World was released for Nintendo Switch on March 29th.