Staring into the weeds of my backyard.
Is that a squirrel? No. A rabbit? Definitely not. It’s a groundhog.
I’ve never actually seen a groundhog up close before. What even does it do?
“I started to enjoy thumbing through the back book… like Pokemon, you gotta observe them all.”
This exact sensation of bewildered fascination defines Yoshi and the Mysterious Book.
It’s Nintendo’s latest exclusive for the Switch 2 and frankly, it feels different.
Yoshi has had solo runs before—papercraft versions, yarn crafts, pure puzzles, standard platformers—but this one lands softly.
It joins 2026’s wave of cozy titles. Following Pokemon Pokopia. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.
There’s a strange comfort here. A specific, odd charm that grows on you like moss.
The Price Tag Hurts Less Over Time
Let’s get the annoying part out first.
Sixty dollars.
For this?
Yeah. The $60 sticker shock is real. It feels too high for the initial hours.
But patience pays off.
The longer I played the more the weirdness worked.
I’m drawn to mystery. The unknown. The strange.
As a kid I devoured The Book of Imaginary Beings and Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manuals. Now I look at impossible art like Codex Seraphinianus.
This game taps into that same vein.
You fall into a book. The book talks. It houses habitats full of unnamed creatures.
It’s Fantastic Beasts, but with Nintendo’s signature restraint.
Every level is a puzzle wrapped around one creature. Learn it. Understand it. Finish the goal.
The goals are deliberately opaque.
Make a pink blob rise from a bubbling pool? Collect surfboard babies from the creature riding the waves?
Don’t know? Good.
The lack of clarity is the point.
Whimsy Has Expiration Dates
Super Mario Bros. Wonder did something similar with its Wonder Seeds and random creature abilities.
It was fun. But whimsy burns bright and fast.
Once you know the surprise the magic dims.
Here, the surprises feel finite but they linger.
Creatures cross-pollinate. Habits change. Extra challenges appear over time.
There is a plot. Bowser Jr. is involved, being a villainous child, obviously.
I won’t spoil it.
You won’t anyway.
The game keeps secrets.
Young kids might play it. They probably will.
But they might get frustrated.
The puzzle logic isn’t always transparent.
Even for adults, some sections are hard. Or unclear.
You can buy hints with tokens collected in levels. Flowers act as bragging rights. Standard Nintendo fare.
No Death, Just Discovery
The levels are small.
Side-scrolling but contained.
You return. You chip away.
Discoveries get written into the book.
The art style sells it.
Hand-drawn aesthetics. Stop-motion animation vibes. It’s beautiful work.
You actually want to read the book at the end.
Crucially: You can’t die.
No injury. No failure state.
Just a cozy loop of discovery.
It’s relaxing in a way modern gaming rarely is.
Each level introduces unique mechanics.
Frogs that blow bubbles for jumps. Birds that act as parasols.
It feels authentic. Yoshi jumps. Yoshi shoots eggs. It works.
This isn’t a multiplayer party game.
It’s single-player. Slow. Intentional.
Does it rank higher than Mario Wonder?
No. Wonder still takes the crown.
But this is worth the buy. If you like puzzles. If you like Yoshi.
It makes you look at your own backyard differently.
That groundhog in the grass?
It’s a mystery now.
The world is strange. This game respects that strangeness.
It leaves you curious.
