STACK #259 May 2026

GAMING FEATURE

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The Yoshis are just going about their regular island business one day, when a talking, moustachioed encyclopedia, which introduces itself as “Mr. E”, drops from the sky. What to do? Well, Yoshi being the intrepid little dino that he is decides to dive – quite literally - into this chance to discover new things, by entering the pages of Mr. E. Here Yoshi encounters new creatures, for which he has several options. He can jump on them, eat them, or give them piggybacks, utilising their traits to further his progress. One example is an unnamed froglike creature – you get to name it later - that blows bubbles. Let it hop on Yoshi’s back, and it’ll leave a trail of bubbles, which Yoshi can use to access otherwise unreachable higher areas. Discover apples, let the creature eat one, and you’ll get bigger, stronger bubbles – this is just one example of the many discoveries in store. There are puzzles to solve and many levels to conquer, with each of Mr. E’s chapters revealing an array of new creatures for Yoshi to learn about and play with. The more that you discover about them, the more gold stars you unlock. The more gold stars that you unlock, the more you get to explore! What we’ve seen so far also hints at some familiar faces popping up, including Shy Guys and Baby Bowser. Now, what are they up to? What’s striking about Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is its graphical style, which emulates classic stop motion animation to brilliant effect, bursting into life with glorious colour everywhere you look. Welcome back, Yoshi! Yoshi and the Mysterious Book

Since making his debut in 1990’s Super Mario World , Mario’s dinosaur companionYoshi has become much more than a sidekick, going on to star in his own adventures.This includes new Switch 2 exclusive Yoshi and the Mysterious Book , out this month. Let’s take a quick look at the little guy’s history, and what to expect from his newest outing. Words Amy Flower T hat first adventure, on the Super Nintendo, saw Yoshi’s abilities, including flutter-jumping, producing eggs, and being gorgeous, handcrafted visuals. While sticking to the platformer brief, these games brought exploration and creativity to the fore and found an audience amongst kids and adults alike. Then there were more puzzle-based handheld GENRE: Platformer MULTIPLAYER: No BOOK A DATE WITH YOSHI! FORMAT:

able to swallow enemies, introduced, adding gameplay options that expanded the Mario platformer universe. His next appearance was on the Nintendo Entertainment System, in the 1991 puzzle game Mario & Yoshi , followed by tile-matching puzzler Yoshi’s Cookie on multiple formats, and the Super Nintendo Super Scope light gun game Yoshi’s Safari . It didn’t take long for the loyal and courageous Yoshi to become a fan favourite, and a bigger role for our dino pal was just around the corner... Yoshi landed a starring role in the 1995 sequel Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island . Introducing a unique crayon-like art style, and further refining gameplay – including egg-hurling puzzles and the role of protector of Baby Mario - the game was a huge success. Yoshi's Story on the Nintendo 64 followed, featuring a storybook aesthetic, while titles

adventures, including the wildly named Yoshi’s Universal Gravitation (2004, Game Boy Advance), and Yoshi Touch & Go (2005, Nintendo DS). Meanwhile, the Yoshi’s Island story continued in 2006’s Yoshi’s Island DS , and 2014’s Yoshi’s New Island on the 3DS. Cameos elsewhere started with Super Mario Kart and extended in ensuing years to such releases as Super Smash Bros . and its sequels, plus Mario’s many sporting exploits, from golf to tennis, and soccer to seeking Olympics glory. Almost as instantly recognisable now as Mario was then, loveable Yoshi’s popularity shows no sign of waning as he hits Nintendo’s latest hardware with his very own new adventure.

• Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is out May 21

such as Yoshi's Woolly World (2015) and Yoshi's Crafted World (2019) introduced

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park, Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World, Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV

10 MAY 2026

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