‘Yoshi’s Crafted World’ Is A Comforting Haven In This Cruel And Confusing World

Leaving my 45 minute preview of the upcoming game Yoshi’s Crafted World, I felt pretty good about myself. The Nintendo platformer pairs a soft, friendly atmosphere with responsive controls – ideal for when you want something relaxing to soothe your spirits.

The story of Yoshi’s Crafted World is simple. Kamek and Baby Bowser arrive at Yoshi’s Island to steal the wish-granting Sundream Stone. During their attempt, the multicoloured gems set into the stone are accidentally scattered across the world. It’s up to Yoshi and friends to run, jump and gulp their way across charming papercraft landscapes to recover them.

It isn’t the most sophisticated plot in the world, but it doesn’t need to be. Nobody’s playing Yoshi’s Crafted World for the story. We’re here for platforming.

Like the story, the gameplay of Yoshi’s Crafted World is simple and sweet, with timed jumps and environmental obstacles to overcome. It feels responsive, clean and easy to navigate. In Yoshi tradition, you can throw eggs to collect coins and defeat Shy Guys, who you can also gulp in order to obtain more eggs.

The most notable new element in this game is the composition of its levels. Designed to look as though they were made with cardboard, paper and empty cereal boxes, Yoshi’s Crafted World‘s levels can be played both forward and backward. On the first run through a player will see pretty, decorated facades. Then if they play it again, running from the end back to the beginning, they’ll navigate the level’s rough, hidden rear.

It’s interesting to recognise obstacles you encountered on your first run and see how they’re changed due to this new perspective, and spot elements that were previously hidden. It also makes the levels feel like actual craft projects you might have made when you were a kid.

Yoshi’s Crafted World also makes use of 3D space. While the game is predominantly a sidescroller, sometimes Yoshi moves toward or away from the screen rather than simply left or right.

And though Yoshi can’t stray from the path, there are objects and enemies in both the foreground and background for you to hurl eggs at like an unruly kid in a ‘90s family film, typically netting you some shiny collectables.

Knocking over the cardboard scenery feels good, like playing with a cardboard recreation of a carnival game put together by your big sister, and I was constantly on the lookout for things to peg eggs at. 

Each level in Yoshi’s Crafted World has a number of collectables. Most important are the flowers, but there are also gold coins, hidden red coins, and timed blue coins to collect.

Red coins look the same as gold coins and are obtained in the same way (running into them or hitting them with an egg), only revealing themselves to be red once collected. I was told blue coins must be collected before a timer runs out, though I didn’t encounter any during my preview.

Collect all of a particular coin type, and you’re granted a bonus flower. You also get a bonus flower if you finish the level with full health. What do you get if you manage to collect every flower? A sense of satisfaction. Yoshi’s Crafted World tickles the completionist part of my brain.

Unfortunately, my sense of satisfaction was robbed from me during my preview. I was talking to a Nintendo rep during the train ride at the end of the level, thus missed throwing an egg at the final flower – just one plant short of perfection. This continues to haunt me.

Yoshi’s Crafted World’s multiplayer isn’t terribly collaborative – none of the obstacles I encountered required players to work together to overcome. Instead, it’s designed to be friendly to young children, or people who just aren’t terribly good at platformers. I can see parents and older siblings guiding small children through it.

While both Yoshis can run through the map independently, they can also ride on each other’s backs. This puts one player in charge of the platforming, and the other in control of shooting an unlimited supply of eggs at everything with reckless abandon.

Further, if one player gets too far ahead of the other, the player that was left behind gets turned into an egg and transported to their friend, who only has to touch them to release them once more. This means that if a player gets frustrated by a level and stubbornly refuses to continue, their partner will simply drag them along.

They can, of course, just leave as well. Yoshi’s Crafted World allows players can drop in and out at will.

Yoshi’s Crafted World feels achievable – like you could definitely 100% it if you put your mind to it, but if you don’t want to that’s cool too. The beginning stages I played were like a pleasant, relaxing brain teaser in the back of a newspaper. Though I didn’t experience it, I’m told that the complexity increases further into the game, and that new elements are built upon slowly so as not to get too difficult.

Even so, I can’t see the game becoming substantially challenging. This game isn’t for those who like to bash their heads against a level for hours, gritting their teeth while they try to nail the timing. It’s the equivalent of a Saturday morning cartoon, offering an accessible sense of accomplishment.

In a word, Yoshi’s Crafted World is charming. It’s the kind of game you’d settle down to play an exhausting day at work, when you just want some easygoing, uncomplicated, undemanding relaxation.

Plus, it looks great. I fully expect to see Nintendo fans building cardboard dioramas of its levels once it’s out.

Yoshi’s Crafted World is scheduled for release March 29 on Nintendo Switch.