Yoshi and the Mysterious Book for Nintendo Switch 2 ultimately won me over and cemented itself as one of the more creative and original Switch 2 exclusives so far, but it definitely took some time to get there.

At first, I wasn't having a bad time while playing Yoshi's latest and most literary adventure, but it felt a little elementary. This game is eminently kid-forward (though not necessarily kid-focused), even more so than most Nintendo games, to the point where I found it more idly pleasant than truly engaging. But my patience with it was rewarded by about the halfway point, as Yoshi and the Mysterious Book does eventually unfurl into a smorgasbord of inventive and delightful ideas, the likes of which we're used to seeing from the best first-party Nintendo titles.

Its pacing is uneven and its structure is a bit odd, but Yoshi and the Mysterious Book leverages a toy box-like approach to game design and adorable visuals to create something that I think will be remembered reasonably fondly as an early Switch 2 exclusive years down the line.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book's Mr. E is an instant icon

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is not a narrative powerhouse, nor does it aspire to be, and that's OK.

Basically, a bunch of Yoshis find a cool, old leatherbound tome with a big mustache. This mysterious book is called Mr. E. The E stands for encyclopedia because, well, he's a living encyclopedia, with a bunch of worlds full of fantastical creatures hidden in his pages. Yoshi's job is to jump into those pages and study each creature; one creature equals one level, and discovering things about a creature rewards the player with stars, which accumulate to unlock more worlds. That light progression system most overtly game-y thing about Mysterious Book, but in my experience, it was almost impossible not to gather enough stars to move onto the next world. In other words, don't worry about it.

I should also mention that the player is given the option to name every creature after you finish its level, with a free text entry field that's bound by a censorship filter, of course. If you're not creative, though, you can just ask Mr. E, and he'll give the creature its canonical name.

When Yoshi hops into Mr. E's pages to document a creature (all of whom are cool, funky little freaks), Yoshi and the Mysterious Book very quickly becomes one of the most visually attractive video games of 2026 on any platform. Its illustrative backgrounds mesh well with character sprites that intentionally have fewer animation frames than you might expect, a la the Spider-Verse movies. Mysterious Book also smartly incorporates some 3D elements here and there, alongside a fun fictional font that appears in the background, making it feel like you really are inside a magical encyclopedia. As a nice bonus, no matter how chaotic some levels were, the game never faltered from a flawless 60 frames per second performance profile on my Switch 2.

Put another way, this game is just a firehose of color and personality at all times. Some of the later levels, in particular, really stand out visually thanks to enormous, bigger-than-the-screen creatures that look absolutely fantastic. Nintendo has a strong history of giving Yoshi games attractive art styles, and this one is one of my favorites. It's a shame, then, that the handful of cutscenes that take place outside Mr. E's confines are so plain and uninspiring to look at. It's not a huge deal, but it does stand out whenever you see it.

No two levels are alike

As I noted before, every creature gets its own level in Mysterious Book, and each level is essentially a tiny sandbox with one completely bespoke mechanic that you will (with limited exceptions) only encounter in that level. This is the magic of Mysterious Book: Each and every level reveals a new idea in its first few seconds, and almost all of the time, that idea is something that's fun to mess around with for anywhere between two and 10 minutes, with an emphasis on experimentation and discovery

For example, one early level involves stationary frogs with leaves on their heads. Try to eat one with Yoshi's signature long-ass tongue, and you'll earn a star for discovering that you can't. Jump on its head and you'll find out that each one sings a different note, earning you another star for discovering that. Bounce on several in a row without hitting the ground, and they'll belt out a recognizable melody, earning you a few more stars. If you're observant, you might notice one without a leaf on its head, and if you remedy that situation, you'll get some more stars.

Each level has one central objective to complete in order to mark it as finished, but for the most part, you're free to explore and mess around as much as you want. There's no fail state, Yoshi can't die, and there's almost never a time limit of any kind. Between all of that and the fact that these levels are often extremely short, Mysterious Book is lightweight, low-stakes, and incredibly digestible, perfect for a kid with insatiable curiosity or an adult without a lot of free time.

The most impressive thing about Mysterious Book is just how much mechanical variety it has to offer. Yoshi's moveset is limited to running, jumping, eating, carrying, and throwing, and the game gets so much more out of those basic actions than you'd expect. They managed to fit surfing, fishing, and a ton of other goofy little activities in here, again, each for the duration of one level and one level only. It's one of those games that gets more fun to play the more you realize that they probably had a lot of fun making it. I can't imagine many ideas were ever thrown out or dismissed entirely during development.

Just be patient with it

Like any game, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has some foibles to contend with. For starters, not every level is good; I actually really did not like the fishing level because the minigame it's centered around is not even a little bit friendly to colorblind players. Puzzle solutions can occasionally be a little obtuse, and Mr. E's hints (available at the press of a button) aren't always the most helpful. There were a few too many occasions where I progressed simply by banging my head against a metaphorical wall for a few minutes.

More broadly, though, there are some structural issues to contend with here. I'll try to be as vague as possible about this, but there is a point where it really feels like Mysterious Book has reached its conclusion in a kind of limp and disappointing way, only to reveal that you're actually about halfway through the game. The good news is that almost everything after this point is totally killer. All of the best, most creative, and most out-there levels are beyond that threshold. The bad news is that the few hours prior to that sort of feel like one long tutorial, as the earlier levels can often feel pretty basic for an adult player.

But "basic" is not synonymous with "bad," nor should it be in this context. The early hours of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book are pleasing enough, and everything after that is absolutely worth being patient enough to see. Nintendo has crafted something that really grows on you over time, saving its best for last for adults and certainly being great fun for the little ones the whole way through.

Don't let the fact that Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is not a flagship 3D Mario or Zelda game turn you away from its charms. It's really one of the more fascinating Switch 2 exclusives yet, even with its shortcomings.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book launches exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 on May 21. You can pre-order the game now for $59.99 from Amazon, Nintendo, and other retailers.