This Week I Have Been Mostly Playing...
Yoshi's Crafted World on Nintendo Switch
One of the things I tend to avoid when writing about a game is reading the reviews. It’s very easy to get swayed by other people’s views plus I want to avoid any plagiarism (however unintentional). I read a few for Yoshi as I was unsure whether it was worth a punt. And they all shared the same reference point, Yoshi’s Island. Which I have only played once.
So instead as a n00b, where does Yoshi sit in the sliding scale of Nintendo platformers of the far too easy in Kirby All Stars up to the brutally hard Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze?
Certainly in the middle with a toe in the brutal camp. The game is a breeze to get through on normal mode but it’s borderline impossible to 100% a level first time. The juxtaposition between the two extremes is crazy considering the games premise. To be fair later levels get much trickier, particularly any with extreme platforming areas plus the horror level which was actually scary!
As you can imagine the story is simple, with the plot being that a bunch of special stones are stolen by Bowser Jr and you must travel through the land to collect them. Each level is on a 2D platforming plain but you can use the eggs you collect to fire at things in the sky and background.
You must collect coins, red coins and flowers. If you get over 100 gold coins and all 20 red coins you get a flower for each. Alongside this if you end the level with full health you also get another flower. See why it’s so tricky on the first attempt? The flowers are used to unlock new areas so make sure you grab as many as you can!
The world looks incredible, the kind you would have tried to make yourself when you were six. Plastic bottles as spaceships, platforms held up by toilet roll tubes, stars wrapped in foil. It is a stunning world to explore with so many things hidden. The haunted and space worlds in particular look amazing.
One slight area of disappointment is the music. The theme tune is brilliant, plonked out on a toy piano perfectly fitting the worlds feel. But it is overplayed, I would usually expect a new theme for each area but that’s not to be.
For once there isn't a lives system so if you die you can just restart the level or, ideally from one of the checkpoints strewn along the level. If you find standard too hard there is an easy setting that lets you fly pretty much continuously.
As for level variety there are a couple of vehicle levels alongside the occasional visits from Poochy who is bloody adorable. He should be in it more Nintendo!
Overall this game is enchanting. I was able to compete it in about a week but it did pose several challenges along the way. The boss fights aren’t too hard once you figure out how to beat them. I would recommend this game, we are now pushing into the spring / summer drought so this is a great option if you need something new on the Switch. Until Super Mario Maker 2 comes out….
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