Yoshi’s crafting a new kind of game

Credit: Nintendo

Yoshi’s Crafted World was a wonderful surprise. 

I thought for sure as I was looking at the demos of the game and preparing to test it for myself that Yoshi’s Crafted World would be mind-numbingly cheesy. However, in testing this new game on my Nintendo Switch, I was happy with what I had found. 

Though all of the “materials” were either plush, felt, or other crafting materials, the game still didn’t feel too kiddish. Yes, of course there would be an appeal to a younger audience, but it didn’t feel completely lost to me as an adult gamer, either.

The controls of this game were both simple to figure out and simple to interact with. Playing within Yoshi’s Crafted World is still remarkably immersive even with these minimalist controls. I found myself fascinated with the 3D world while roaming about, choosing between a multitude of characters, and playing countless different levels. This game felt as though you could play it forever and never get bored. 

There is a main campaign that you have to follow, but there are many levels you can choose from to “create your own game” in a sense.

As the name implies, Yoshi’s Crafted World is based in a “real world” environment, with plush (almost stuffed) characters and cardboard-looking ramps and buildings. This game even goes as far as to show two main perspectives, one from the front and one from the back — as if the main area of play was a children’s playset.

Another interesting addition to Yoshi’s Crafted World that is similar to its predecessors is that you can “eat” characters and enemies to turn them into throwable eggs. These eggs then catapult into the scenery in the background to gain coins and points. They can also be picked up by hitting special blocks placed in various places throughout the game. These help you interact with the environment and reach coins and bonus points you normally would not be able to without the help of the eggs.

The main concept of this game is easy enough, with the main storyline simply being to find gems after Baby Bowser attempted to steal a special stone, sending the gems across the world. All throughout the game you need to keep your eyes peeled for gems hidden behind branches, cardboard trees, cotton ball bushes, and the like. This is one of the many parts of the story that keep the side games combined in one overarching story.

What is still the most shocking and unique aspect of this game is the fact that, while it is a 2D sliding game, you can flip the camera to view the back-side — opening up an entirely new world and perspective. There are easter eggs and parts of the levels that can still be hidden. Instead of being restricted and confined to side-by-side and this even the expanded forward and back of Yoshi’s world, you can now hide elements in plain sight. 

Overall, I found this game addicting, fun, and wonderfully simple. This is a game that I could see both older gamers and younger gamers alike enjoying, maybe even together in the multiplayer mode. What I loved was the choose-your-own-adventure style of this game, while still keeping elements that tie each level in with the others and the main storyline. I could see myself playing this game for quite some time and loving it.