Yoshi and the Mysterious Book review roundup: 'a unique creature-watching safari'

A cosy platformer with a couple of flaws

(Credit: Nintendo)

• 🥚 Reviews for the brand new Yoshi game have started coming in

• 🍎 The game has garnered a score of 81 from 73 reviews on Metacritic

• 🤗 Reviewers have praised the unique challenges of the levels and its fun design

• 🤷‍♂️ Some critics think that it’s a little repetitive in places, though

Reviews for the first Yoshi game to release for Nintendo Switch 2, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, are here, and it’s a bit of a mixed bag for the green dinosaur.

According to the game’s Metacritic page, the average score sits at 81 after 73 reviews from the media, working out to a verdict of ‘Generally Favourable’.

Here’s what the critics have made of the latest entry into the longstanding series for Nintendo’s lovable dino.

VGC gave it a perfect 5/5 score, praising the richness of the game’s levels, with unique challenges, and fun, eye-catching design:

“Yoshi and the Mysterious Book powers along with the kind of breathless imagination typically associated with mainline Super Mario adventures, with new ideas and gameplay mechanics stretching across the margins of its pages. A brilliant, unique sidescroller.”

In a 4/5 review, TechRadar Gaming enjoyed the art style and fluid performance, although thought that the title was perhaps a little too easy in some respects:

“Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a whimsical, charming game that’s packed full of charisma and creativity. Its explorative focus feels like a natural fit for Nintendo’s green dino, and the abundance of discoveries and collectibles keeps the experience engaging from start to finish. While the basic narrative and low-challenge platforming sections may not be to the taste of some gamers, this still feels like one of the best Yoshi titles we’ve had in quite some time.”

PCMag gave it 4/5, praising the variety of the creatures, their unique behaviour, and the bright, charming presentation. It felt the levels were a little on the small side, though:

“Yoshi’s newest adventure on the Switch 2 is a unique creature-watching safari that’s more an open-ended puzzle game than a classic Yoshi’s Island-style platformer—an excellent gameplay change if you go in with an open mind.”

Game Informer gave Yoshi and the Mysterious Book a score of 7.75/10, praising the classic Nintendo platformer feel and fun level design, although it thought the story was a little thin:

“Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is, by design, an inviting game with little challenge – a pleasant vacation where all the animals want to be friends and the soundtrack sounds like colorful bubbles bursting in front of a double rainbow. I admit I pined for the stress I associate with Yoshi taking care of a helpless baby, but this low-stakes adventure (potentially Yoshi’s lowest) does take care in making you feel acknowledged and generally rewarded in its attempt at a new style of puzzle-platformer.”

However, from this point on, the reviews aren’t quite as positive. For instance, Nintendo Life praised the game’s story and uniqueness, but felt it was a little too repetitive in terms of gameplay:

“Yoshi and the Mysterious Book isn’t a bad game. There’s a lot of fun to be had in discovering the many creatures hidden within Mr. E’s pages, though it also suffers from a repetitive structure that doesn’t evolve or provide any sense of meaningful challenge. Visually, it also lacks the punch that Woolly World and Crafted World offered, and it frankly looks pretty bad in handheld mode.”

IGN thought the level design was clever in some instances, with each based around a different creature, although it thought that some of the later interactions made the game too straightforward:

“Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is an undeniable delight, with adorable storybook creatures that are amusing to learn about in your first, surprise-filled encounters with them. But while there’s impressive variety on display, it comes at the cost of depth. Nearly all of its best ideas are left to wilt on the vine – especially one clever mechanic that could have supported an entire game on its own, but instead arrives far too late and then disappointingly disappears. Its open-ended levels certainly had me smiling, but only on my initial run through them, and the long list of potential Discoveries offers too few moments to take what you’ve learned and think creatively to solve a problem. That’s a significant weakness for a game that’s all about experimentation. The result is the most charming video game bubble wrap you’ll ever pop, and not much more.”

Considering the type of audience Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is aiming for, and the fact that Yoshi games don’t always review the strongest, a Metacritic score of 81 is a pretty admirable result. The game is available exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on May 21.

Up next: Forza Horizon 6 review roundup: ‘one of the greatest racing games of this generation’

Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.