Reviews// Kirby's Epic Yarn

Similarly, great use is made of the yarn theme, with effects crossing over to have a real impact on gameplay. Kirby can do things like rumple the material making up the background to bring things closer or travel behind it, producing an effect reminiscent of someone moving under a sheet.

Each level breaks from the last, new mechanics are constantly brought in and it's generally difficult to get bored. You can also, should you so desire, customise Kirby's pad with objects you collect (or buy with beads you've collected).

It's a little difficult to know, however, just who Epic Yarn is aimed at. I know you could say that about any number of Nintendo's titles, but Kirby's Epic Yarn stands out in this regard.

While Kirby's one of Ninty's longest-standing brands and there's a fair amount of anticipation about from 'core' gamers, it's very easy. There are chunks of it that might take a couple of attempts to get through in the main story levels, but there aren't a lot of them. What's more, you can't die. You can lose a few of your beads, but you won't be set back more than a screen's worth of level. While the invention on show in Epic Yarn will keep older/core gamers entertained, they won't be challenged. I guess the answer to 'who is this for?' is, at a pinch, 'everyone', but core gamers have been sold pretty short when it comes to difficulty.

Good-Feel has thrown in two-player, sharing-the-screen co-op for good measure. It's a huge great pain in the arse. I guess they bothered because co-op's popular these days and someone at Nintendo told them to. But, really: HUGE pain in the arse. The only real change in gameplay that comes with having a second yarn-based organism on-screen is the fact that you can pick up and then throw your buddy, which is exactly where things go tits-o'clock. Unless you exercise extreme caution, you'll find yourself constantly picking up the other character on screen or being picked up yourself entirely by mistake. It was vexing for me and (Evil Editor) Tim. Imagine how it'll be for little kids.

Conclusion
While Kirby's Epic Yarn is a fairly traditional sidescrolling platformer at heart that could pretty much have been released on any system from the last 10 years, it's a very, very well-designed one that has enough tweaks on the formula to make it feel fresh. It's too easy, the co-op's infuriating and it should come with a health warning for diabetics, but overall it's inventive and fun enough that platformer and Kirby fans should definitely shell out some cash for it.

SPOnG Score: 81%