Mar 27, 2019 Yoshi’s Crafted World is an engaging and charming platformer that is absolutely worth playing, but it misses a clear opportunity to be more than that by not taking full advantage of its most. Mar 27, 2019 Yoshi's Crafted World is a game utterly dripping with charm, but not that much challenge. It definitely can keep experienced and younger gamers occupied for hours, but this isn't a Switch essential.

Yoshi's Crafted World (Switch) Review

by Neal Ronaghan - March 27, 2019, 6:00 am PDT
Total comments: 1

Wrap yourself in a blanket and curl up with the cuddliest Nintendo game in a while.

Yoshi’s Crafted World plays like a comfortable warm blanket. A coziness pervades the entirety of GoodFeel’s Switch debut, following up on their similar past work of Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Yoshi’s Woolly World. It carves a slightly different path than Woolly World, though - one that I found far more enjoyable - and in the process creates a new Yoshi adventure that edges out of Yoshi’s Island’s shadow and becomes something more fresh by focusing on a gentler pace and an emphasis on discovery.

Let’s start with the very good: the visuals are spectacular, going for a distinctive look that relies on a handmade arts and crafts style. Crafted World is one of the prettier games on the system so far, blending GoodFeel’s craftwork aesthetic with the sheen of Unreal Engine. The cardboard and plush feel of the surroundings and world feel like you could reach out and touch everything. Nearly every level has a new twist or trick that adds to a sense of discovery, whether it’s the joy of Yoshi’s papercraft mech or Poochy’s playful prancing. Unfortunately the music doesn’t match the glory of the graphics; the soundtrack repeats a lot of similar variations of the same theme. The better tracks nail a music box toy feel, but nothing stands out as all that memorable or good. It’s a disappointment given GoodFeel’s generally great soundtracks for their games in the past.

The level structure and gameplay loop is a little peculiar (and also elegantly on display in the available eShop demo), with one to three levels making up a themed area. The levels feature the typical Yoshi collectibles of hidden flowers, 20 red coins, and full health. Here each level has a coin goal as well. You could more or less blaze through each level from start to finish without much interference, at least as long as you collect enough flowers to progress to the next area. Though taking Crafted World at a fervent pace seems ill-advised, especially as the variant Flip Side levels and souvenir hunts add more replayability to each level while encouraging you to stop and smell the cardboard roses. The Flip Side levels, which all fall under the conceit of playing the stage over again but in reverse and from the other side (or “Flip Side,” get it?), focus on speed, as you try to collect all three hidden Poochy Pups in a certain amount of time. On their own, I find those levels to be a little antithetical to the game’s overall pace, but combined with revisiting areas to find hidden objects for the souvenir hunts, I found replaying the beautiful levels amusing. Multiple steps are taken to make sure you have multiple avenues of collecting flowers to progress, and if the souvenir or Flip Side levels aren’t your bag, you can avoid them for the most part - or at least cherry-pick what you want to do the most of.

Unlike a lot of past Yoshi games, you don’t need to collect every object in a single run. Even better, when you do revisit stages for the hidden souvenirs, you can collect more red coins and flowers. Those extra collectibles will count towards your overall completion, even if you leave the stage when you find the object - which is an option presented whenever you find a souvenir in a level. Aside from areas being gated by collected flowers, Crafted World respects your time and focuses on delivering new environments, fun twists, and unique ideas.

The challenge, for the most part, never gets too tense. The last few levels get a tiny bit tricky, but nothing is ever all that hard. Bonus levels unlocked in the post-game are stronger tests, but in general, if you seek a terse platforming challenge, Crafted World won’t deliver. It’s a cutesy explorative platformer that rewards you for scouring every nook and cranny of this adorable tactile adventure. For the record, while I didn’t find it quite as egregious as past Yoshi’s Island games, this still has the hidden clouds that can only be found by walking over every square inch of the stage. That’s still a bad way to hide collectibles.

Adding to that cardboard glory are some of the adorable unlockables. Each area has multiple costumes you can unlock using accumulated coins. Most of them are generic, like riffs on found objects like fruit and milk containers, but some of the cuter ones are Labo references and enemy-inspired outfits. Amiibo can unlock a few extras as well, with the highlights being Yarn Yoshi and Yarn Poochy outfits that blend the style of Yoshi’s last outing with his new one. The costumes add additional health complementing their flair. Not that Crafted World is starved for an easy mode (which is also available in the toggleable Mellow Mode), but the costumes add a layer of protection if needed.

That layer of protection circles back to the feeling of being comforted by a blanket while rolling through the variety of cozy levels and cute touches. Yoshi’s Crafted World is a stable, enjoyable adventure that brings enough of a twist to the expected Yoshi adventure to make it stand apart in a way no Yoshi platformer has done in years. It has a few blemishes along the way, but just break out the duct tape and stick that cardboard back up so you can romp your way through this delightful easy-going platformer.

Summary

Pros

• Comforting
• Gorgeous visuals
• Level variety and creativity
• Lots to collect, do, and see
• Pleasantly relaxed pace

Talkback

It is a very cute an a fun game. I highly recommend it for anyone.

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Yoshi’s Crafted World

There are few games in the video game marketplace that pack as much charm as Yoshi titles, and with each subsequent release, Nintendo pushes the boundaries just a little bit further. I thought they had hit the top when they launch Yoshi’s Wooly World; how could that creativity and cuteness be topped! I know how: Yoshi’s Crafted World, an all ages accessible title that will be enjoyed by everyone. But just because we think it could have universal appeal, doesn’t mean it will. Does Yoshi’s Crafted World hold up to the green dinosaur’s high bar of expectations? Let’s dive in!

There is plenty to do in Yoshi’s Crafted World with over a dozen worlds to explore and 40+ levels to interact with, further added to by a secret final few levels after the game concludes. There is a ton of content here, and by limiting each world to only 2 or 3 levels, you get to see plenty of variety that you normally wouldn’t see in a 6-8 world game that has been so typical of Nintendo in the past. This approach limits each world, but also makes the game more interesting throughout. During my 8 or so hours with the campaign – that is just getting from A to B on each world – I enjoyed the variety.

It is all about accessibility with Yoshi’s Crafted World. In fact, across the entire Nintendo Switch lineup, it has been accessibility first and foremost. Building a game from the ground up that will appeal as much to a 9 year old as it will a 30 year old, as much to older teens and young adults as it would to married couples with kids. And Nintendo nails it here, yet again. Even on normal mode, getting from A to B is rarely that difficult, but for those finding some levels more challenging than others, Nintendo has built in a mellow mode that gives even the most casual gamer a chance at seeing each and every gamer reach the end.

But for those looking to find everything, and 100% the game, a stiff challenge awaits, which could be controller throwing inducing during more than a few moments. It’s the perfect balance between hardcore and casual that Nintendo so often perfects. But while the game play can adapt to all audiences, what about the story?

Yoshi titles have never particularly had a strong story component, and that has not really changed here, for better or for worse. You’ll be tasked with travelling around the various worlds and collecting the gems that were stolen from Yoshi’s Island. If you’ve played a Yoshi’s Island game in the past, this will all feel very familiar. Progression through the world’s and beating bosses will lead to each one of the gems. Find one, rinse and repeat for two, and so on. The story variety is lacking, as it always is, but yet Nintendo has created something I don’t want to miss.

The game lives on more than its charm, though, as it’s backed by strong game play. While attempting to find all 20 red coins in a level can be infuriating – as can the other collectibles, including the flowers – it was a way to make me explore every corner of the game, and not missing a single bit of what has been so excellently crafted. Visually, nothing should be missed. So much love and care and thought was put into this game, and I hope we see a developer diary or two like we did when Yoshi’s Wooly World originally launched on the Wii U. I want to see how the team put this together!

The cardboard crafty nature of Yoshi is enough to keep you pressing forward as you attempt to see what crafty awesomeness Nintendo has for you around the next corner. It’s almost as exhilarating as the game play itself. I could never wait to see what was next, and fell into the one-more-hour problem. And while you think there are limitations on what aesthetically can be done with cardboard, think again. Every level was more impressive than the last, with the cardboard not only providing a specific look to each world and level, but played heavily into the various puzzles as well, each as interesting to figure out as the last.

But the game goes even deeper than that. When you look closer at each level, you quickly begin to see the multitude of 3D elements. Doors that lead to secret behind-the-scenes areas, walkways that take you into the foreground, and so much more. On the surface you have a side scrolling platforms that quickly falls away to a much deeper experience. All of this buried behind a cutesy cardboard world.

The game is not without its share of problems however, most of which could be fixed with quality of life improvements. Each level needs to be played a minimum of 4 times to get that 100% target, and even then you could play it 7, 8, perhaps even 10 times. There are too many steps involved in getting, for example, the souvenir in each level: receiving the request, fulfilling the request, returning to the quest giver. Even if you had technically completed that request in a previous run, it doesn’t register or count, meaning you’ll have to complete it again.

Ultimately, though, when you get tired of the aesthetics, tired of the collecting, and may be even tired of Yoshi himself, you can bring along a friend and do all those things in a slightly different way. With each of you controlling a Yoshi, you’ll need to find 3 Poochy’s within the world and make it to the end of the level, within the time frame. I never found this overly difficult, but experiencing the uniqueness of this title with a friend was a great experience overall.

Overall, Yoshi’s Crafted World is a fantastic experience that I’m glad I played through. While collecting everything ratchets up the difficulty, it can also become a severe chore as well. And unfortunately, a lot of the things you unlock for your efforts – whether using coins for outfits in the candy machine, or even the 100% completion prize – it all feels a bit weak, and a letdown overall. Is this game worth it? Definitely. Should you feel the needs to get 100%? Not really, unless you really want to maximize your experience with the game.

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