I adore the 1995 Super Nintendo game, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, but I am mature enough to admit that each new Yoshi game is worth examining on its own terms. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has no obligation to be a new retread of that 30-year-old game and it isn't. I admire the willingness to try something different. This adventure plays more like a unique puzzle game with Yoshi aesthetics, and the result is a largely rewarding experience that rarely challenged me, but didn’t have a problem delivering the charm.

You’re still eating creatures and throwing eggs as we have been for three decades, but The Mysterious Book doesn’t fight against you. Yoshi really can’t take damage, and the closest thing to a traditional video game death is falling down an endless pit that immediately transports you back to safety.…