We enjoyed our time with Smurfs Dreams inJuneand found it to be an impressive 3D action-packed platformer. The franchise has been in some hit or miss platforming adventures over the years – including full-on 3D adventures over the past decade that offered an acceptable gameplay experience, but not much in the way of a rewarding one. Smurfs Dreams aims to deal out a very 3D Mario Land/3D Mario World-style experience and delivers a tougher challenge than any entry in that series from what we were able to enjoy.
Smurfactular Jumping
The new gameplay trailer shows off more story than we’ve seen in prior trailers – with Gargamel putting many of the Smurfs in Smurf village to sleep, leaving the player-led adventurer(s) to take him down. During our truncated demo slice of the game, it was clear that the 3D platforming that was iffy in the other 3D entries was more fine-tuned with the isometric viewpoint. The trailer showcases different environments beyond just the Smurf village adjacent areas, including a fall leaf-filled area, a darker area with ooze everywhere and boss action alongside a smaller challenge area.
Bright Worlds
The core gameplay on display in Smurfs Dreams is shockingly high for a licensed game and nicely stands up to Mario 3D World- - and I would say that in terms of challenge, the demo portion is actually tougher than most areas in 3D World because of the lack of assists. You have plenty of checkpoint options, but nothing like the invincible tanooki suit to work with or varying powers between characters – where you have a character like Peach that offers up a lot of mobility upgrades compared to Mario. One thing the trailer showed off that is a highlight of the experience so far are the rail sections.
The core gameplay on display in Smurfs Dreams is shockingly high for a licensed game
Those offer up a fast-paced and thrilling experience that manages to differ from rail sections in games like Ratchet and Clank in part due to the usage of harp to ride on, but also due to little touches like music changing up a bit based on how you jump and also offering up pickups to grab during your little journey. They’re usually a hit or miss part of a game’s design because if they’re relied upon too heavily, they make the gameplay experience feel passive, but a nice balance is struck with far more in-the-moment gameplay than just rail sections and the rail sections themselves offer a fair amount of replayability due to the nuances in them to keep them fresh with every playthrough.
Gorgeous Greenery
The Smurfs Dreams launches on consoles and PC on October 24 and should satisfy any 3D platformer fan. You can check out the new gameplay trailerhere.
The Smurfs' Dream Game Has Arrived
The Smurfs - Dreams is taking shape and even early on, shows great promise to deliver one of the finest 3D platformers on the market.
