Yoshi's New Island Reviews
Dino crisis.
Yoshi’s New Island’s inconsistent art and tacked-on new ideas are all layered on top of the same strong platforming and level design that made the original great. This deep understanding of pacing and flow helps Yoshi’s latest adventure stand out as the best iteration on Yoshi since the SNES original. Even if I wanted to play with the sound turned off.
Yoshi's New Island borrows heavily from the original game, but it fails to match its flair or originality
About as new as a fossilised dinosaur egg and just about as fast and exciting, this is a depressingly poor degradation of a once great original.
Perfectly playable and sometimes a nice challenge, but lacks its own identity
Yoshi's New Island lacks the imagination that made its progenitor beloved, instead offering a slow-paced adventure that's too easy for its own good.
Yoshi's New Island earns its place in a classic series
A return to classic Yoshi's Island gameplay would be worth cheering about if the new game didn't feel like an inferior imitation of a still-excellent game.
Nintendo's struggled to make a memorable Yoshi game since Yoshi's Island, and this new 3DS platformer isn't going to change that.
No, Yoshi's New Island may not be the game we fans of the original want, but it's definitely the game its creators set out to make. And a lot of fun, too. It's hard to be cynical about that.
Dinosaurs and babies might not mix in history, but on 3DS they do just fine together. There’s a wealth of rewarding gameplay for anyone with fossil fuel left in the tank for yet another coin-collecting, Shy Guy-stomping, Yoshi spotlight. One of my favorite Nintendo characters continues to impress with heaps of charm and an oh-so-sweet soundtrack, meaning anyone looking for a spring break distraction will find a cold-blooded welcome on Yoshi’s New Island.
As you can probably tell from my time with it, Yoshi's New Island isn't a "must have," but that doesn't mean it's a bad game. It's very much by the books based on any genre standard, and there's pretty much nothing new here that you'll need to run out to experience. But even so, fans of the genre will still dig it.
The Yoshi's Island series is one of my favorite gaming series ever, which is why it's so painful to see Yoshi's New Island fall short in so many ways. It's not a bad game and certainly a serviceable one for younger audiences and new players. Unfortunately, for those that have followed Yoshi since his first starring role nearly 20 years ago, this game is a tremendous disappointment.
Nintendo are famous for reinventing the wheel with their games, and throwing new ideas into old series that should have long become tired and repetitive but, sadly, Yoshi’s New Island just isn’t one of these titles. It’s enjoyable enough and has its own sense of atmosphere as well as a few unique ideas, but overall this actually feels like one of the decent but highly-iterative sequels that Nintendo is usually unfairly criticized for making. It is still fun, though, and while it may not innovate or be a classic, its joyous aesthetic and “pick up and play” nature make it at the very least a good choice for getting through the daily commute.
He should've stayed on his old island...
Nintendo didn’t do Yoshi’s New Island any favors by adhering so closely to the game that spawned this Mario subseries. For Yoshi’s Island fans, New might feel odd. Despite that, solid gameplay and diabolically well-hidden collectibles have me sticking around.
Nintendo's latest 3DS platformer, while generally competent and sometimes fun, mostly just makes you wish you were playing a better game.
Yoshi’s New Island looks great, plays flawlessly, and is entertaining and challenging enough for any fan to enjoy—and ultimately, that’s all that matters. If you’re a fan, you’ll find what you’re looking for here, but those still waiting for the next great and unique Nintendo title will have to keep on waiting. Some of the pieces of the game feel poorly tacked-on, but at it’s core Yoshi’s New Island is a worthy sequel to a beloved series that has been out of gamer’s lives for too long.
Read our review of 'Yoshi's New Island' to see why the iconic green dinosaur's latest outing is better left with a babysitter.
Sweet hand-drawn aesthetic and cute Yoshi sounds, but lacks any challenge.