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Review: Yoshi’s Woolly World

You will absolutely find Yoshi’s Woolly World ridiculously adorable. I mean, the dinosaur is made of yarn this time around, and moreover gobbles up enemies and poops them out as more yarn.

I repeat: poops them out as more yarn.

Yet, despite the adorable pooping – and I’d never thought I’d say that – the game is a tad uninspired. To counter that, it’s hard – to a point – to fault Nintendo’s version of “uninspired”. At its core, Yoshi’s Woolly World is a rehash of past Nintendo platformers, challenging in some areas, cute in others, and – unfortunately – kinda lame in others. Think, “basic Nintendo platformer” and you’re on the right track.

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The game’s story reeks of Nintendo: the evil Magikoopa heads to Craft Island to kidnap all the woolly Yoshis – minus the green and red ones of course – leaving you (and possibly a friend) to rescue those lost. You’re taked to head through six differently-themed areas, eliminating bosses and mini-games along the way.

For those who can pick up a controller without problem, the game’s Normal mode plays like a traditional Mario game. For those who can’t, the Mellow mode gives Yoshi wings and the ability to avoid anything remotely difficult. Avoid Mellow mode at all costs.

You can tackle a variety of stages either solo or with a friend, ranging from lava worlds to a yarn-filled underwater section and more. Solo can be a cake walk at times, and a bitch at others – I’m looking at you, checkpoints placed after super-tough areas – yet ridiculous easy at the same time. For every ultra-hard section that you’ll die upon, instantly removing all the secrets you’ve collected, Woolly World will hand you 1-ups like they’re candy.

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With a friend, be prepared to burn bridges and destroy friendships. At first, it’s quite fun to eat up your co-op partner and poop him or her out randomly in the world, but eventually it all just turns into one revenge plot after another. Those with the best intentions will find great pleasure in turning enemies – rather than one another – into balls of wool, purpose-built for spitting out into the world to create platforms to, well, platform.

Though there are some neat little sections, including haunted houses and neat magic carpets, most of Yoshi’s Woolly World feels… sameish. Again, uninspired. You won’t be able to recollect anything like you could World 1-1 in Mario Bros. That said, you will remember how damn cute woolly Yoshi is.

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A Nintendo title, the game features some neat amiibo bits and bobs like controlling dual Yoshis with one controller. It’s nothing game-changing though.

All up, Yoshi’s Woolly World is cute, but not something you desperately need to play. It’s not for solo players looking for a challenge, nor for co-op fans who don’t have a lot of patience.

Yoshi’s Woolly World was reviewed using a promotional code on Wii U, as provided by the publisher.

 

Review: Yoshi’s Woolly World
7 out of 10

The good

  • Adorable.
  • Earlier than in the USA!

The bad

  • Uninspired and unoriginal.
  • Strangely placed checkpoints.

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About the author

Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.