The upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive game Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has a larger file size than the massive and complex open-world action-adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Without new exclusive Nintendo Switch 2 games releasing in April, May Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is the next major Nintendo-published Switch 2 game in the pipeline.
A side-scrolling platform game, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book continues the series' tradition of presenting a striking, unique art style. This time, Yoshi appears to mimic the look of a children's book, but with stop-motion style animation. The combination ensures Yoshi and the Mysterious Book definitely stands out from a visual point of view, but the game also turns itself upside down due to its file size.
The new Yoshi game getting a release date could actually be a bad thing for Switch 2 players
Nintendo reveals the release date for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, but the announcement could be bad news for Switch 2 owners.
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book file size confirmed
As revealed by the game's official eShop page, Yoshi and the Mysterious Books file size is 20.6 GB. What makes this particularly surprising is the fact that Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has a larger file size than something similar The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomwhich is 16.5GB on the Switch 1 and 20.1GB on the Switch 2. While there isn't a huge gap between the two games' file sizes, The tears of the kingdom is a giant open world with complex systems, while Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is a comparatively much simpler game. It is effectively a 2.5 side scroller and will almost certainly be something that can be completed within 10-20 hours. Considering this, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has a larger file size than The tears of the kingdom is surprising.
It is also surprising Yoshi and the Mysterious BookThe file size is much larger than that of other Switch 2 exclusive games Donkey Kong Banana. Donkey Kong Banana is a full-scale 3D platformer with a world filled with destructible objects, but it only requires 9 GB on Switch 2. The reason why Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has a larger file size than these games has yet to be revealed, but perhaps it has something to do with its animation and demanding art choices. Nintendo itself has not commented on the matter, so all fans can do is speculate.
When Yoshi and the Mysterious Books eShop page first went live, there were those who assumed the listed file size was incorrect, but the page has since been updated and the listed file size has remained, so it appears to be the real deal. In addition to the file size, we also know that now Yoshi and the Mysterious Book will cost $59.99 digitally, but $69.99 physically. That may prove to be a bit too high an asking price for some Nintendo Switch 2 owners, so it will be interesting to see how the game performs in terms of sales.
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Based on what was shown Yoshi and the Mysterious Book gameplay so far, the game definitely seems to have potential. The Yoshi series has never been the most beloved of Nintendo's various franchises, but Yoshi and the Mysterious Book looks like it will at least appeal to fans of games like Yoshi's Island.
Fortunately, the wait to play the game is almost over. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book has locked in a May 21st release date, so fans just have to wait a couple more months to play the game for themselves. There is also a non-zero chance Yoshi and the Mysterious Book will be available to play ahead of time as well, either through a demo or through the store kiosk, as we've seen with other Nintendo games in the past.
- Released
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May 21, 2026
- Developer
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Nintendo
- Publisher
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Nintendo
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
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May 21, 2026
