Zero Punctuation Season 13 Episode 16 Yoshi's Crafted World
- May 16, 2019
Zero Punctuation is a popular video game review series created by British-Australian critic Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. In this season 13 episode, Yahtzee turns his critical eye towards the recently-released Nintendo Switch game, Yoshi's Crafted World.
Right from the start, Yahtzee is impressed by Yoshi's Crafted World's charming and colorful visuals, which he describes as "a delightful combination of paper and cardboard craftwork." However, he quickly notes that this game's cute and innocent exterior may not be indicative of what lies beneath.
As with most platformers, Yoshi's Crafted World involves a lot of jumping, running, and collecting various items. Yahtzee notes that while the controls are responsive and intuitive, he's not entirely sold on the game's core mechanics. He says that the overall experience feels a bit too simplistic and unchallenging, with most levels being "straightforward and linear sequences of obstacles and enemies."
One thing that Yahtzee appreciates about Yoshi's Crafted World is its cooperative multiplayer mode, which allows you to team up with a friend and play through the entire game together. He notes that this mode makes the game far more enjoyable and entertaining to play, and advises players to seek out a partner to experience this feature.
But while cooperative play may be one of Yoshi's Crafted World's strengths, Yahtzee takes issue with some of the game's other design choices. Specifically, he feels that the game's boss battles are "incredibly tedious" and rely too heavily on trial and error. He also notes that some of the game's collectibles, like flowers and red coins, have no real purpose beyond increasing your completion percentage, which he finds to be a bit of a letdown.
Despite these criticisms, Yahtzee ultimately finds Yoshi's Crafted World to be a charming and enjoyable game, albeit one that doesn't push any boundaries or do anything particularly innovative. He recommends the game to fans of the platformer genre who are looking for a lighthearted and visually pleasing experience, but warns that more experienced gamers might find the game's lack of challenge to be a bit underwhelming.
Overall, Zero Punctuation's review of Yoshi's Crafted World is a thoughtful and entertaining assessment of a new release that has captured the hearts of many players. Whether you're a diehard fan of the Yoshi series or just enjoy playing platformers, Yahtzee's review is well worth a watch.