an epic thread for Switch? • Eurogamer.net

At first glance, Yoshi's Crafted World may not seem like the kind of game we usually cover on Digital Foundry, but there's a lot going on right now from a technical point of view. The most important of them is that a title for the first part of Nintendo is based on the ubiquitous middleware Unreal Engine 4. We know that the Epic engine can produce fantastic graphics, but matches it to Nintendo's unique presentation style, not to mention the performance of 60 frames per second usually associated with most versions of Nintendo owners? The answers are pleasantly surprising.

While browsing Yoshi's Crafted World, we had access to the playable demo available for all Switch users – with an extended version, with additional scenes. Following in the footsteps of the Nintendo-themed games, also created by the developer Good-Feel, Yoshi's Crafted World is based on everyday objects and materials used in the construction of the scenes.

What I like in the visuals is the way the developers have incorporated many Unreal features into the mix, which complement and can even enhance the style characteristic of the series. This includes an off-line approach to global lighting – which means that light bounce can be seen in some scenes. In addition to the materials created by the artists, the result is an almost tangible result. Modern rendering and materials are perfect for a game like this, which tries to simulate real objects and materials. The game also uses an aggressive depth of field effect designed to give the action an offset look.

The result is a tiny diorama with little figures around the world. You can even flip the camera from one side to the other, which is pleasant to the touch. Imagine an interpretation of LittleBigPlanet translating the ambitions in terms of visual processing and you will have an idea of ​​the type of package delivered here. Of course, this is not the only game Crafted World recalls. One of the interesting features of the game is the system of paths – you can enter and exit the world according to defined paths, while aiming your eggs in a 3D space. Although this is still a 2D platformer, there are sections of each stage with multiple paths in the Z axis. You can never roam freely – at least not in the demo stages – but this allows some tricks Clever level design, similar to Bug on the Sega Saturn, if you can remember.

A quick look at the video embedded on this page will confirm that we are looking for a very attractive game with a unique sense of style and, as in many versions of Nintendo, the frame rate is very impressive – with the smaller of the two Yoshi's Crafted World is played at 60 frames per second. This is not an easy task for such a beautiful game, it is all the more impressive that Unreal Engine 4 offers the images. But Switch works with a mobile chipset, so a compromise is inevitable.

As you can imagine, the resolution is perhaps the most notable compromise. Yoshi's Crafted World uses a dynamic resize feature in the resolution, which allows you to see the number of pixels vary during the game depending on the load of the GPU. In general, the game seems to have an average of about 576p once docked, but we noted a number of pixels greater than 1152×675, which is not limited. The pixel steps are certainly obvious, that's a lot, and probably in the right situation, they can even reach 720p. By switching to portable mode, the resolution decreases further with a range that appears to vary between 704×396 and 880×495 or so. Again, it is dynamic and can go above and below these resolutions, but this is where the levels of demonstration we played tend to occupy.

Note that the game is relatively clean, but it is obvious that the resolution had to be sacrificed, that the image quality is not exceptional and that the final result can be blurred, in anchored mode or in mode. poached. The resolution reductions also apply directly to other elements of the rendering pipeline. The ever-present depth of field is also reduced in resolution just like the ambient occlusion pass. Basically, the developers apparently had to reduce many rendering features to reach the performance target. Honestly, I have the feeling that they have made the right choices, knowing how much of the action is silky and smooth, whether you're playing show room way. It is also commendable that Crafted World is fast loading and has responsive controls.

The transition to Unreal Engine 4, however, has implications. With the previous titles, Good-Feel has transferred some of its work on 3DS, while Nintendo has reproduced games such as Captain Toad Treasure Tracker. Switching to Unreal Engine 4 significantly limits the scope of potential ports to unsupported systems, and switching to a third-party engine is a fascinating move by Nintendo. I would not expect it to become a standard for the company, but it works well here.

From what I have seen and played to the present, this announces itself as an impressive title – although not entirely complete. For me at least, the soundtrack is terrible, to the point of slowing the overall experience. From my point of view, a good soundtrack is essential for a platform game. Although not as aggressive as the new Yoshi Island, it is dull, squeaky and boring. It's even more of a problem when all the rest of the game is going so smoothly.

Overall, the craft world of Yoshi is impressive and, in terms of mechanics, it's the most enjoyable Yoshi game I've played since the first edition of Yoshi's Island on Super NES. It remains to be seen whether he succeeds in aligning with this classic (and that's a big question, of course), but it's clear that Good-Feel has made tremendous progress here and that this could be his best game to date. Whatever it is, here and now, the playable demo of Crafted World available on the eShop is worth the detour.