Game review: Yoshi and the Mysterious Book (Nintendo Switch 2)

Many people know Yoshi as the green dinosaur who is friends with Mario and his gang. While the character first debuted in Mario video games, casual audiences may have been introduced to him in this year's The Super Mario Galaxy movie. 

To capitalise on the character's newfound popularity, Nintendo has released a new game starring everyone's favourite dinosaur. The new game is called 'Yoshi and the Mysterious Book,' and it's out now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 console.

The story starts with Bowser Jr. when he's in Bowser's castle and her stumbles upon an old encyclopaedia. The encyclopaedia has lots of information on rare and exotic creatures, and Bowser Jr. wants to search for one called the 'Bewilder Bird'. 

While Bowser Jr. is literally inside the book to search for the mysterious bird, the encyclopaedia falls onto an island where a bunch of different coloured Yoshis live. It turns out that the book is sentient and has a name called "Mister Encyclopaedia". 

Even though the book has many chapters inside it, it's missing crucial information about the animals that live there. Mister Encyclopaedia enlists the help of the Yoshis so they can go inside him and study the animals. He wants to know their behaviours and abilities. 

Before I begin talking about the gameplay, I have to say Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has excellent graphics. It has a 2D aesthetic that resembles hand-drawn artwork like an old Winnie the Pooh book.

Speaking of 2D, this game has 2.5D gameplay because Yoshi can only move side-to-side and up and down. This isn't a 3D platformer like Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Odyssey. As for Yoshi himself, he has a very basic moveset. 

By pressing A on the Nintendo Switch 2 controller, Yoshi can use a standard jump. When you hold down the A button long enough, he will wriggle his legs a bit so he can jump slightly further than before. 

Another ability that Yoshi has is that he can use his long tongue by pressing the B button to eat some enemies. When he does this, some enemies turn into eggs that he can throw. Throwing eggs can be done by flicking the right stick or using the R button. 

The last ability that Yoshi has in this game is a basic tail flick. By pressing the X button, Yoshi can befriend friendly animals, and they can help him out during the levels. Even though Yoshi's own abilities seem basic, it's the skills of the animals that makes this game truly interesting. 

The main premise of the game is finding animals in the book and discovering their special abilities and skills. For example, one animal is called the 'Detonut,' and it can be picked up and explode rocks that stand in Yoshi's way. 

Another animal that I found interesting is called the 'Baflooner'. This creature can spit water, and it can be used to fly in the air for a few seconds. This animal can help Yoshi fly up waterfalls to reach higher areas. 

Similar to the Baflooner is the 'Snurfboard'. I thought this animal was really cool because it acts like a surfboard or skateboard, and it can help Yoshi travel through the water very fast. 

The last animal in my favourites list is the 'Plumebrella'. This animal resembles an umbrella, and it can be used to help Yoshi glide in the air. A gust of air is located on some levels, so Yoshi can glide for several metres. 

While a lot of the animals have cool skills and abilities, there are some that I thought were boring or pointless. One of these creatures is the 'Jam Guy,' and all they do is play music in rhythm. I didn't enjoy their level at all. 

Another creature I found boring is the 'Lunge Fish'. This big fish just swallows up Yoshi and spits him up in the air. There are other animals in the game that I forgot that are also pointless with no skills whatsoever, too. 

Not all the levels are about discovering the abilities of animals. In some levels, you may have to find a certain number of lost animals, or have boss battles with Bowser Jr. You don't have many boss battles with Bowser Jr., but these fights are pretty cool without giving you too many spoilers. 

As fun as this game is, I think there are some gamers out there who might think Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is too easy. There is no game-over screen because Yoshi doesn't have a health bar or lives. If Yoshi 'dies', the game restarts immediately where he left off, even during Bowser Jr. boss battles. 

Aside from some pointless animals and its easy difficulty, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is still an excellent game with unique gameplay mechanics. Fans of 2D-style platform games should definitely give this game a go. 

Verdict: 8.5/10