The Smurfs: Dreams

Developer: Ocellus Studio
Publisher: Microids
Platforms: Switch, Xbox One, Playstation 4, PC, Playstation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $39.99 USD – Available Here

Overview

I have a weird love of The Smurfs. While I haven’t paid much attention to the cinematic adaptations in the past decade, I have always found it to be an odd comfort to watch the old cartoon, which still holds up today. Microids are bringing that charm and heart to consoles with The Smurfs: Dreams, a 3D platformer that ties in a narrative to appeal to a younger audience. Does it prove to be a welcome in a genre that needs some love, or is this another licensed title worth skipping? Let’s find out.

Story

Gargamel is at it again and has found a way to put almost all of Smurf Village to sleep by tampering with the food supply. Luckily, Papa Smurf is left unharmed and puts you in control of this adventure, where you must enter the dreams of the villagers and attempt to wake them up before the evil force comes to wreak havoc. The plot itself here is fine, but the execution is a bit dry. Without voice acting, or even music, there is a void of personality here and that really makes the whole adventure feel bland. Sure, there are little cutscenes, but most don’t really tie together the plot well enough to make it memorable, and while I admire the effort, the story ultimately is flat here.

Gameplay

The gameplay was probably what I was most excited about here. If you grew up in the days when platformers were a dime a dozen, you know it was rare for there to be a “bad” one as most, while generic – still had the same mechanics to give us something playable. That is really what The Smurfs: Dreams is. A playable, yet simplistic take on the genre that plays it a bit too safe for its own good. Your character can jump and has the ability to grab most items (though they don’t physically grab, it’s more of a float above your head kind of thing) in order to progress forward. There are puzzles, but they never feel involved enough for intrigue, instead feeling like a minor roadblock that is cleared without much issue or problem.

Honestly, the controls are fine and the game’s controls feel tight enough. The worlds here are also varied and have a good number of places to explore. The player has items to collect as well as berries, which act as the game’s currency system. On paper, it sounds just like it is, a bare-bones platformer that gets the job done. The issues with Dreams come more from how vacant these worlds are. While some lands are impressive, others feel barren and empty, as if there was a rush to build specific stages. This is a 3D platformer through and through, and while I don’t think many will have issues with exploring, they might have a bit of a boring time due to how easy and lacking the environments are overall.

Stages also go on way too long. Each “constellation” of the dream world acts as a stage which is made up of three chapters. When you beat one, you simply go right into the next. These chapters are long though and mainly repeat the same gimmicks over and over, such as puzzles and ways to defeat enemies. Boss battles act as a brief refresher, but don’t come up with anything inventive to keep the player motivated and entertained either. Dodge this, jump on that, repeat. I think kids will be fine with this and this game does remind me a lot of those PlayStation 2/Gamecube platformers from years ago, but The Smurfs: Dreams needs a gimmick as unlocking costumes occasionally was really the only excitement I had during my time with the experience.

Audio

This may be the biggest issue within the whole product. The soundtrack is there, but it’s boring and doesn’t capture the environment whatsoever. It’s almost like elevator music, never adding to such wonderfully created stages. The Smurfs also groan and grunt, but do not talk, which is another lost opportunity. Even if it was a random cast, it could have added something more to bring the story alive if Microids would have dug in a bit here, but what we are left with is a rather uninspired set of tunes that don’t represent the property in any way. There were moments when little chimes would occur and I thought it was coming around to at least delivering something familiar, but those were over so quickly that it never made up for the lack of spirit.

Visuals

This I can compliment. The character models look fantastic and the worlds are bright and vivid. This may be one of the best-looking licensed platformers from a graphical standpoint I have seen in some time, but without sound to match, it’s just kind of hollow. There were no hiccups or glitches, just my little smurf, roaming around in a muted world. While some themed stages are great, others are literally empty. You’re just trying to get to the end with not a lot of design added to the environments. 

Overall

I get it, I am way out of the target audience for this game, but I love platformers. The Smurfs: Dreams is a competent platformer that lacks the soul and heart of the actual property it’s named after. The mechanics are basic, the music is stale, and there is so much to be desired. That said, this is a pretty game and it is well-designed when it comes to the characters themselves. It’s just unfortunate that the adventure feels half-baked and commits the sin of being “boring”. Microids seem like they have a lot of potential to create something special, but this licensed romp is just a little too basic for its own good.

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