Yoshi and the Mysterious Book Review

Yoshi is a character that I have loved ever since I played Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo. Our dino protagonist has appeared in a lot of titles set in the Mushroom Kingdom, but it's been a while since we have seen a standalone Yoshi title; the last one was Yoshi’s Crafted World, released on the Nintendo Switch in March of 2019. As soon as I saw the first trailer for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, I knew that I had to play it! It looked incredibly cute and wholesome, plus the gameplay was very different from other games that I had played before.

When you start Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, you will see all the different profiles you have on your Nintendo Switch 2, (if you have more than one, that is), and you select the person who is currently playing. Every profile has their own save file, which is really cool, so you shouldn’t have to worry about other players erasing your progress as long as they stick to their own account, that is! 

The opening cinematic starts with Bowser Jr. in a library with a pile of books. The one on the top has a glorious white moustache and leather belt. He opens it, and the pages are glowing. Bowser Jr. grabs it and makes a quick escape in the flying Koopa Clown Car. Is he seriously old enough to have his licence? Does he know how to drive?

Our thief flies off with the book in hand; Bowser Jr. makes the mistake of trying to read and fly, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. Crashing on an island full of Yoshis – maybe this is a reference to Yoshi's Island. 

There is a group of six different-coloured Yoshis hanging out near the beach when the clown car smashes into the ground. The group finds the vehicle, but not the driver, Bowser Jr. He did leave the magical tome behind, though. Our leather-moustachioed book wakes up, wondering where he is. We know this character is wise, and we know this because he has a monocle and has a leather cover. Its name is Mister Encyclopedia, Mr. E for short — ah, clever, mystery... 

Mysterious creatures are the subjects on his pages, but he can't access them himself. He needs the help of the Yoshis to see if any information is missing from his pages, and if it is, you need to hop into each chapter and fill in the blanks.

We see that Chapter One is called “Wildwood”, and then the pages are animated, so you see bubbles rising and a flower creature moving around. It feels so magical. You use the magnifying glass to get a closer look and take note of it; this might be a new discovery. Look through the magnifying glass to be pulled into the written text. Mr. E will record any new discoveries you make. 

Instead of the usual Yoshi game where you try to defeat the enemies and get to the end of the stage to progress, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is more about exploration and curiosity as you try to learn as much as you can about each of the creatures that reside within the book's pages. 

There is no time limit, and there is no pressure; just take your time checking out everything you can about the mysterious creatures in these different chapters. There are no game overs here making this game accessible to all gamers, no matter your skill level. Doing something you might think is wrong, like eating a cute walking flower or jumping on its head, might lead to a new discovery that will get entered into the encyclopaedia. 

The pages you jump into look amazing; everything appears hand-drawn, down to the pebbles and leaves on the ground. You try to interact with the creatures; I jumped on it, and it was easily dazed when bopped, and I licked it with my tongue. It was sweet, and I swallowed it… All your discoveries are drawn right onto the pages you are standing on. You can pick up the various creatures and toss them on your back, it is so cute! 

The music in Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is great; it feels happy and whimsical, with a selection of wind instruments like clarinets and flutes playing, including fun sound effects that play when you make discoveries.

Each area you explore has hidden secrets to find, like paths covered by fallen leaves, underground tunnels you can fall into, or red switches that, when pressed, will make a cloud appear and rain. If a flower gets wet, it turns into a huge-flowered tree you can climb up on.

When you reach the end of the stage, we see a swirling portal that lets you leave the book and go back to the group of Yoshis. We see all the info we discovered drawn on the pages in the book; you even get to name your discovery, or you can let Mr. E suggest something. You can change the name of the creature at any time if you think of something better. 

If you have played as Yoshi in a past game, you will recognise the signature flutter kick whenever he jumps, trying to get just a little bit more height along with that struggling noise he makes. That's not the only thing that has carried over from the other Yoshi games; specifically, from Yoshi's Island, the cute, large, smiling daisies are here to collect. 

There are six chapters to explore, each focused on a different locale: Chapter One: Wildwoods, Chapter Two: Mountaintops, Chapter Three: Seaside, Chapter Four: Settled Valley, Chapter Five: Bug Country, and Chapter Six: Remote Isle. Each requires a larger number of stars to be accessed. If you are short on stars to unlock the next area, you can always go back to locations you visited before to make new discoveries and get more creature pages.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a charming puzzle-adventure game full of experimentation and exploration. It's not super challenging, but I am okay with that; the cosy feel of the game and the rewarding feeling you get when you discover a new creature or one of its silly traits and watch it get drawn into the book is so fulfilling. My biggest complaint would be the lack of co-op multiplayer, it was so fun to play with someone else in Yoshi’s Crafted World, but either way, this is still a great game to play on your own; just be prepared to take a lot of screenshots so you can show off all your cute discoveries to your friends!