In the distant past, long before streaming services and 24-hour cartoon channels, there was a thing called Saturday Morning Cartoons.  Kids back then, me included, looked forward to this time because it was one of the only times TV was made just for kids.  And as a child of the 80s, one of the most popular of these cartoons I remember was The Smurfs.  Originally a European comic strip, The Smurfs gained popularity in the US from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon.  I was never a super big fan of it, but I watched it anyway because, one, kids will watch pretty much anything.  And two, it came on right before the Pac-Man cartoon.  In recent years, The Smurfs have had a bit of a resurgence with a handful of computer animated movies and specials, and a new series on Nickelodeon.  And that begat a few Smurfs games, too.  I’ve reviewed quite a few of them, which include 3D platformers, kart racers, and even educational titles.  The Smurfs: Dreams is a fixed camera 3D platformer, so it plays most like Super Mario 3D World.  In the game, the evil Gargemel has sprinkled a magic potion on the Smurf Berry bushes, so when the Smurfs have breakfast the next morning, they instantly fall fast asleep and get lost in their dreams.  You play as a Smurf who has to enter the dream worlds to rescue the others, and the game is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

So the first thing you’ll do is select your Smurf.  You can choose from a generic male or female Smurf.  You can also play the game in two player couch co-op as well.  In the game, you start out at Smurf village and at the top is a giant pillow that Papa Smurf created.  Hop on that to enter the dream world and select your stages.  Many Smurfs have themed stages in their dreams, so Cook Smurf’s stages are made out of food, Smurfette’s areas are tropical beaches, etc.  In the stages, you run around in 3D space with the L stick and jump with the B button.  After a jump, you can hold down the same button again to do a little flutter kick to give you some more height to your jump, kind of like Yoshi.  Hold down the X button and you can run.  Sometimes you can find throwable objects like keys or fruit, and you press the R button to pick them up and press it again along with a direction to throw them.  You can get other Smurfs’ attention with the L button by calling out to them, which is helpful for solving some puzzles.  You can also press a button to encase yourself in a bubble, but I think that’s only useful in two player mode.

In the stages are collectables like berries and hidden blue mushrooms you can find that’ll help you unlock levels and buy things.  When you rescue certain Smurfs, you can do things back at Smurf village like buy outfits for your character from Tailor Smurf.  You can take two hits, and after that you’ll start over at the last checkpoint you passed in the level.  Sometimes you can find power-ups like a blaster for shooting things long distance or a hammer for pounding things.  In some dreams, after beating a few levels you’ll fight a boss, like Bigmouth the Ogre.

I had a few problems with the game.  The camera is panned out so far that everything looks tiny.  Hit detection felt a little off and throwing items was a bit convoluted.  Probably the worst thing is that the game uses as few words as possible, which is probably so they could market it internationally easier.  But it also makes some of the goals and objectives a bit unclear as well.  The Smurfs: Dreams really doesn’t revolutionize the 3D platformer genre, but it’s fine for what it is.  Smurf fans and kids should like it, but I think Super Mario 3D World, the game this imitates most, is way better.

Kid Factor:

The Smurfs: Dreams is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Fantasy Violence.  You can stomp on cartoony monsters or throw things at them, and they just disappear in a cloud of smoke.  You’ll do the same when you run out of hearts, and then just start at the last checkpoint.  Reading skill isn’t needed, but younger gamers may need help with some of the trickier obstacles and bosses.

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television