Yoshi's Crafted World

Yoshi's Crafted World is a title in the Yoshi franchise, the sixth main platform game starring Yoshi, and the follow-up to the Wii U title Yoshi's Woolly World, released for the Nintendo Switch on March 29, 2019. It was developed by Good-Feel, the developer behind Yoshi's Woolly World and its Nintendo 3DS port Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World. The game places a great emphasis on its 3D environments; Yoshi is able to aim eggs into objects that appear in the foreground and background and can travel through a psuedo-3D environment along yellow tape trails.

Unlike the previous game, the game adopts a hand-crafted art style, with every level being made to have a "theme of things crafted in kindergarten." The Yoshis in particular are made out of a material called "flocky". A variety of cardboard costumes are available to unlock within the game, including some based off of Nintendo Labo. The game also features amiibo support, with certain amiibo granting the player exclusive themed costumes.

Story
The Yoshis are seen resting on their island, gathered around the Sundream Stone, an artifact said to possess the power to make dreams come true. Suddenly, Kamek and Baby Bowser, who have heard the legend of the Sundream Stone, arrive at the island to take it for themselves. The Yoshis attempt to save the artifact from being stolen, which leads to its gems becoming detached. These gems are flung across multiple worlds, as are the Yoshis, Kamek, and Baby Bowser.

Multiple times over the course of the game, the Yoshis meet up with Kamek and Baby Bowser, in search of the gems. After a short conversation, Kamek creates a creature out of the surrounding landscape and pits it against the Yoshis. After defeating the boss, the Yoshis find one of the gems nearby and put it back into Sundream Stone.

After the Yoshis collect all the gems, Kamek steals them and grants Baby Bowser’s wish, creating a robot and then transforms Baby Bowser into a giant. After he is defeated, the Yoshis restore the Sundream Stone and wish to go home. The stone then creates a large ship that carries them back to their home island, which they continue to use as their base of operations.

Gameplay
Similar to previous Yoshi games, Yoshi can run, jump, lick up enemies, Flutter Jump, Ground Pound, and throw Yoshi Eggs/Poochy Pups. Conversely, Yoshi does not need to crouch anymore in order to turn an enemy into an egg, as this action is now performed automatically upon grabbing an enemy with the tongue. The mechanics of Yoshi's egg throwing have likewise changed considerably. Instead of an autonomously-moving cursor, Yoshi can freely aim the cursor anywhere on the screen, so that they can aim at objects in the foreground and background. When an object on a different plane is highlighted, the player can throw an egg at it, but eggs are otherwise restricted to a 2D plane. Yoshi can often travel between planes by following paths that connect them. While on one of these paths, Yoshi cannot ground pound, due to the down command being assigned to moving towards the player.

Like Yoshi's Woolly World, Yoshi has a health meter that can be replenished by Hearts, up to 20. These can be obtained by hitting certain Winged Clouds, reaching Checkpoint Bells, or hitting Roulette Blocks at the right time. Costumes can also be applied to Yoshi which allow him to take extra hits based on the costume's rarity (three for Common, four for Rare, and five for Super Rare/amiibo). These extra hits are replenished upon reaching a checkpoint, but if enough hits are taken, the costume is irreversibly destroyed for the rest of the level (though the costume can be reapplied from the World Map).

Each level contains a unique level style and features, such as spotlights that summon enemies if they spot Yoshi and ropes that he can swing off of. Generally, these features are only used in one level, though a few of them do make reappearances in Hidden Hills.

A number of levels in the game include alternative gameplay styles and challenges, often involving vehicles on auto-scrolling planes. In these, up to three Smiley Flowers can be collected based off how many points players get, with the exception of Solar Zoom, where it is instead based off how they place in the race.

Flip side
Each level (aside from boss fights and the levels in Hidden Hills) provide access to both the "front side" and the "flip side." The flip side gives a look at levels from the backside, often showing off how certain contraptions within the levels work, emphasizing the hand-crafted feel. The flip side can only be accessed upon beating the corresponding front side, and only after Poochy's Tape Trail has been completed.

In each flip side, the only collectibles remaining are Hearts, which are the only items available in Winged Clouds. Some souvenirs can also be found on the flip side.

Instead, three Poochy Pups can be found scattered throughout the level. They can be found in a variety of situations: jumping between bushes, hanging onto rotating blocks, or even riding on solar cars. Once touched, licked, or hit with an egg, the Poochy Pup will follow closely behind Yoshi. They can be used as projectiles that can return to Yoshi, effectively giving an infinite supply of eggs.

For each pup brought to the end goal, a Smiley Flower will be obtained. Additionally, if all three pups are brought to the goal under a certain time limit, Poochy will appear holding a fourth Smiley Flower in his mouth.

Collectibles
Each level has a variety of collectibles to obtain, each requiring different conditions to find. In addition to the Smiley Flowers strewn about each level, obtaining all of the collectibles of another type will give the player another Smiley Flower. Players do not need to collect all the collectibles in one run; previously-obtained Smiley Flowers and Red Coins will remain translucent upon replays.

Smiley Flowers are used to unlock new subworlds by paying a "toll" to the Blockafeller resting in front of it. Once all of them are collected, they can be paid to the big Blockafeller in Hidden Hills to unlock the Sundream Stone costume. Getting all the Smiley Flowers in a subworld will adorn the diorama with festive pinwheel flowers.

Blockafellers appear in each subworld to provide the Yoshis with missions to find souvenirs in the form of crafts, themed decorations that appear in the foreground or background. One at a time, Yoshi will be requested to find a certain number of the souvenir in a certain level. Once Yoshi finds and throws eggs at each of them, he can leave the level immediately, or continue to play through. Either way, after returning to the world map, the Blockafeller will give Yoshi a Smiley Flower as a reward and, if the are still uncollected souvenirs in the subworld, request another type of souvenir.

Similarly, a small Blockafeller named Sprout can be found hiding in ever level, on the ground, once Baby Bowser is defeated. Although he does not give Smiley Flowers for being found, finding him in every level will award a costume based off himself.

Co-op
Two players are able to play the entire game together, each one being a differently-colored Yoshi. Each player can also choose their own costume and control options from the menu.

While playing, both players share the same screen, with a camera that dominantly follows Player 1. Each Yoshi has all of the abilities they can use in single-player, plus they are able to eat and spit out each other. Additionally, one Yoshi can ride on the other, losing control of movement, but in turn having an unlimited supply of Eggs to throw.

Only one Yoshi needs to have 20 Hearts at the end of a level to obtain the level's corresponding Smiley Flower.

Mellow Mode
Brought back from Yoshi's Woolly World, Mellow Mode is an option in available at any time in the menu. When selected, Yoshi grows a pair of wings that allow them to Flutter Jump infinitely by holding down the jump button. Yoshi also has the capacity to hold additional Hearts, allowing them to take more hits.

Playable

 * Yoshi
 * Red Yoshi
 * Blue Yoshi
 * Light-Blue Yoshi
 * Pink Yoshi
 * Purple Yoshi
 * Orange Yoshi
 * Yellow Yoshi

Antagonists

 * Baby Bowser
 * Kamek

Bosses
*This boss is a mini-boss and therefore does not have a Dream Gem.

Worlds

 * Sunshine Station
 * Rail-Yard Run
 * Yarrctopus Docks
 * Many Fish in the Sea
 * Pirate Pier
 * Go-Go Land
 * Poochy's Tape Trail
 * Go-Go Yoshi
 * Big Paper Peak
 * Mine-Cart Cave
 * Whistlestop Rails
 * Mousers and Magnets
 * The Tin-Can Condor
 * Origami Gardens
 * Spring Sprung Trail
 * Monty-Mole-B-Gone
 * Dino Desert
 * Dino Smash
 * Skelesaurus Wrecks
 * Pastel Pathway
 * Stitched Together
 * Poochy's Sweet Run
 * Yoshi Pulls Some Strings
 * Sky-High Heights
 * Altitide Adjustment
 * Poochy's Magma Run
 * Windward Way
 * Cardstock Carnival
 * Spinwheel Shuffle
 * Haunted Maker Mansion
 * Hoop-Jump Hop
 * Acorn Forest
 * Weighing Acorns
 * Jumping to Victory
 * Spike the Piranha
 * Chilly-Hot Isles
 * Bombs Away on Pirate Island
 * Slip-Slide Isle
 * Burt's Bouncy Battle
 * Ninjarama
 * Deceptive Doors
 * Behind the Shoji
 * The Shogun's Castle
 * Rumble Jungle
 * Exploring the Animal Kingdom
 * Hoppin' Higher
 * Jungle Tour Challenge
 * Gator Train Attacks!
 * Outer Orbit
 * The Countdown Begins
 * Ride the Stars
 * Space-Hub Hubbub
 * Cheery Valley
 * Ride the River
 * Open, Shut!
 * Solar Zoom
 * Shadowville
 * Be Afraid of the Dark
 * Skulking Around
 * Mr. Geary's Factory
 * The Great King Bowser
 * Hidden Hills
 * Rough Rolling
 * Under Siege
 * Floppin' and Poppin'
 * Kamek Kerfuffle

Critical reception
Yoshi's Crafted World has received generally positive reviews. Critics have praised the game's aesthetic and number of collectibles, but the difficulty and music have been criticized.

Staff
Yoshi's Crafted World was developed by Good-Feel in collaboration with some staff for Nintendo, most of them are a follow-up from Yoshi's Woolly World. The game was directed by Masahiro Yamamoto, game design was led by Yosuke Suda, programming by Yasuhiro Masuoka, art by Ayano Otsuka, the whole game soundtrack was composed by Kazufumi Umeda, and was produced by Etsunobu Ebisu and Takashi Tezuka.

References to other games

 * Mario Kart 64: Milk cartons can be seen in the background of certain levels that brandish the logo of Moo Moo Farm, a track from the game.
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: Certain level elements are made from Starbeans Iced Coffee boxes, referencing the Starbeans Cafe from this game.
 * Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Many of the craft materials are packaging from products, including the sponsors Fuzzy Battery, Moo Moo Meadows Milk and Princess Orange from these games, as well as Fountain Cafe and Tropical Bakery, which use their updated logos from these games. Additionally, "Handle with care" stickers featuring ? Blocks from Sunshine Airport appear on various objects in the scenery.
 * Yoshi's Woolly World: Green Yarn Yoshi, Light-Blue Yarn Yoshi, and Pink Yarn Yoshi all appear as collectible amiibo costumes by scanning their respective amiibo. In certain levels such as Skulking Around, stickers reading "15.07.16" can be seen stuck on the level environments, which is the Japanese release date of this game in the yy/mm/dd date format.
 * Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World: Poochy Pups return from this game.

References in other games

 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Yoshi's in-game design is featured as one of his alternate costumes in this game, and also appears as a Fighter Spirit.

Trivia

 * This is the first Yoshi game with Burts to not feature them as a boss of World 1.
 * This is the first Yoshi game without the game files option at the start.
 * In an interview, the developers said the game is supposed to take place in a kindergarten class within the Mario universe.