This review was made possible by Popped receiving a review code for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book on the Nintendo Switch 2.
It wasn’t a hidden secret that we’d be getting a Yoshi game when we caught wind of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s existence. Nintendo delivered on a Donkey Kong game after having him be a highlight in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and they’ve discovered that their films are a perfect way to advertise their future games. Unlike the Super Mario Bros. games, Yoshi comes with a heavy load of cuteness overload, and Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is filled with that to the brim, but outside of looking its best, there’s not much thought put into the overall thought of the gameplay mechanics, and unfortunately, that leaves a game that ends up being rather forgettable.
‘Yoshi and the Mysterious Book’ Offers a Lot to Explore… or Does it?
The storyline of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is rather simple as Yoshi and his colourful buddies come along an encyclopaedia named Mr. E that is currently being pursued by Bowser Jr. Inside Mr. E are pages and pages of various creatures of all sizes and colours that Yoshi is tasked with experimenting with to understand their way of living and to catalogue them all. You even get the chance to name these discoveries, but if you’re struggling to come up with a name, then Mr. E will happily choose a name for you (which was how I opted to play).
At its core Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a cosy cottagecore game that you can sit down with and spend unlimited time with. The feeling of stepping into the book and discovering the various things that these wild creatures are capable of is fun. It feels like you’re really making a difference in the world, and as the game goes on, with these creatures that have these various abilities that assist you in many ways during the game. You can go from a level where you are floating on clouds that form different shapes and move you along the level to a location where a giant green monster is sleeping and will eat and spit you out to your destination.
It’s just unfortunate that Yoshi and the Mysterious Book ends up being a game that’s targeted at children, and I mean literal toddlers. After a while, it doesn’t feel like I’m playing a video game. The story stops feeling engaging, and the gameplay loop becomes repetitive, which leads it to be an overall boring experience playing this game. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book felt like a game that was created to help teach a younger audience how to maintain the use of an encyclopedia and retain information.
At Least Yoshi and the Mysterious Book Looks Stunning
There’s no combat in Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, and that’s perfectly fine. While it’s not a game that’s made to stress you and has a chance of eventually putting you to sleep, you’ll still be able to appreciate its gorgeous visuals. As you find yourself inevitably revisiting levels because you don’t have enough stars to unlock the next chapter and using coins to discover hints, you’ll be able to enjoy the beautiful art that Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has to offer.
Its storybook visuals really help this game stand apart from not only the other Yoshi games but also the recent Mario games. It sometimes feels like I’m playing a game that has come from the wonderful people over at Laika, as it replicates stop-motion animation with its vibrant hand-drawn watercolour visuals that make every colour pop and stand out.
‘Yoshi and the Mysterious Book’ – Final Thoughts
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is almost exactly the project that you’d expect from Nintendo after the release of two cosy games, such as Pokopia and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, it nearly fits in with how calming and peaceful the experience is playing this game. It’s just unfortunate because it felt like after the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Yoshi deserved a game that was grander in scale and more epic.
It loses its selling point quickly into the game, but despite being a repetitive slog to get through, it still excels with the visuals that help to make it a memorable game despite the gameplay being extremely forgettable. I think it’s time that Nintendo release Yoshi’s Woolly World for the Nintendo Switch 2; if this isn’t a sign of dire times, then I don’t know what is.
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is now available for the Nintendo Switch 2. Check out the trailer below:
