After watching the Super Mario Galaxy Movie, it feels like the perfect time for Yoshi to take the spotlight in a video game again. Next month, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book launches exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 and brings back everyone’s favorite green dinosaur in unexpected ways. I’ve had some hands-on time with the game, and it didn’t take long before I walked away with a big smile on my face. Let’s jump in.
Jump into the pages
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book revolves around Yoshi and Mr. E, a mysterious talking book filled with strange creatures living inside its pages. To learn more about them, Mr. E asks Yoshi to jump into the book and explore their habitats. What follows is a gameplay loop that feels more surprising than you might expect. If you’ve played Yoshi games before, you might think you know what you’re getting into, and to some extent, that’s true. You still control Yoshi, which means you can swallow enemies, turn them into eggs, and throw those eggs to deal damage or solve puzzles. The familiar flutter jump and ground pound are also present. That being said, the game feels different from what you might expect. Going into this hands-on session, I was expecting a more traditional Yoshi platformer, clearly aimed at a younger audience and acting as a stepping stone towards the more challenging Super Mario games. That has often been the case with previous Yoshi titles that were charming but fairly straightforward.
The Mysterious Book changes that formula in a fun way. Once you select a creature to investigate, Yoshi jumps into its habitat, where you’ll need to solve puzzles while navigating through platforming sections. The levels feel more open, with a stronger focus on exploration and discovering secrets rather than simply reaching the end. If I had to describe it, I’d call it a cosy exploration game where taking your time really pays off. Let me explain.
Learn more about the creatures
In the first chapter I played, the emphasis of the levels was on learning more about the creatures inside the pages. While you’ll recognize a few familiar faces like Shy Guys, a lot of the creatures are completely new and created specifically for this game. What I really like about this approach is how it sparks your curiosity while playing. Early on, I discovered a small walking flower, and by interacting with it, I gradually learned more about how it works. Throwing eggs at it hurts it; it doesn’t taste great, you can carry it on your back, and its color even affects the flowers around it. All of these discoveries are added as little sketches in Mr. E’s empty pages, turning your findings into a kind of living journal. Learning more about the creatures isn’t just a side activity; it becomes a core part of uncovering the game’s secrets. It sounds like a fun addition, but it goes beyond that. It genuinely changes the way you approach the game and adds a surprising level of creativity to the experience.
Where most other Yoshi games I’ve played felt like easier platformers, this one leans much more into discovery and exploration. In the first chapter, I revisited a couple of levels because I had missed some secrets, but what stood out was that those levels actually changed. Earlier, I entered a level filled with happy, toad-like creatures that loved to sing, and I could create little songs by jumping on their heads. Later on, after completing a few more levels, something had clearly changed. One of the creatures didn’t look happy anymore.
That was enough reason for me to jump back in, only to discover that the creatures had lost their voice. The same level suddenly presented a completely new problem, pushing me to explore different parts of it to find a solution. It’s a smart way to boost replayability and shows that a level isn’t necessarily “done” once you leave it. Even without these changes, revisiting levels remains enjoyable because there’s almost always something you missed or didn’t fully understand about the creatures. It becomes even more interesting once multiple creatures start interacting with each other.
Bigger more open levels
Besides the first chapter, I was also able to play the fourth chapter to get a sense of how the game evolves beyond its opening hour. While the core idea of discovering creatures and uncovering secrets remains the same, the scale shifts noticeably. The levels here feel more like small playgrounds, where you can combine the abilities of different creatures to explore everything they have to offer. In one level, I used floating bubbles to reach higher ground while searching for Shy Guys, which eventually led me to an underwater section. There, I found a skateboard that let me move through the same level in a completely different way. Moments like these happen quite often, and the charm of the game really comes from that interplay between different creatures and mechanics. The levels feel like interactive playgrounds filled with small puzzles and hidden details, and it’s just a joy to move through them. The game clearly invites you to take your time. If you rush through the levels, you’ll miss out on a lot of what makes them special. To top it off, this chapter also introduced a boss fight, nicely raising the stakes.
As you’ve seen in the trailers, Bowser Jr. is also part of the adventure. Even though my hands-on session didn’t fully explain why he’s there, I did get to face off against him and Kamek in a chaotic but fun boss encounter. The two of them had hijacked a UFO and were raining bombs down on me, turning the fight into a fast-paced dodge-and-strike moment. Luckily, I was riding a gigantic boar creature that I had freed earlier in the first chapter. Its ability to drill and jump high made it the perfect tool to deal some serious damage to the UFO. Of course, this is still a Yoshi game, so don’t expect a brutally difficult fight, but thanks to the creative setup and unique mechanics, it was a blast to take down the small prince.
Early conclusion:
I was surprised by Yoshi and the Mysterious Book in the best way possible. It takes a different approach for the Yoshi franchise, but the cosy, exploration-driven setup fits the overall flow and vibe of the game really well. I can’t wait to jump back into its pages and discover more of its secrets.
