The Smurfs: Dreams review

There have been many surprising moments throughout this wonderful year of gaming, but for me none quite so unexpected as how much I have fallen in love with a Smurfs game. I have absolutely no connection to the Smurfs franchise, in fact if anything as a youngster I found them to be borderline annoying. Yet here I am after playing The Smurfs: Dreams, completely blown away. Struggling to even piece my thoughts together. 3D platformers this good don’t come around all that often, so I guess we need to thank Papa Smurf for this bounty.

As is so often the case in the world of The Smurfs, that pesky Gargamel has come up with a new scheme to make their lives difficult. By casting a curse on the sarsaparilla leaves that the little blue fellas eat he’s ensured that all the Smurfs fall into a deep slumber with no chance of waking up on their own. As one of the only Smurfs who hasn’t chowed down on the leaves, it’s your job to jump into the dreams of your friends to wake them up and save Smurf Village. The story is about what you’d expect for a game targeting a younger audience, but doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Once you travel to your first dream world it’s time to start platforming, which feels great and features rather a lot of nuance. It’ll take more than just running and jumping to get through each stage of The Smurfs: Dreams, you’ll also need to use your flutter jump and ability to hover in a bubble to get where you need to go. To make it across the furthest of gaps you’ll need to jump, hover, bubble and then dive out of the bubble to maximise your distance, and once you get used to combining these abilities you’ll feel like a platforming genius.

The Smurfs: Dreams isn’t a game where you’ll explore massive worlds for hundreds of collectibles, and instead follows the Astro Bot model of featuring lots of smaller and more linear levels to play through. With a fixed camera there’s less to worry about as you adventure too, and instead all you really need to think about is what you can see in front of you.

That’s not to say that with a locked on camera and smaller levels that there isn’t shiny stuff to collect though. Each main stage features five mushrooms and one thread reel to collect, alongside a whole host of Smurf berries that serve as your currency. The collectibles are hidden perfectly, meaning that if you’re careful you won’t have to replay levels too often to grab them all. They have a purpose too, and will unlock bonus levels and fancy new outfits to make the effort worthwhile.

There’s a lot to love about The Smurfs: Dreams, but what makes it a truly special game is how varied the different levels are. There’s always something new to experience in each of the game’s many dream stages, be it mirrors that show invisible platforms or a syrup gun you can use to slow enemies and hit switches. Even the theming of the levels changes drastically as you go, from tropical paradises to delicious looking cakes making up the dreams of the other Smurfs.

It’s also worth mentioning how good this game looks and sounds, which very much took me by surprise. The dreamy soundtrack is a joy to experience, with enough faster and catchier tunes to prevent it from being too soothing. The visuals are lovely too, and really bring to life the otherworldly levels.

I had such a great time playing with my little blue buddies in The Smurfs: Dreams, but there are a few small issues with the game. The hub area is a bit bland, with very little to look at other than sleeping Smurfs. I also feel like having only two hearts is a little stingy, especially for boss fights when you’re learning how to dodge their attacks. You’re never massively punished for dying, but that doesn’t mean it feels good. My final minor complaint is that experienced players will have seen all the game has to offer in around 5-7 hours, which, admittedly, is only disappointing because it’s so enjoyable.

The Smurfs: Dreams is a surprisingly sensational 3D platformer, with tight controls, well hidden collectibles and a whole lot of variety. The game even looks and sounds great too, surpassing all expectations as it does. Don’t be put off by the fact this is a Smurfs game, because it’s also one of the best platformers of the year.