Yoshi and the Mysterious Book Review

Yoshi has been one of Nintendo’s most popular characters since he first debuted in Super Mario World on the SNES and now Nintendo has leveraged Yoshi’s popularity by making him the star of his own spin-off series of platformers, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book also happens to be one of the better Yoshi games, and yet another strong exclusive for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Going into Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, I was skeptical that the game would be able to hold my attention for long. I found developer Good-Feel’s previous effort, Princess Peach Showtime, too repetitive and easy, and it looked like Yoshi and the Mysterious Book would suffer from the same problems. But I was pleasantly surprised by Yoshi and the Mysterious Book; It’s not a particularly challenging game by any stretch of the imagination, but its charm and creativity more than make up for it.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a Rewarding Puzzle-Platformer

Instead of a traditional platformer where the goal is to scroll across the screen until you reach the end of the level, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book levels are like little puzzle boxes. Each one is themed after a specific creature with its own unique abilities, and the goal is to figure out everything that they can do. While each level has one main objective Yoshi must complete, players are rewarded for exploring and experimenting with stars that unlock new levels.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book levels always have something new to find, and the joy of discovery makes the game hard to put down. Each level is something completely different than what came before, and so it’s always exciting to see what’s next. One level might have Yoshi zooming around on the back of a skateboard-shaped creature, while another may challenge him to rescue little friendly sentient flowers from spike balls that are out to kill them.

Yoshi can’t die, so the stakes are low, but there is still some challenge to finding every secret hidden in the levels. After finishing a stage, players are given hints about what other ways they could have interacted with that level’s creature, and no matter how thorough I thought I was, there was always something I didn’t think to do.

Yoshi has his usual abilities in Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, which means the flutter jump and egg throwing are back.

This gives Yoshi and the Mysterious Book a great deal of replay value, and there are other excuses to dive back into the stages as well. Other creatures will sometimes cross over into completed levels, opening new ways to tackle the objectives and giving Yoshi the chance to see how the creatures interact.

All of this takes place inside a magical, living encyclopedia named Mr. E. Bowser Jr. and Kamek are busy searching for a mysterious creature known as the Bewilder Bird, while Yoshi and his companions are simply helping Mr. E file and categorize the creatures that live inside of him. The bizarre premise is an excuse for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book to use an adorable aesthetic that mimics stop-motion animation. It basically looks like a kid’s picture book come to life.

The game also has a sense of humor, mainly derived from its naming mechanic. As Yoshi researches the creatures inside Mr. E, players are allowed to name them. These names stick with the creatures throughout the entire game, which can lead to some hilarious moments.

$70 Might Be Asking Too Much

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is great, but its big flaw is that there is simply not enough meat on the bone. It’s possible to roll credits in Yoshi and the Mysterious Book in five hours or less without much friction. Those looking to earn 100% completion can expect to spend a lot more time with the game, but Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is $70 for the physical version ($60 for the digital version), and that’s a big ask for a game that you can “beat” so fast.

There are also a few levels that are more irritating than they are fun to play. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book‘s fishing level, for example, is tedious, and a few other creatures have abilities that are not particularly exciting. The good thing is that the “bad” levels are short like all the other stages in the game, so players can quickly move on to greener pastures.

I beat Yoshi and the Mysterious Book‘s main story in about five hours, but there’s a lot more to do after the credits roll.

It missteps here and there with a few undercooked ideas and the steep $70 price tag versus the amount of content available, but Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is otherwise a solid puzzle platformer that’s fun more often than it’s not. It’s oozing with charm and stands out as one of the more unique and memorable Yoshi-centric adventures Nintendo has released to date. Hardcore Yoshi fans will find it delightful, and Switch 2 owners can claim another high-quality exclusive.