My first introduction to the Yoshi series was way back in the very first game for the Nintendo 64, Yoshi’s Story. It was a cute game full of colour and character. The latest game in the Yoshi series coming to the Nintendo Switch continues this tradition.
The demo for Yoshi’s Crafted World gives a taste of how the game plays and controls. The game is grounded with the same basic controls schemes as previous Yoshi games. Yoshi can jump and flutter in the air for a bit by holding the jump button. Yoshi can also stick out his tongue, gobble up enemies, and turn them into eggs, which Yoshi can then toss around towards enemies and objects.
The game is by definition a side scrolling platformer, but much like some games in the 3DS generation dabbled with, Yoshi’s Crafted World also ventures into the back and foregrounds. Yoshi follows a defined pathway which lets the player know where they can go. Sometimes this pathway goes into the distance and other times it can also come into the foreground. In addition to this movement, you can also toss Yoshi’s eggs to hit enemies and collect items that are in both the foreground and backgrounds. Some that you can’t actually reach can be collected in this way.
The game lives up to the true name of “crafted” as the game very much has the look and feel that the characters and set elements are real life craft items made of cardboard or other crafting materials. Like the previous game Yoshi’s Wolly World leaned heavily on the yarn look to the world, such is a similar feel here. The look is actually really cool and has a great aesthetic.
The crafted feel of the game does a lot to set Yoshi’s Crafted World apart and give it a unique feel.
The rotated levels also add to the charm of the crafted levels. If you were to imagine that these are real levels made out of cardboard, you’re not really supposed to see the other side. Imagine a diorama where all of the rough edges and folds are supposed to be tucked out of view. It’s pretty neat.
Though the game won’t be out for over a month, the feel of the game definitely lends it to some sort of Nintendo LABO integration. With LABO’s real life cardboard construction sets, it would be neat to see some sort of new LABO set that interacted with Yoshi’s Crafted World in some way.
To be honest from the videos I was somewhat on the fence with Yoshi’s Crafted World. It looked cute and seemed like a fun enough game but I wasn’t really hyped for the game. The demo changed that. After playing through the demo level(s) it’s safe to say that I’m looking forward to this now.
Yoshi’s Crafted World supports 2 players simultaneous play and will be released for the Nintndo Switch on March 29th.
