Nintendo first unveiled Yoshi’s Crafted World back at E3 2017, and I instantly fell in love with its cute visuals and charming gameplay. Then, in time for Valentine’s Day, Nintendo released a short demo of the game. Needless to say, I couldn’t get enough of it. Now almost 2 years later after it was first unveiled, Yoshi’s Crafted World is here.
And, after spending the last two weeks with the game—it’s every bit as good as I imagined it to be. This latest Yoshi game is literally bursting at the seams with charm, from its incredibly cute hand-crafted visuals, to its dozens of adorable cardboard cut-out crafted characters. Adding to the game’s appeal is its ability to support two-player local multiplayer—letting you enjoy the entire experience cooperatively with your family and friends.
Yoshi’s Crafted World Details
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Good-Feel
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Platform, side-scrolling
Modes: Single-player, multiplayer
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Baby Bowser and Kamek are up to no good once again
The story begins on Yoshi’s Island, where the Yoshis live in peace and harmony. High a top a mountain on the island is an ancient artifact called the Sundream Stone. It is said that the Sundream Stone will make your wildest dreams come true.
One day, Baby Bowser and Kamek attempt to steal the Sundream Stone from Yoshi’s Island. In an attempt to stop Baby Bowser and Kamek, all 5 of its gems are flung across the world. It’s now up to Yoshi and his friends to recover the gems and ensure that the Sundream Stone doesn’t fall into the evil hands of Baby Bowser and Kamek.
The Yoshi games have never been big on stories and Yoshi’s Crafted World follows suit. Though, to be honest, I’m not really sure what I would change about the game’s story if I could. Suffice to say, the game’s story gives us ample reason to take control of one of the 8 different coloured Yoshis to search for all 5 Dream Gems.
Familiar pickup and play controls with new additions
Yoshi’s Crafted World is a 2.5D platforming game, which contains all the great gameplay from previous titles and then some. Yes, that means Yoshi still uses his tongue to swallow enemies and poop them out as eggs. And, Yoshi’s iconic flutter jump is here as well. The game places a heavy focus on platforming and exploring each level for collectible items.
New to Yoshi’s Crafted World is the ability to throw the eggs into the foreground and background of each stage. Obstacles, items and enemies are placed on different planes throughout the levels. For example, you might see a Shy Guy in the background carrying a coin. Simply press a button and Yoshi winds up to throw an egg, place the cursor on the enemy you want to hit and let go.
Additionally, each level in the game features a flip-side version where you must search for 3 Poochy pups. Playing the flip-side version of each level offers a fresh and unique perspective, allow you to uncover secrets and hidden items as well. Not once did I feel that any of these levels were repetitive or boring.
Collectibles and costumes
While Yoshi’s Crafted World isn’t a particularly hard game, nor is it a breeze, the true challenge comes from getting all the collectibles the game has to offer. In order to access the game’s 15 plus worlds, you need to collect Smiley Flowers. These are hidden through out each of the stages and can be hidden just about anywhere.
However, there is just more than one way to collect these valuable flowers. By finishing each level with 20 hearts, you can earn an additional flower. Collect 100 or more coins, and that nets you another Smiley Flower. Find the 20 hidden Red Coins that in every stage, and you earn yet another Smiley Flower. Finally, find all 3 Poochy pups on the flip-side levels and you get a flower for each—cross the finish line by a certain time and you can earn an additional flower.
Wait, there’s more! You can use the coins you collect on each stage to buy costumes from the gumball-like machine in each world. In all, there are over 180 to collect. The costumes range from milk bottles to a cardboard cut-out of a train and even Nintendo Labo! Not only do these costumes make Yoshi stylish but they can also act as armour.
The rarer the costume, the more damage Yoshi can take. The game also has amiibo support, which 10 of the costumes can be unlocked by. Trying to get all the costumes is quite addicting in-deed and adds a ton of replay value!
Unreal visuals
Yoshi’s Crafted World was built using the Unreal 4 engine and looks absolutely gorgeous! Each of the game’s over 40 levels looks like everything was constructed out of cardboard or construction paper. And, Yoshi himself looks incredibly fuzzy and cute! From the lighting to the textures, Yoshi’s Crafted World‘s unique art style has an undeniable charm that had me grinning from ear to ear.
In tradition, Yoshi’s Crafted World features catchy tunes that I would sometimes find myself humming outside of the game at work and home. Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, the characters in Yoshi’s Crafted World are not voiced. Sure, I understand not voicing Yoshi, but there is no reason that Baby Bowser, Kamek, and the robot in each world could not have been voiced.
Two-player local co-op fun
Just as Yoshi’s Woolly World did, the latest Yoshi game features two-player local cooperative action. I initially played through the first half of the game by myself. The second half, I played with my son and had a blast. Working together to navigate levels and find all the secrets was an incredible experience.
You can even ride on top of another Yoshi, to get to those hard to reach places. Also returning is Mellow Mode. This mode makes things a bit easier and gives your Yoshis wings, and extra health—making is much easier to finish levels.
Yoshi’s Crafted World is another must have title for Switch owners
I really had a lot of fun playing Yoshi’s Crafted World, and enjoyed it even more with two-player local co-op. The stylized, handcrafted visuals are a sight to behold and the pickup and play controls make this a game for all ages. The number of collectibles along with costumes is staggering, and gives this game a high replay value.
Don’t be fooled by the game’s “cute” aesthetics, it’s no walk in the park. I highly recommend adding Yoshi’s Crafted World to your Switch collection, you won’t be disappointed.
+ Beautiful handcrafted-inspired visuals
+ Incredibly fun two-player local co-op
+ Lots of secrets to uncover and collectibles to obtain
+ Diverse levels that are not too easy and not too difficult
– Those looking for a tough challenge will be dissapointed
OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF YOSHI’S CRAFTED WORLD
Gameplay: 4/5
Graphics: 4.5/5
Sound: 4/5
Lasting Appeal/Replayability: 4.5/5
Overall Rating 4.3/5 (86%)
Buy Yoshi’s Crafted World for Nintendo Switch
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I’ve played a few of the Yoshi games and have found them fun, despite finding the games I’ve played to be on the easy side.
I did like the demo for this game, so perhaps I’ll add it to my collection.
Thanks Jon!
Hi Ian,
If you liked the previous Yoshi games then you are going to love Yoshi’s Crafted World. Its not too easy by any means and trying to collect all the costumes and items is super fun. It’s well worth a purchase to add it to your Switch library.
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