I haven’t played many Kirby games, but that’s ok because this is secretly a Yoshi game! Also, it has co-op!

My spouse and I played Yoshi’s Woolly World a while back, and this is what directly lead to Good-Feel getting that gig. YWW seemed like the natural next step; this game oddly opens by immediately removing Kirby’s iconic sucking/inflating/copying abilities, replacing them with an inexplicable extendable tongue-like tether, which can turn enemies into projectiles. The interactivity of the game world feels vaguely Yoshi-esque, and there’s even a bunch of transformations and an end-of-stage spinning prize ring.

But anyway. In other respects it’s Kirby-like: overflowing with cuteness, a gentle and forgiving experience that gradually ramps up the difficulty, and of course Dedede gets brainwashed. The key feature here though is the art style. As the title implies, yarn is everywhere. I would call it more charming than “epic”, though…

The world and everything in it is made of wool, buttons, zippers, and various other craft materials. It’s unendingly endearing, and shows what a fully followed-through art direction can achieve even in standard def. The game is gorgeous, and is accompanied by an equally lovely soundtrack (and a narrator with a deep, soothing British accent). Even the animations of Kirby and his new friend Prince Fluff are adorable as they become little cars when dashing, or morph their woven forms into parachutes for a slowed descent. In this and other ways, the fact that everything is crafted also informs the gameplay (and the plot), so it feels nice and integrated.

Although things get hairy (or fluffy) at times, with intense sections that throw a lot at you, you never lose too much progress from a mistake. The worst that can happen is losing a bunch of beads (the common collectible), which only affects the colour of your medal at the end. Well, you do need to score well in a boss fight to unlock some bonus levels, and beads are also used in the hub plaza to buy furniture for a little decorating side-mode, which is tied to a neat little set of challenge missions.

Woolly World offered some extras to mitigate what challenge it had, but they hadn’t thought of that yet for KEY apparently. Playing in co-op is a boon though, especially if you’re hunting for secret collectibles, as players can grab and throw each other, or jump on each other’s heads. Sometimes this means you can get in each other’s way or cause fumbles, but more often it helps, especially when a lagging or less conifdent player can “bubble” themselves (a Rayman Origins-derived term for us) at any time to go to the other’s position.

This game is just so wholesome, and made for a perfect co-op experience. It’s even available digitally on Wii U, so there’s no excuse for all you GamePad enthusiasts out there. There’s a 3DS port too, but… well, the even lower-res screen seems to lose some of the joyous detail, and the extra modes apparently rather miss the point of the game’s original vision. You’re probably better off playing the original on a big screen with a friend if possible, but it’s just as enjoyable solo. Poyo!