Yoshi and the Mysterious Book - Through the looking-glass

The long-awaited Nintendo hit title, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, has finally been released - was it worth the wait?

I believe there is no gamer who hasn't heard of Yoshi - that adorable green sidekick of Mario.
But he is more than just a sidekick. He is a fighter. He is a savior. He is Yoshi - the most famous dinosaur in the gaming world!

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a side-scrolling platformer in which you will explore a magical encyclopedia named Mr.E (Mystery, ed.) that falls from the sky onto Yoshi's island. Since Mr.E doesn't know what happened and can't read its pages containing information about various creatures, you, i.e., Yoshi, will use Mr.E's magical magnifying glass to jump into the pages of the book and document all those creatures. The game looks like a picture book, because that’s exactly what it is. It's somewhat like a walk through the Mushroom Kingdom, but with a focus on exploring fauna.

With standard Yoshi skills including Flutter, Ground pound, and devouring enemies and turning them into eggs, now various creatures will be able to ride on Yoshi's back and grant him special abilities. Each creature you document can also be named - Mr.E will suggest a name, but you can let your imagination run wild.

So, what makes this game different from other platformers? In most games of this type, you fight against the world around you - your goal is to climb somewhere through a series of precise jumps, defeat enemies, and conquer a big Boss. Although the gameplay here is somewhat similar - you jump, climb, swim - the goal here is to explore as much as possible. Each level offers numerous opportunities that you have yet to discover. You don't finish a level by defeating a big enemy, but by collecting as much information as possible about the creature that lives in it. Try to swallow it to see what it tastes like. Throw it in the fire, jump on it, or hit it with an egg to see what will happen.
Why does it work so well here? Because of the large number of unusual creatures you will encounter. There will be singing frogs, birds that are also umbrellas, strange creatures that transform into skateboards, giant fish, boomerang snails, Shy Guys, and many others, all of which are adorable and have numerous abilities for you to discover.

Although Mr.E will guide you through each level with tips about the creatures and suggestions on what you might try, that is by no means all that can be done. And therein lies the charm of this game.
Each level is a standalone sandbox, and you progress simply by moving around. There are certain tasks you will perform, but you can't really fail them, so nothing stops you from trying everything that comes to mind. Sometimes you will accidentally discover a secret passage hidden under leaves, or you will eat a spicy pepper and Yoshi will breathe fire - those little moments give charm to the game.

The game is very easy, and the gameplay will not present you with much of a challenge. You can't die, and jumping on platforms isn't demanding; if you miss one, you will most often just fall to the level below, so there isn't much backtracking. Except for intentional backtracking, because the levels are not designed to make it hard to get from start to finish, but rather how creative you can be and how willing you are to stray from the path.

And you do all this in a relaxed manner and without hurry. Hmm, I never thought I would use those two words when describing a platformer.

The story is actually the weakest part of the game - honestly, Bowser Jr. and Kamek are presented as antagonists, but the game could have been without them and nothing would have changed.

Expect top-notch hand-drawn graphics with stop-motion animations and a colorful world full of adorable creatures just waiting to be discovered, all accompanied by a classic Yoshi soundtrack. In docked mode, the game runs flawlessly and looks fantastic in 4K resolution, while in handheld mode you may occasionally notice a drop in framerate and slightly pixelated graphics.

Just starting to play, I was convinced this would be my first five. Now, about 15 hours later, I can't bring myself to give it more than a four. And that's a stretched four.
This is not a bad game, quite the opposite. Younger players will enjoy it, while older and more experienced players might quickly get bored due to the lack of challenge. Using all the abilities that the creatures have to collect hidden flowers as collectibles will seem interesting, but once you realize what you actually use them for, the excitement will quickly fade. The creatures are limited to their habitats, so you won't have too many opportunities to use their abilities - except in one level, which is disappointing because they could have based the whole game on that. But then it would be too similar to Kirby. Which might not be so bad.

Nintendo Switch 2 copy of the game for review purposes provided by distributor CD Media.