Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is out this week on Thursday, May 21 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2, and the reviews have begun rolling in. As it currently stands, the game is currently sitting on a pretty healthy aggregated score of a clean 80 on Metacritic.
While we don’t yet have a review up for this one (it’s coming!), it’s clear based on these initial reviews that this is another adorable and charming, if safe, Nintendo platformer starring Yoshi. Critics seem in agreeance that the art and whimsy typical of modern Yoshi games is on full display, but there does seem to be a slight, creeping sentiment that it lacks the edge of a Mario platformer and that it requires players find the fun in experimentation.
Let’s take a look at some of the high-profile reviews that have come through so far for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book:
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book Reviews
VGC’s Andy Robinson went straight in with a full 5/5 score, saying, “Yoshi and the Mysterious Book powers along with the kind of breathless imagination typically associated with mainline Super Mario adventures, with new ideas and gameplay mechanics stretching across the margins of its pages. A brilliant, unique siderscroller.”
Ash Wayling at WellPlayed Australia assigned the game a sterling 9/10, concluding that its direction-lite nature is a boon and writing, “Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is an oddity to describe to others. Your average Yoshi-based adventure is one of predictable expectation, with your tongue-lashing lad moving from point A to point B to save the day. Mysterious Book’s casual approach to figuring things out at your own pace wormed its fingers deep into my brain – the rewarding sensation of playing this game felt more like slowly solving a Sudoku than trying to rescue my princess from another castle. But I can’t help but feel the lack of overt direction will alienate many that come in expecting another standard Nintendo platforming experience. I applaud the incredible uniqueness of it all, and can’t wait to crowdsource further discoveries from my mates when they get their hands on it.”
The game nabbed 4/5 stars at Vooks, with Paul Roberts saying, “Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a joyful expedition, taking the Yoshis into another beautiful visual style. The focus on documenting discoveries about the different creatures within the mysterious book adds another layer to the traditional platformer. The more relaxed nature of the game is great for younger audiences, while also being a delight for older audiences who enjoy Yoshi games. If you’re looking for a challenging traditional platformer, you’re not going to find that here, but Yoshi is a ray of light that will bring a smile to many faces.”
Likewise from Leah at ScreenHub, who reckons, “Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a change of pace for the franchise, but the gentle safari adventure offers plenty to discover.”
Nintendo Life weren’t convinced by the game’s visuals or lack of challenge, with Ollie Reynolds offering a 6/10 and opining, “Yoshi and the Mysterious Book isn’t a bad game. There’s a lot of fun to be had in discovering the many creatures hidden within Mr. E’s pages, though it also suffers from a repetitive structure that doesn’t evolve or provide any sense of meaningful challenge. Visually, it also lacks the punch that Woolly World and Crafted World offered, and it frankly looks pretty bad in handheld mode.”
IGN also came up at the bottom end with another 6/10, Tom Marks summarising the review with, “Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is an undeniable delight, with adorable storybook creatures that are amusing to learn about in your first, surprise-filled encounters with them. But while there’s impressive variety on display, it comes at the cost of depth. Nearly all of its best ideas are left to wilt on the vine – especially one clever mechanic that could have supported an entire game on its own, but instead arrives far too late and then disappointingly disappears. Its open-ended levels certainly had me smiling, but only on my initial run through them, and the long list of potential Discoveries offers too few moments to take what you’ve learned and think creatively to solve a problem. That’s a significant weakness for a game that’s all about experimentation. The result is the most charming video game bubble wrap you’ll ever pop, and not much more.”
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is out on Thursday, May 21 exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2.
Will you be picking this one up? Let us know in the comments or on our social pages!