Yoshi’s Crafted World Review – an utterly charming platformer that’s sure to delight
Full of joy, creativity and charm, Yoshi's Crafted World is as good a first platform game as you're likely to find, and we loved every minute of it
★★★★☆ - PEGI 3, Out 29/03/2019
YOSHI'S Crafted World manages to be utterly adorable without being twee, accessible while still being challenging and, most importantly, a lot of fun.
It plays like a normal side-scrolling platformer in the vein of classic Mario games. The idea is mostly the same as those games too -- you run from left-to-right, jumping over obstacles, collecting coins, and trying to reach the end of the level.
Yoshi has his own tricks, of course -- he's got the ability to fly a short distance and, you've got eggs that you can fling at enemies and at the environment using intuitive controls.
But just getting through the charming levels is less than half the fun.
There are coins and flowers to collect, as well as a nearly endless supply of charming outfits cardboard outfits, and earning all of them will eat up many hours.
Every level is made up from the sort of art and crafts materials you'll find in any well-equipped kindergarten -- from the fuzzy little Yoshi himself to the cereal-box buildings and the strings holding up floating platforms it's a world you feel you can reach in and touch.
Some levels even have split personalities, letting you run them backwards as well as forwards.
For those, the camera flips to the reverse view so you're going left-to-right -- but this time you can see the back of all those lovely crafted objects.
You can see the little bits of sellotape holding up the string, you can see the inside of the reinforced cardboard platforms -- and you can see a whole new set of challenges revealed by the fresh perspective.
These little details are just one of the many things in the game that encourage you to slow down, look for secrets and appreciate the scenery as you get to grips with everything it has to offer.
The game's drop-in co-op modes are a delight too, encouraging teamwork and letting you lend a hand if whoever is playing might need a little help.
It also features the ability to turn on wings for Yoshi -- this might irk the purists, but is a great innovation for those introducing platform games to kids for the first time as it lets Yoshi fly for as long as he needs to get out of trouble.
Its gentle difficulty and range of helpful options make it a really good choice for family gaming.
It's not a pushover, though -- some of the environmental puzzles do require thought and a certain amount of dexterity, and they're hard enough that there's still satisfaction in cracking them and getting through.
The game is at its best when you're sharing the joy of solving the game's puzzles together, or splitting up tasks as you ride a cardboard train round a level collecting coins and flinging eggs at enemies.
It's not quite perfect, but there are hours of family fun here.
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More experienced hands might be disappointed at the lack of challenge or development of some of the game's more innovative ideas, and the sheer volume of collectibles (some through lootbox-like gumball machines that you feed coins you've found in the game into) can be overwhelming.
The amount of replaying required to get everything indicates that the rewards and content don't quite match up -- and you will find yourself tiring of the levels' cheerful music after a little while if you or a little one do decided that getting everything is important to you.
But those gripes are minor -- for children and families, Yoshi's Crafted World is as good a first platform game as you're likely to find, and we loved every minute of it.