Close the Book of this Dull Adventure app

Chances are if you’ve ever played a game played by Yoshi, you came away feeling like you’ve seen the worst thing ever. But then you realize that, despite how delicious and lovely it is, it often feels like you’ve just inhaled a heaping spoonful of sugar with no nutrients. Every time I play a modern Yoshi game, that’s the feeling I get.

That’s how I felt during my time with Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Mario’s latest outing for the no-nonsense and crude. As with all of Yoshi’s modern successes, the high level that games like Yoshi’s Woolly World easily achieved is often sorely missed. Still waiting for that Switch reissue of Wooly World, just for the record.

Until then, Yoshi will have to face an epic adventure that sees him and his motley crew jump through the pages of an ever-changing magical book that includes all kinds of creatures. This fascinating setting is all about Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, as you’ll explore and discover what makes these little critters tick.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has a hard time transitioning past its high-level concept, which is unfortunate when you consider how breathless everything looks and sounds. There’s a lot of content here, and it will take you a long time to get through it all, but that’s what keeps the game from being what it could be.

A Real Page Turner

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book begins with the aptly named Mr. E., an interesting book followed by Bowser Jr. Inside his worn spine are pages upon pages detailing the lives and times of the many creatures that Yoshi must eat, toss, and bounce. Not to defeat them, but to understand their way of life and write a catalog to eliminate the nature of knowing Mr. It’s a great idea, as most Nintendo games are.

Each chapter presents itself as its own unique world, where the color of Yoshi you choose will enter the book to learn more. At first, I felt drawn into its strange world of curiosity and discovery, where the game follows the idea of ​​throwing everything at you to prevent you from feeling tired. It has that philosophy of not wanting the player to feel like they’re doing the same thing twice.

One level will see Yoshi eating disgusting frogs that make him gag, accompanied by a beautiful sound, while others will task the dinosaur by riding unstable clouds to the goal. It’s all eccentric in its own unique Nintendo way, but that factory rapid-fire idea worked against the game in my experience. I found myself longing for an idea that would stick, a core idea that the game could hang its hat on.

Ultimately, the main idea of ​​Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is homework. It’s less of a game and more of an interactive encyclopedia, like a checklist with little sketchbook ideas for games. It feels like a collection of concepts strung together like a lovable Frankenstein’s monster, which sounds a lot cooler than it actually is.

At one point, I found myself lulled to sleep by its strange, voice-accompanying wanderings. What makes matters worse is that each chapter is unlocked with coins you earn by completing objectives, and since it’s impossible to get everything in a level in the first go, the game encourages you to revisit the levels. This wouldn’t be too bad, except that once you finish a level, going through it again is an exercise in pointless frustration.

Look, it’s in the Book

Platformers like Yoshi and the Mysterious Book are often billed as aimed at kids, and that should mean the difficulty is good. While I understand the sentiment, I find it to be the wrong way to look at it. I don’t think anyone, least of all, is asking for a Yoshi Soulslike. While that sounds nice, that’s actually the opposite of what I’m asking for.

It sounds like waxing nostalgia, and maybe it is, but I think we all remember the first challenging game we played. That experience was important, as it allowed us all to start choosing what kind of games we wanted. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is very easy and doesn’t offer any challenge at all. I don’t think it’s even possible to lose life.

Not every game has to be challenging, and I think there is a market for this kind of experience. Sometimes a game is all about the vibes and energy you create, and this is a game that will completely draw you in with its visuals. The style of the storybook is undeniably beautiful, and the animation has all kinds of wonderful, fun feelings to it.

If that’s all it is, just a fun game designed to make you smile, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book can be a home game. Grand slam, I mean. Unfortunately, every single thing surrounding that cozy vibe is just horrendously boring. In addition to paper-thin level design and low-level tasks, some of the physics and controls make completing these goals even more difficult. Sometimes, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book just feels really bad to play.

One saving grace, and perhaps a sign of a bright future to come, is that Nintendo seems to really know the ins and outs of Switch 2 hardware. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book looks and works very well, targeting and maintaining 60 FPS at 1080p output. The Handheld also looks decent, but is a little pricey performance wise. Overall, though, the performance and art direction are a touch above, which is a good sign going forward if you’re a Nintendo fan.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book continues the tradition of great platformers that Nintendo’s green dinosaur has made its calling card. Unfortunately, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book isn’t a platformer and it’s a bloated, drawn-out homework. The critics are great, and Yoshi is as good as ever, but there’s almost nothing to do and it’s too much at once. It’s easily one of the most disappointing games of 2026.

Released

May 21, 2026

The ESRB

Everyone / Central Fiction Violence

Engineer(s).

Nintendo

Publisher

Nintendo

Good and bad

• Delightfully beautiful art direction with a storybook aesthetic
• Beautiful music
• A good variety of different opinions

• The idea gets old very quickly
• It feels like homework most of the time
• Another floaty physics that can lead to annoyance
• No challenge at all