Yoshi and the Mysterious Book Review: A Charming, Disjointed Adventure

It has been around thirty-five years since Yoshi was initially introduced to the masses, first as a puzzle game not too dissimilar to Tetris, but was eventually adapted into Nintendo’s most iconic franchise as one of Mario’s most reliable companions. Our green reptilian friend has always primarily been known as a side character, and yet he continues to get some of the more creative games in Nintendo’s profile.

Developer Good-Feel has been working with Nintendo for some time now, developing titles such as Wario Land: Shake It!, Kriby’s Epic Yarn, Yoshi’s Woolly World and the newly introduced Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. Just as the name implies, Good-Feel releases some excellent feel-good experiences, but are they able to recreate their magic or should the Mysterious Book stay closed?

Diving into a Good Read

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is told through a mysterious, but colorful compendium story book that opens its pages to the Yoshis of the island. The core design revolves around learning about different types of species found in every biome. Each chapter in this mysterious compendium has its own theme, be it a seaside adventure or a trek through bug country. There’s a decent amount of variation, and the interactions with each creature are surprisingly unique. No bug or being is the same, with each having their own mechanics and functionality.

Completing each creature entry will unlock more of the book from both a visual perspective and opening up new levels as well. It’s a creative way of having a linear pathing with the illusion of choice. There's still some choice, but most have pre-requisites to unlock. The more stars racked up in each level, the more chapters that open, with these coming in the form of hidden objectives. Some are self-explanatory while others will require experimentation, which is where the game shines.

This is what Yoshi and the Mysterious Book does right for the most part. Players won’t know what they’ll encounter when they step into a level, allowing for a bit of mystique and adventure in learning a new set of puzzles. It will put the player’s brain to work a little bit, even though the level of engagement varies from level to level.

Creativity in Small Bites

There are some greatly creative creatures, and the number of ways they’re implemented in the world and puzzle-solving situations allow for some enjoyable interactions. Be it using a jellyfish-like creature as a water jetpack or having a Shy Guy point in the direction it needs to go.

Unfortunately, most of them don’t feel engaging enough and can be overly simplistic, especially given how little they expand upon the mechanics. They come and go as fast as they’re introduced, making this feel more like a series of mini-games more than anything else. The balance of level length also drastically varies, having some of the more fun experiences limited while the others can be draining.

On top of that, one of the major drawbacks of the platforming puzzle game is that the controls are finicky, at least on Joy-Con 2. They’re relatively simplistic, being able to be used by any age, but forcing the player to use the joystick for movement causes a lot of problems with traversal. More times than naught, we end up crawling when simply wanting to go left or right on the screen, or butt slamming when in the air.

Players won’t know what they’ll encounter when they step into a level, allowing for a bit of mystique and adventure in learning a new set of puzzles.

Drawing with Yoshi

Being a Yoshi game, it’s hard not to talk about the presentation. This is a franchise that continues to get a good dose of variety and uniqueness from its visual art style. Yoshi’s Wooly World is a prime example of this, even to a certain degree as Yoshi’s Crafted World. The Mysterious Book falls more in line with something like Yoshi’s New Island in its visuals, offering a more sketchbook or pastel aesthetic. It works perfectly, and even though most stages are short, there’s a strong variety throughout the chapters.

The music is unfortunately unremarkable, except maybe one level, and the sound effects are more or less what you’d expect from a Yoshi game. Our reptilian protagonist has all its iconic sound effects, from struggling to fly, slamming into the ground and grabbing something with its tongue. As nostalgic and memorable as they are, the flying one in particular will begin to wear on anyone’s mind as it’s something that will be on repeat each stage.

Closing Comments:

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a charming adventure that’s unfortunately weighed down by its disjointed mechanics. Each level feels unique thanks to the drastically different play styles of each creature encountered, but they're mostly limited to their singular, short stage. Not only that, but some of the better creatures get far less time in the sun to truly appreciate them while others linger for far too long. With that said, there's some fun to be had as there are levels that do a good job of creating unique situations for Yoshi to solve. Even though most of the experience is straightforward, it’s the thoughtful encounters that require puzzle solving. At the end of the day, there’s a certain whimsy to Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, but it fails to truly be anything remarkable.