As a child growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, I was fully aware of The Smurfs. They’d just about come back into fashion with a new animated series that ran for a good few years, and there were collectable figures aplenty, each depicting the blue humanoid characters delightfully.
But then, at least for me, they disappeared, wiped from the face of the earth (more likely my mind) as Transformers, M.A.S.K. and Thundercats became new obsessions. And honestly, I’d not missed The Smurfs in the some four decades that then passed, happily leaving them as part of some childhood memories.
But that was until The Smurfs – Dreams came onto the scene. An open-ish 3D platformer that takes us through the dreams – and nightmares – of various little Smurfs, the goal is to save their race from obliteration. I was immediately interested, even though I’d never felt the urge to dip into previous games, The Smurfs – Mission Vileaf, or Smurfs Kart, for example.
And I’m glad I was taken by the premise of The Smurfs – Dreams too, because it’s really very good. In fact, it’s surprising just how good it is.
There’s obviously a story here, and it’s one that plays out through a variety of cutscenes. Basically, it features The Smurfs’ nemesis, Gargamel, as they look to rid the land of the blue banes of their life for good. This time around it’s a sleeping potion that is used, sending all to sleep forevermore. Or at least it runs something like that. As a premise it’s a decent set-up for the dream-like nature of this Smurfs game, but it’s neither here nor there as to whether the game would be better, or worse, without it.
From there you find yourself in The Smurf’s village. This is a hub full of sleeping beauties, as you’re left to help wake all from their slumber. You do this by jumping onto a huge pillow, fast transported to an Astral Map which then plays host to a huge number of levels and stages, interconnected by swimming through the consciousness, headlong to the stages that await. This Map is also great for immediately being presented with new opportunities and Dreams replayability, as you fast understand which stage has collectibles that need further collecting.
The levels themselves focus on certain Smurfs. You start with Chef Smurf as their dreams give a great introduction to how The Smurfs Dreams will play out. And whilst a tutorial as such is relatively thin on the ground, this is a game that rewards exploration, trial and error, as you begin to understand how best to tackle the dreams that lie ahead.
Land in a world and you’ll be left to navigate your way to an end goal, collecting a variety of fruits, mushrooms, secrets and even helping out Smurfs along the way. With Sonic-like rails linking stage elements, and plenty of bottom bouncing, dashing, jumping and platforming going on, it’s not long before you’ll get fully immersed into the Smurfy vibe, discovering everything the game has to offer.
Boss levels quite obviously sit as definite end goals, because well, video games, but holding things together between those are plenty of magic portals, checkpoints, puzzles, hidden pathways and tons of collectibles. The Smurfs – Dreams is pretty much rammed full with everything a 3D platformer in this day and age should offer.
That initial Smurf will soon be saved, woken to find a home in the Smurf’s village as you then head off to save others; Smurfette, Tailor Smurf, Farmer Smurf and more. Skirting around things, expect to be treated to a load of variety as each Smurfs’ dreams play out slightly differently to the next, with new mechanics dropped in consistently. Granted, never does The Smurfs – Dreams throw too much on that things get confusing, but there’s enough in the main stages, the sub-levels and the smaller, swifter fillers to ensure that this is a game that stays fresh throughout.
In fact, at times some of those stages feel a little too sprawling and we’ve been left crying out for the opportunity to save mid-stage. Don’t you dare see this as a game that you can pop on to for a five minute blast – some of these stages demand time, patience and replaying; at least if you want to go for a full completion. And that is something which is helped, amplified if you will, with the inclusion of local cooperative play. The Smurfs – Dreams is a game that works well with a friend in tow, even if it is far from an essential part of the experience.
No matter what you are doing in Dreams, you’ll be treated to some lovely visual eye candy as you go. Limited in terms of audio and any soundscape, with rarely anything to write home about, Dreams instead focuses on the visual side of things. This is an extremely good looking game, full of vibrancy, colour and detail. With the Smurfs themselves shining, and the enemies faced equally so, we’ve nothing but praise for how Microids and Ocellus Studio have tackled the iconic Smurfs franchise.
But there are the odd downsides. Apart from some stages going on a tad longer than they should, there is also the occasional unfair death, with platforming, leaping, floating and air-dashing not always feeling as precise as it probably should. With the only real comeuppance to that being a swift checkpoint restart, it’s no massive deal, but it can sometimes frustrate. Aside from that, we’ve experienced the odd audio drop in cutscenes, but otherwise The Smurfs – Dreams has been near flawless.
And near flawless pretty much sums up this cracking 3D platformer. You may think that The Smurfs have had their day, but you won’t want to sleep on The Smurfs – Dreams. You will be surprised by just how accomplished this platformer is. And if that is anything to go by, the future is bright, the future is blue.
Beyond The Blue Village: Exploring The Smurfs – Dreams – https://www.thexboxhub.com/beyond-the-blue-village-exploring-the-smurfs-dreams/
The Smurfs – Dreams: A Smurftastic Adventure Through the Land of Nod – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-smurfs-dreams-a-smurftastic-adventure-through-the-land-of-nod/
Buy The Smurfs – Dreams on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/the-smurfs-dreams/9NZZHZVGFW8D/0010
