The Smurfs: Dreams

With a new installment of the Smurfs, The Smurfs: Dreams becomes the best game in the franchise. A game to enjoy alone or with a friend and be part of this blue and lively world.

If you’re looking to be whisked away on a charming platforming adventure, I can say with certainty that The Smurfs: Dreams has you covered. It’s easy to tell when a game is good, because upon putting it down for a break, you’re left immediately thinking about picking it back up again. While this experience is maybe a tad brief, it’s clear that Ocellus Games has a bright future in the platforming space should the studio continue down this route. The Smurfs: Dreams is inventive, joyous, and a welcomed surprise of a game that I’m oh so very happy to have stumbled across.

Smurfs Dreams deserve respect for favouring approach-ability over punishment, and should be a worthwhile present to any child who loves upbeat platformers. Any adult should give this a shot as well because it's a wonderfully designed game that really deserves attention. So with all that said, go blue because these Smurfs dreams have come true.

After Marsupilami The Secret of the Sarcophagus in 2021, the Ocellus studio is now tackling the Smurfs license, at the request of Microids of course. After taking inspiration from Donkey Kong Country 3 years ago, it was a certain Super Mario 3D World that served as the basis for this epic of dreams, and once again, the result is satisfactory. Whether visually or in its gameplay, everything is done with care and a certain quality. There are even some flashes of brilliance in certain passages, such as the mirror level, the free fall in Tetris mode and the infiltration mission, not to mention these huge bosses to face who are also not lacking in game design ideas. No, really, it's clean and square as they say, even if deep down, it lacks risk-taking and diversity. In the meantime, this Smurfs: Epic Dreams does its job very well and does what is asked of it: a platform game suitable for young and old, playable in cooperation to mix generations, and therefore have a good time.

The Smurfs Dreams is the perfect game to enjoy alongside family, or alone, as a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Thanks to its charming art direction, clever mechanics, and endearing characters it is a memorable experience, that offers plenty of replay value for completionists. It is a platformer that appeals to both nostalgic fans of the Smurfs and a younger generation of players, and arguably one of the best jump-n-run games published by Microids so far. I believe The Smurfs – Dreams is a nice surprise, which thanks to its friendly price tag can be an excellent gift for the holidays.