Yoshi's Woolly World review – an alluring and delightful experience

The handicraft look has been explored in many recent games, but Nintendo's latest platformer exploits it in cute, interesting and compellin ways

From The Great British Bake Off to the vast number of crafting magazines bulging off the newsagent shelves, the handmade look is definitely in vogue. This trend has even been reflected in games, beginning perhaps with loveable platformer LittleBigPlanet, and most recently seen in the Xbox One title Unravelled. Here's another example: Yoshi's Woollen World, a follow-up of sorts to developer Good Feel's Wii title, Kirby's Epic Yarn.

In Woolly World, it's not just about cute aesthetics: the handmade theme of the visuals adds to the tactility of the Yoshi universe. These games have always been very physical because of the character's signature jump, not quite as famous as Mario's, but more distinctive as he kicks his legs and audibly strains to reach higher platforms. Here, your cuddly dinosaur squishes the cushioned ground underfoot, jumps onto stitched platforms suspended between knitting needles and encounters enemy crabs with scissors for claws. Spools of thread hang on the walls, knotted seagulls fly past, and doors unzip and curl back to let you through. Even familiar world themes look more interesting in cloth: lava has a sequined sheen, its heat rays made of string, and winter hats stand in for mountains in the backdrop as Yoshi rolls a snowball made of cotton wool.