All the way back in 2017 was when Nintendo announced Yoshi’s Crafted World at E3. It didn’t have a title then, it was just a cute, charming game that looked a lot like Tearaway from media molecule. I’ve been a fan of the LittleBigPlanet series since its inception in 2008, and Tearaway in 2013, and Crafted World looked to scratch that itch. When Nintendo announced last month that the game was finally coming on March 29th, I was thrilled, and the news of a Yoshi’s Crafted World Demo? Even better. I decided to do a short write-up of my impressions of the (too) short demo!
Yoshi’s Crafted World: Adorable as Heck
From the moment I launched the demo, I was smiling. In this day and age of hyper-realistic, gritty, dramatic games where the fate of the world rests on your shoulders, it’s nice to have something bright, cartoony, and fun (I’ve been recently hooked like no other on Tetris 99).
The cardboard aesthetic was gorgeous, and perfectly suited for something like the Switch, and perfectly suited for the next iteration of Yoshi after Woolly World. Maybe it’s because I’m a Mom now, but I was “Oooh”-ing and “Aww”-ing through the whole level; knowing I’m probably going to get art work like that one day from my kid.
Now, I never got my hands on Woolly World (got rid of my Wii U before it came out), but I did watch friends play it, and Crafted World felt quite like how Woolly World looked. But, in Crafted World, you don’t have to go straight left or right. Comparable to 1997’s Yoshi’s Story, there are other paths that allow Yoshi to move into the background or foreground of the levels to grab coins, pieces to put together different things, etc. It’s not free roam, some will lament, but those parts are a welcome change from just constantly going to the right.
Another great thing about the levels is the flipping. Now, it’s not the same mechanic Nintendo initially showed off for the flipping in 2017, but it’s still nice to add another dimension to the game. When I finished the first level available in the demo, the game turned me around so I saw the back side of everything I had just gone through so I could search for Poochy Pups. I was able to find the Pups, and work on finding more of the Daisies (the collectibles) in the level.
Gobbling up enemies and turning them into eggs to throw at other enemies as well as coins and scenery is a lot of fun, even though I was kind of dumb and couldn’t figure that out right away. I’ll be honest. When I play a lot on my Xbox One and go to my Switch, I always mess up ‘Jump’ on the Switch (Ha ha). And there’s also winged clouds that you can hurl eggs at that open up bridges to get different places in the levels and find more collectibles.
I’ve played through the demo two or three times now and have yet to be bored. It’s shaping up to be another great addition to the Yoshi family of games. The cardboard/papercraft aesthetic is amazing and the mechanics help to add a fresh dimension to the series. If you were a fan of LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway from Media Molecule and are looking for another fun experience like those either at home or on the go, Yoshi’s Crafted World is the game for you!