In an era where challenging games from developers like From Software attract a significant audience, Nintendo remains true to its core philosophy, offering an approachable and enjoyable experience suitable for solo play, multiplayer sessions, or even younger players. Yoshi’s Crafted World serves as a spiritual successor to the Wii U title Yoshi’s Woolly World, transitioning from a wool-based aesthetic to a charming papier-mâché/scrapbooking theme. The visual presentation retains the delightful and endearing qualities reminiscent of its predecessor.
Yoshi’s Crafted World supports one or two players in navigating levels, collecting items like flowers and coins, and completing mini-missions. These missions might involve tasks such as targeting cardboard cow cutouts with eggs. The game innovatively incorporates depth into the classic 2D platforming formula. Players can now interact with the background environment by throwing eggs, accessing bonuses, and solving puzzles, which are generally straightforward and solvable through experimentation. Yoshi can also shift between foreground and background “lanes,” adding further dimension to the gameplay.
From a technical standpoint, Yoshi’s Crafted World is well-executed, although the limitations of the Nintendo Switch hardware are becoming increasingly apparent. The game boasts a charming visual design that radiates positivity and family-friendly appeal. Nintendo has consistently demonstrated that engaging and entertaining games can exist without resorting to dark themes, violence, or negativity.
The game’s performance is slightly improved when the Switch is in docked mode. The Unreal 4 engine appears to be well-optimized for the platform. However, the resolution is somewhat lower than desired, and occasional frame rate drops can occur during visually complex scenes. While the game generally maintains a smooth 60 fps, these observations highlight the need for an updated Switch model, potentially arriving this fall based on industry speculation. While the current Nintendo hardware remains functional, it was somewhat underpowered upon its initial release in 2017. Therefore, a next-generation Tegra chipset with increased CPU clock speeds and a more powerful GPU would be a welcome upgrade, even without aiming to rival high-end PC performance.
The controls are responsive and precise. While the Controller Pro is a recommended choice, third-party controllers and the included Joy-Con controllers also provide adequate performance. The music, with its simple melodies and sound effects, evokes a 16-bit aesthetic reminiscent of Yoshi’s origins. This may contribute to the feeling that this is a standout title in the Yoshi series, even if it does not represent a radical departure from the already excellent Woolly World.
Yoshi’s Crafted World is not geared towards players seeking intense challenges. However, it delivers an enjoyable and accessible platforming experience with broad appeal. It presents a fun, entertaining, and very accessible platform adventure in the classic style, which has the potential to appeal to a large target group. I anticipate playing this with my children as they grow older.
