Yoshi's Crafted World Review

Gentle and generous, Good-Feel delivers its best game yet in this imaginative and breezy platformer.

The key word here, really, is craft. It's there, first of all, in the aesthetics of this, Good-Feel's second outing with Yoshi (or third if you want to be really picky and include the 3DS offshoot with Poochy). This a world of lollipop sticks and sticky-back plastic, where discarded cereal boxes stand in for rolling mountains and cardboard clouds are suspended on lengths of string; a world where Shy Guys blow into straws to keep ping pong balls afloat so that you can skip along them to your goal.

Mar 27, 2019 Yoshi's Crafted World review - at long last, a worthy successor to Yoshi's Island A material world. Review by Martin Robinson, Features and Reviews Editor Updated on 27 March 2019. Mar 29, 2019  After a fun adventure through a world made of wool, Yoshi's transition to arts and crafts is a delight. With satisfying exploration, fun platforming, and a charming art style, Yoshi's Crafted World gives the Switch yet another strong platformer.

Yoshi's Crafted World review

  • Developer: Good-Feel
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Platform: Switch
  • Availability: Out March 29th on Switch

It's there, embedded a little deeper, in what's a meticulously engineered side-scrolling platformer - perhaps the best to have come from Nintendo since 2012's Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. It's certainly Good-Feel's finest creation yet, a world away from the slightly stale Yoshi's Wooly World, a game that ended up feeling as stuffy and insubstantial as a dusty cotton ball. Crafted World, meanwhile, feels fresh and full of ideas, its levels happily rifling through quick sketches and one-shot concepts before it moves briskly onto the next.

Yoshi's Crafted World's best trick is getting to the essence of what made the original Yoshi's Island so beloved. Somewhat incredibly, it feels like the first Yoshi game in nearly a quarter of a century and over five follow-ups that really understands what made the original sing, and it's then bold enough to place its own spin. Yoshi's Island was always a brilliantly tangible, physical game, brought alive by its tactile surfaces - the chalklines, the paper and the clay - and this time out Good-Feel have simply taken to another corner of the stationery cupboard, pulling out cardboard, string and fizzy pop straws to create its own colourful dioramas.

It's a more cohesive, coherent aesthetic than the half-hearted Wooly World, or even of that game's superior predecessor Kirby's Epic Yarn. These worlds feel like they've been constructed over long summer afternoons on living room floors or stretched out across garden patios, with a human touch - and a dash of tilt shift focus - making them feel oh so real. Maybe it's the influence of that corner of Nintendo's Kyoto headquarters that's busying itself with cardboard wonders as it conjures up new Labo creations, as Yoshi's Crafted World displays a mastery of its simulated materials.

Yoshi's crafted world all enemies characters. But the game makes up for this through sheer charm. Every once in a while, you’ll control a giant Yoshi or race to kill as many moles as possible. Each stage is designed to be replayable, so you can go back later and search for hidden items or earn more coins. Don’t go in expecting. Much like its predecessor, Yoshi’s Woolly World, Yoshi’s Crafted World is a satisfying, if not particularly inventive, take on the Nintendo-style platformer.

And so it presents a world that demands to be played with and poked at, as is underlined by one of the few tweaks to Yoshi's established moveset. You can now aim your eggs at objects in the foreground and in the far distance, bulls-eyeing cut-out clouds or shy-guys peering out from behind the scenery. In another neat trick, levels each have flipsides available once you've completed them, where you track down three poochies while the sellotape, blu-tack and string that holds up the level's primary form is all exposed.

It's a world that invites languid, inquisitive exploration - there are no time limits here, other than in those flipped levels - and each element pulls towards that more laid-back vibe. Yoshi has chilled with age, settling into the stoner rhythm of stablemate Kirby in games that don't really offer any challenge but go out of their way to reward the curious. The challenge here is softer than ever before, but on the flip side the collectibles are more numerous, and often more ingenious

Yoshi himself is a sedate avatar, lacking the agility or momentum of Mario - he appears to have slowed even more since his last outing - but that's almost beside the point. He's there to flutter softly through levels, popping enemies in his mouth before spitting them out in a neat succession of experiments and illustrations of cause and effect. Jump on a foot pump and it'll blast air into an inflatable cat that will scare down the mice in the rafters that are hoarding the key that you need; fire an egg at a boulder in the distance and it'll roll down the hill and clear the landslide that's in your path; stomp a flower encased in ice down into the cold waters below and it'll float across to the monkey waiting by a fishing hole with a rod just down the way who'll then pass it up by way of thanks. This is a video game designed to idly wander through rather than butt up against, and it's all the more glorious for it.

Yoshi's Crafted World Wiki Guide. Yoshi's Crafted World Wiki Guide; Walkthrough; Walkthrough; Sunshine Station; Sunshine Station; Rail-Yard Run; Yarrctopus Docks; Yarrctopus Docks; Many Fish. Apr 22, 2019  Unlocking the Hidden Hills requires you to collect all 5 Dream Gems first. Once the credits rolls, the Hidden Hills appear but are going to cost you some Flowers. Yoshi's Crafted World. Walkthrough Go-Go Land Go-Go Land. There are another two levels here, including one that is an brand new level type. These pink enemies are a major part of this level and you're going to find them just about everywhere. Continue right until you find a guy rolling and unrolling to uncover a spring. There will be. Yoshi's crafted world walkthrough part 5 free. Jul 04, 2015  Yoshi's Woolly World 100% Walkthrough Part 5 World 5 00:07 World 5-1 - Fluffy Snow, Here We Go! 08:19 World 5-2 - Frozen Solid and Chilled 16:38 World 5-3.

Yoshi's crafted world monty mole b gone radish. It's not perfect, of course. There's not the jolt of the new that the original Yoshi's Island had, and even if Crafted World is less reliant on old ideas as its immediate predecessor there's no escaping the fact it's riffing off something very familiar. Around the edges there's the kind of flab and excess that wouldn't blight a true classic - Crafted World's eagerness to fill its world with collectibles can go a little too far with the 300 odd crafts and costumes available in gacha machines that pepper the overworld map, and even though there's no real world money involved it's jarring to play a Yoshi game which has folded in the loot box's close relative. The soundtrack, too, is twee to the point of being syrupy, a sweet dirge that grates all too quickly.

Still, that doesn't hold back Yoshi's Crafted World from being a fine achievement. It's a scrolling platformer with an abundance of style and imagination, and a pleasingly laid-back adventure with an ocean of depth to explore. It is, first and foremost, a work born of mastery and a keen attention to detail. This is a game of impeccable, readily appreciable craft.

Switch

Yoshi's Crafted World (Switch) Review

Yoshi

by Neal Ronaghan - March 27, 2019, 6:00 am PDT
Total comments: 1

Wrap yourself in a blanket and curl up with the cuddliest Nintendo game in a while.

Yoshi’s Crafted World plays like a comfortable warm blanket. A coziness pervades the entirety of GoodFeel’s Switch debut, following up on their similar past work of Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Yoshi’s Woolly World. It carves a slightly different path than Woolly World, though - one that I found far more enjoyable - and in the process creates a new Yoshi adventure that edges out of Yoshi’s Island’s shadow and becomes something more fresh by focusing on a gentler pace and an emphasis on discovery.

Let’s start with the very good: the visuals are spectacular, going for a distinctive look that relies on a handmade arts and crafts style. Crafted World is one of the prettier games on the system so far, blending GoodFeel’s craftwork aesthetic with the sheen of Unreal Engine. The cardboard and plush feel of the surroundings and world feel like you could reach out and touch everything. Nearly every level has a new twist or trick that adds to a sense of discovery, whether it’s the joy of Yoshi’s papercraft mech or Poochy’s playful prancing. Unfortunately the music doesn’t match the glory of the graphics; the soundtrack repeats a lot of similar variations of the same theme. The better tracks nail a music box toy feel, but nothing stands out as all that memorable or good. It’s a disappointment given GoodFeel’s generally great soundtracks for their games in the past.

The level structure and gameplay loop is a little peculiar (and also elegantly on display in the available eShop demo), with one to three levels making up a themed area. The levels feature the typical Yoshi collectibles of hidden flowers, 20 red coins, and full health. Here each level has a coin goal as well. You could more or less blaze through each level from start to finish without much interference, at least as long as you collect enough flowers to progress to the next area. Though taking Crafted World at a fervent pace seems ill-advised, especially as the variant Flip Side levels and souvenir hunts add more replayability to each level while encouraging you to stop and smell the cardboard roses. The Flip Side levels, which all fall under the conceit of playing the stage over again but in reverse and from the other side (or “Flip Side,” get it?), focus on speed, as you try to collect all three hidden Poochy Pups in a certain amount of time. On their own, I find those levels to be a little antithetical to the game’s overall pace, but combined with revisiting areas to find hidden objects for the souvenir hunts, I found replaying the beautiful levels amusing. Multiple steps are taken to make sure you have multiple avenues of collecting flowers to progress, and if the souvenir or Flip Side levels aren’t your bag, you can avoid them for the most part - or at least cherry-pick what you want to do the most of.

Unlike a lot of past Yoshi games, you don’t need to collect every object in a single run. Even better, when you do revisit stages for the hidden souvenirs, you can collect more red coins and flowers. Those extra collectibles will count towards your overall completion, even if you leave the stage when you find the object - which is an option presented whenever you find a souvenir in a level. Aside from areas being gated by collected flowers, Crafted World respects your time and focuses on delivering new environments, fun twists, and unique ideas.

The challenge, for the most part, never gets too tense. The last few levels get a tiny bit tricky, but nothing is ever all that hard. Bonus levels unlocked in the post-game are stronger tests, but in general, if you seek a terse platforming challenge, Crafted World won’t deliver. It’s a cutesy explorative platformer that rewards you for scouring every nook and cranny of this adorable tactile adventure. For the record, while I didn’t find it quite as egregious as past Yoshi’s Island games, this still has the hidden clouds that can only be found by walking over every square inch of the stage. That’s still a bad way to hide collectibles.

Adding to that cardboard glory are some of the adorable unlockables. Each area has multiple costumes you can unlock using accumulated coins. Most of them are generic, like riffs on found objects like fruit and milk containers, but some of the cuter ones are Labo references and enemy-inspired outfits. Amiibo can unlock a few extras as well, with the highlights being Yarn Yoshi and Yarn Poochy outfits that blend the style of Yoshi’s last outing with his new one. The costumes add additional health complementing their flair. Not that Crafted World is starved for an easy mode (which is also available in the toggleable Mellow Mode), but the costumes add a layer of protection if needed.

That layer of protection circles back to the feeling of being comforted by a blanket while rolling through the variety of cozy levels and cute touches. Yoshi’s Crafted World is a stable, enjoyable adventure that brings enough of a twist to the expected Yoshi adventure to make it stand apart in a way no Yoshi platformer has done in years. It has a few blemishes along the way, but just break out the duct tape and stick that cardboard back up so you can romp your way through this delightful easy-going platformer.

Summary

Pros
  • Comforting
  • Gorgeous visuals
  • Level variety and creativity
  • Lots to collect, do, and see
  • Pleasantly relaxed pace

Talkback

KITT 10KMarch 30, 2019

It is a very cute an a fun game. I highly recommend it for anyone.

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Game Profile

  • Reviews (1)
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  • Screens (34)
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Yoshi
GenreAction
DeveloperGOOD-FEEL, Ltd.
Players1 - 2
Review

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