Yoshi and the Mysterious Book

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a charming, innovative 2D puzzle-platformer that breathes fresh life into a classic formula. Despite some longer load times, its beautiful watercolor world, smooth Switch 2 performance, and addictive, cozy exploration loop make this evolution a must-play for fans of the series.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a brilliant, quirky experiment that proves being a dinosaur-shaped scientist can easily give traditional platformers a run for their money. If a cosy, unsupervised science fair full of "Eureka!" moments sounds like your jam, prepare your tongue for a new career in book-based ecology.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a unique and incredibly charming game that is constantly changing and constantly engaging.

An intriguing response to one of Nintendo's greatest ever games.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a whimsical, charming game that’s packed full of charisma and creativity. Its explorative focus feels like a natural fit for Nintendo’s green dino, and the abundance of discoveries and collectibles keeps the experience engaging from start to finish. While the basic narrative and low-challenge platforming sections may not be to the taste of some gamers, this still feels like one of the best Yoshi titles we’ve had in quite some time.

You never quite know what to expect from Yoshi. Over the years, the little green guy’s adventures have run the gamut, from kid-friendly romps to more in-depth and daunting platformers, and it seems he just can't settle on a visual style — he's drawn with crayons one game, made out of yarn the next. So, the new Nintendo-Switch-2-exclusive Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has understandably generated some curiosity. What can we expect this time around?

For the first time this decade, Yoshi is back as the star of his own video game. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book takes the green dinosaur (and his multicolored dinosaur friends) on a zoological journey throughout a book’s immersive pages. It’s a creative spin on the Yoshi series that inspired me to experiment with all of its unique gameplay systems.

It’ll be too simplistic for some, but Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a game full of whimsy, wonder, and creativity that rewards you for experimentation and exploration.

I adore the 1995 Super Nintendo game, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, but I am mature enough to admit that each new Yoshi game is worth examining on its own terms. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has no obligation to be a new retread of that 30-year-old game and it isn't. I admire the willingness to try something different. This adventure plays more like a unique puzzle game with Yoshi aesthetics, and the result is a largely rewarding experience that rarely challenged me, but didn’t have...

It’s been a long time between drinks for ol’ Yoshi, who hasn’t headlined a game since 2019’s Yoshi’s Crafted World on the original Switch. Always one who’s happy to experiment, everyone’s favourite dino-mount has tried many formulas for his games over the years. He’s been illustrated, crafted and woollen, and messed around with tilt controls and touch screens.

Yoshi games have always revelled in bringing new and distinctive art styles to the table, not to mention exploring different styles of platforming game, and Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is no different. Taking place within the magical pages of Mister Encyclopaedia, there’s a lovely pencil art tone to the visuals, but also more of an educational and exploratory tone to the adventure.

Throughout each stage, there are passive puzzles to solve, one of which causes a portal to appear that ends the level. For instance, one biome deals with Kirby-like creatures that expand when they interact with a specific substance. Others can cause flowers to bloom when near foliage, and another early-game critter blows bubbles that can be used to reach higher ground. It's simple stuff, and the more taxing solutions often boil down to "how can I get X item up to Y area?"