Kirby’s Epic Yarn Review

By John Teti Published 1 November, 2010

Knit pick.

Version tested: Wii

Plenty of games promise to tell you a story, but Kirby's Epic Yarn is one of the few that literally does so. The game opens with an avuncular man narrating the tale of Kirby's descent into Patch World. There's no voice-acting cast. Instead, like story hour at the local library, the narrator just changes his voice as he reads the lines of each character: a bit squeakier for Kirby and a bit more serious for Kirby's new friend, Prince Fluff. It's a perfectly analogue intro to an analogue game.

Nearly everything in Patch World is made of stuff you'd expect to find in your grandmother's sewing bag: buttons, beads, felt, patches, and countless threads of yarn. Yes, deep down, it's all pixels. Epic Yarn makes it easy to forget that, though, because the fabric of the game is so tactile. Plush parts of the ground give way a little when Kirby walks across them, and yanking on a loose thread makes the attached landscape scrunch up, accordion-style. My favourite effect is when Kirby jumps behind the background, and his figure pokes out as a moving lump in the felt scenery, like a cat scurrying around under the bed covers.

An early cut-scene breaks the news that Kirby's trademark ability – aggressive inhalation of his foes – won't work in Epic Yarn. Because he's just a loop of fibre while he's in Patch World, any gulps of air pass right through him. What may strike long-time Kirby fans as a fundamental change turns out to be inconsequential. Kirby's shtick was always more about transformation, anyway – sucking air was a means to that end – and the little pink dude can still reincarnate himself in new forms, like an acrobatic dolphin or a spaceship complete with tractor beam.

1

Nobody dies in Epic Yarn; they just unravel.

The structure of the game is nothing extraordinary. It's a platformer, and an easygoing one at that. When you fall into a trap or get hit by an enemy, you lose some of the beads (i.e. currency) you've collected on that level, the same way that Sonic's rings fly everywhere when he takes a knock on the head. Except, even if you run out of beads, there's no way to die. You just dust yourself off and keep going. The truth is that most players will be able to breeze through, as Epic Yarn is rather easy.

Challenge doesn't enter into the appeal here; the fun part is exploring the visual and kinetic surprises invented by the developers (which include an outfit by the ridiculously appropriate name of Good-Feel). Practically every stage has a "wow!" moment in which some new bit of crafting kit appears and adds an unexpected dimension to the patchwork tapestry.

Whether it's a zipper that Kirby can pull back to reveal a hidden passageway or a towering "cake" made from fluffy polyester stuffing, Patch World perpetually endears itself to the player with adorable new details. Every time I was delighted anew, I thought that surely this time, the game had exhausted its bag of tricks. I wasn't prepared for such a virtuoso show of creativity.

The most inspired twists come when Kirby metamorphoses into one of his countless alter egos. The game often changes along with the hero, so for instance, when he becomes a dune buggy, the level seamlessly turns into a fast-paced off-road rally. Likewise, Dolphin Kirby has to out-swim a speedy woollen angler-fish through a narrow obstacle course. These quicker stretches provide a welcome complement to the game's usual lazy rhythm.

Not all of Kirby's alternate forms hit the mark. His appearance as a train, which requires the player to draw "tracks" on the screen with the Wiimote, is an awkward exercise that feels like nothing more than an attempt to justify the Wii's motion-sensing technology. In fact, with just a few tweaks, the entire game could easily work with the Classic Controller. Epic Yarn instead toes the Nintendo company line, which maintains that holding the Wiimote sideways is an acceptable configuration, despite its too-small directional pad and ungainly candy-bar shape.

The co-op mode, though, shows that the Epic Yarn team was willing to learn from Nintendo's past mistakes. In any stage, two people can play together (locally) on the same screen as Kirby and Prince Fluff. Each character has essentially the same freedom and abilities. In certain sections, the game merges the team into one unit and splits the control scheme between the two controllers, forcing you to co-ordinate your moves. Team play rarely suffers from the claustrophobia that plagued New Super Mario Bros. Wii, nor is the second player a vestigial appendage as in the Super Mario Galaxy series.

Epic Yarn doesn't have the aural pleasures to match its eye candy. Each stage has its music track stashed away somewhere as a hidden treasure – if you find the tiny felt CD, you can listen to it again later. The tunes are too innocuous, though, for this to serve as an enticing reward.

2

Kirby can change into a wide array of creatures and vehicles, including the most huggable fire truck ever.

A home-decoration side game is another non-starter. You can fill Kirby's flat with little items of furniture you find during your quest, but this poor man's Animal Crossing is a diversion only for the easily amused.

The game that kept coming to mind as I played through Kirby's Epic Yarn was not any of the past Kirby entries, but rather Little Nemo The Dream Master, an NES game from 1990. Both titles featured fantastical settings with loveable heroes who could take on a variety of new forms. (Some of Nemo's magical costumes included a gorilla and a hermit crab.)

Little Nemo, however, was a notoriously challenging game (even by the standards of the NES era), while Kirby's Epic Yarn rolls out its embroidered welcome mat to every calibre of player. That ultra-accessibility does mean that there are points where the game flirts with monotony, as the basic push-and-pull of the action doesn't evolve too much from start to finish. The flip side is that practically anyone can pore over every stitch of Patch World – and it's a visual masterpiece that will reward the attention.

8 / 10

Kirby's Epic Yarn is available now in North America. It will be released in Europe in early 2011.

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Picture of John.

About John Teti

John Teti is a writer and producer based in New York. His interests include games, TV, cake, and being a writer and producer based in New York.

Read more articles from John by visiting the John Teti archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • uglygamer #1 2 years ago

    Why is this not out in Europe this year, Nintendo?

    Yeah the game looks great. With this and DKC Returns, as well as titles like Super Meat Boy, its a good year for 2D platformers.
    Edited by uglygamer at 01/11/10 @ 11:43

  • LazyDan #2 2 years ago

    I want this hard. I need to fit this around Cataclysm.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #3 2 years ago

    I LOVED Nemo on the NES. Absolutely fantastic game. Looking forward to this as well. Hurry up Nintendo!

  • El-Dev #4 2 years ago

    Sounds rather good.

  • Murbal #5 2 years ago

    Absolutely beautiful.

  • vyseofhr #6 2 years ago

    This is an underappreciated Cult Classic in the making, I reckon.

  • stevetuck #7 2 years ago

    SOLD! Nintendo should offer a monthly subscription £10 a month and they send you one epic game after another!
    Edited by stevetuck at 01/11/10 @ 12:12

  • Telepathic.Geometry #8 2 years ago

    I liked this review. This game is a 10 for me simply because it's so beautiful, charming and like all the games I love dearest, it draws you in by teaching you the rules of its world. Love love love...

  • I\'mListening #9 2 years ago

    If I still had a Wii this would be a day one for me - it looks fantastic

  • TheTingler #10 2 years ago

    Does sound pretty fun, and I'd gladly play it if a) it was f***ing out this year here, and b) they didn't insist on using the godawful hold-the-Wiimote-sideways method. I utterly hate that, it feels completely unnatural. That's part of the reason I didn't get Metroid Other M.

    Thank god Donkey Kong Country Returns uses the proper method.

  • geeza2020 #11 2 years ago

    I'll probably get this as I need to show my Wii some love, but still disappointed that its apparently so easy. I can understand WHY it is so easy, I just want a game on the Wii that is actually going to offer me some sort of challenge.

  • spekkeh #12 2 years ago

    Little Nemo The Dream Master

    Oh man, you nostalgia you lose.

  • mad_caddy #13 2 years ago

    keep reading it as epic YAM!

  • moriss #14 2 years ago

    me too. headlone on front page looks exactly like 'epic yam'

  • DaDon123456 #15 2 years ago

    Kirby games are fun, but way too easy. Im gonna wait for this to be dirt cheap in a second hand store like CeX.

  • DaDon123456 #16 2 years ago

    Kirby games are fun, but way too easy. Im gonna wait for this to be dirt cheap in a second hand store like CeX.

  • sonicyoda #17 2 years ago

    This review read a little strange, felt really staggered and 'list-like'.

    Either way, more decent platformers mean I'm one happy bunny.

  • Buggs #18 2 years ago

    Koumpounophobics beware!
    Edited by Buggs at 01/11/10 @ 13:11

  • smurphs #19 2 years ago

    I'd buy this like a shot if the game didn't insist on me using the horrible wiimote d-pad which hurts my thumbs :-(

  • RampagedDeath #20 2 years ago

    Damn you Nintendo for screwing Europe again with the delay of this amazing game !!

  • Rack #21 2 years ago

    Sounds like the perfect counter-point to Super Meat Boy though it seems a bit hard to stomach that the appetiser is £35 while the main course was under a fiver.

  • SG #22 2 years ago

    Seems like this would be better suited to a DS. A lower price tag would suit this game I think given its ease.

    EDIT: Why have I been negged? It'd allow better control with the stylus than the pointer.
    Edited by SG at 01/11/10 @ 23:28

  • RandolphScott #23 2 years ago

    that is a major disappointment. I was almost considering buying a Wii for this.

  • darc #24 2 years ago

    Really tempted to buy this just on account of its aesthetics, but I'm still feeling a little burned by A Boy and his Blob, which turned out to be much more a kid's game than I expected. Just not sure whether the gameplay will really hold my attention. Epic Yarn is definitely on my list once the price starts to fall, though.

  • sonicyoda #25 2 years ago

    @darc

    You bought a platformer expecting a mature game?

  • flipperpod #26 2 years ago

    Epic European Release Date Fail

  • Geordiemp #27 2 years ago

    For me, 'simplish' 2 D platform games are more of a download / lower cost experience than a full blown retail title....

    Looks nice, but not £ 30- £ 40 nice, competing against stuff like NFS hot persuit and other major titles....which to be fair are probably 10 x the compexity to make and a more deserving of the investment.....

  • ryohazuki1983 #28 2 years ago

    Although the game is easy considering you cannot die, there's a reward for being good at the game - e.g. extra levels are unlocked in each patch world once you obtain gold on each level. Shame the review failed to mention that fact though :(

  • Lusterpurge #29 2 years ago

    Between this and DKCR, this is a great time to be a platform gamer.

  • smelly #30 2 years ago

    I've been playing the US version of this game for a few weeks now.

    I dont understand the criticism levelled at it being "too easy". Sure you cant die, and stuff - but then play any modern fps game (even on hard settings) and they're the exact same.

    The challenge comes if you CHOOSE to challenge yourself.

    Just like in a mario game - in a mario game - completing the game is easy, getting all the stars/coins/etc is rock hard. Here with kirby - finishing game is easy - getting gold medals for each level - not so much.

    Its all down to if you only play games to get to the finish line (which in this case would make you a fool, but that's how most gamers play fps games, etc nowadays) - or whether you play them to challenge yourself.

  • coolbritannia #31 2 years ago

    I also LOVED little nemo, what a brilliant game that was.

  • geeza2020 #32 2 years ago

    thanks for confirming that smelly, now i know there is a challenge to be had here, I will pick this up once it finally gets released in the UK :)

  • Canyarion #33 2 years ago

    I don't understand why you're reviewing it already. By the time the game is out here, the review will be long forgotten, or at least look out-dated.

  • darc #34 2 years ago

    "You bought a platformer expecting a mature game?"

    I wasn't expecting a mature game, necessarily, and I love a platformer as much as anybody, so the purchase wasn't completely random. I was just hoping that the puzzle content would be a little more developed and a little more challenging.

    2 negs for having an opinion, jeez.

  • sneetch #35 2 years ago

    @Canyarion
    I don't understand why you're reviewing it already. By the time the game is out here, the review will be long forgotten, or at least look out-dated.

    It'll look "out-dated"? Why? It'll be the exact same game in when it's released in 3-4 months.

    They'll probably just re-post the article on the front page closer to the release date like they did when Demon's Souls released over here (IIRC).

  • tnt_2008smum #36 2 years ago

    "The challenge comes if you CHOOSE to challenge yourself."

    I’m going to play it blindfolded to try and up the challenge!

  • smelly #37 2 years ago

    >I’m going to play it blindfolded to try and up the challenge!

    Well it's like playing a game on ultra easy mode then moaning it's too easy.

    The challenge here isnt completing the levels - it's completing them well.

    Getting gold medals actually unlocks some stuff too (not managed to unlock it all yet).

    To put this into context - i'm still playing kirby weeks after it's release. RDR I rented, completed and returned in 3 days, COD4 i rented, completed and returned in 3, Halo Reach.. 2 days, etc etc.

    I only play single player games - so as a single player experience this is keeping me going. I doubt it'll last as long as Mario galaxy 2 (Which i've STILL not completed) - but should last a while, too much to do in a rental week unless you play LONG hours.

  • tnt_2008smum #38 2 years ago

    “Well it's like playing a game on ultra easy mode then moaning it's too easy.
    The challenge here isnt completing the levels - it's completing them well.”

    Exactly and imagine how hard it will be to do this blindfolded!!! I’ll be playing this for months maybe even years!

  • smelly #39 2 years ago

    LOL!

    Well I found halo reach to be easy despite playing it on hard. And everyone moaned at me when i said that - because apparently i was playing it wrong.

    I dunno - i personally get feeling of acheivement from going for a "gold" or "a rating' when replaying a level.. trying to do it absolutely perfectly, etc etc.

    Horses for courses i s'pose.

  • trip919 #40 2 years ago

    Great score, looking forward to this immensely!

  • smelly #41 2 years ago

    Wow.. I've just used the "ignore poster" button for the first time ever.

    How useful... spam begone!

  • SG #42 2 years ago

    Well then Nintendo get what they deserve.

    I have a US console but have already bought GTA Chinatown Wars, Super Scribblenauts, SMG2 and am waiting for DKC Returns and Super Mario All Stars so can't really part with the cash now.

  • sonicyoda #43 2 years ago

    @darc

    Haha, what you gonna do?

    But I know what you mean. Despite the fact I love it and re-bought the Wii version, Klonoa is painfully easy nowadays. Developers clearly don't make platformers to challenge players anymore.

  • smelly #44 2 years ago

    ALL games are getting easier.. The ONLY games i actually find challenging nowadays are nintendo made ones - or multiplayer ones (but i hate online gaming)

  • JeroenZM #45 2 years ago

    Darc: Did you collect every treasure chest in A boy and his blob? Some of the unlockable bonus levels are brutal.

  • layleeloo #46 2 years ago

    Is this an import then as its not out until March 2011 in the UK :(