Yoshi and the Mysterious Book really surprised me…and even a month after playing through it, I think it’s the best 2D platformer Nintendo has published since NSMB Wii.
You might remember how vocal I was about Super Mario Bros Wonder abandoning 2D Mario roots in favour of a more exploration focused adventure.
Mario Bros Wonder compromised on the raw platforming challenge and malleability of Mario course designs but because Yoshi is built around experimenting with these weird and wonderful creatures in sandbox environments it’s able to capitalise on the idea of an exploration-focused 2D platformer far better.
Each level introduces some sort of weird and wonderful creature that you’re meant ot investigate to solve puzzles. I came away very impressed with the versatility of how Yoshi can play with different creatures to interact with the environment and other creatures. As you progress, the game will mix and match previous creatures with newly introduced ones and you need to use your knowledge of the wildlife to traverse the environment or discover new traits.
In short: You know how Mario Odyssey lets you capture Mario creatures and play around them? Yoshi is that, the game, and that concept is significantly expanded upon.
Looking at the credits, the original level designer from 1995’s Yoshi’s Island worked as level design lead on Mysterious Book, so it was in good hands!