Developed by: OSome Studio
Published by: Microids
Released: November 16, 2021 (Playstation, Switch, Xbox) October 26, 2021 (PC)
The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf is an imaginative and enjoyable 3D platformer. In a Fall release schedule without a new Mario or Lego game, Smurfs provides an accessible and challenging experience. The bright and colorful world of the Smurfs is easy for younger players to explore. However, collectibles with tight platforming requirements provide satisfaction for more experienced players. While it occasionally struggles with typical genre camera issues, Mission Vileaf is a wonderful and inviting surprise by French studio Microids.
Story
Franchise villain Gragamel has modified the vileaf plant and it is infesting the Smurf village and countryside. Papa Smurf charges Hefty, Brainy, and Chef with retrieving the necessary ingredients to eliminate the vileaf. Smurfette is the fourth playable character and joins the efforts when Papa Smurf needs rescuing. The story is told through a storybook narrator and in-game cutscenes. The storybook illustrations allude back to the comic orgins of the characters. While the smurfing dialog is right in line with the 1980’s cartoon and the current Nickelodeon series. Fortunately, the story does not have to do the heavy lifting for the game. It is enough to propel the players forward through the varied platforming gameplay.
Gameplay
Mission Vileaf draws gameplay inspiration from Nintendo’s Super Mario Sunshine and Galaxy along with the Traveler’s Tales’ Lego games. The Smurfs move throughout each world using the Smurfizer backpack as herbicide spray, jetpack, and vacuum. Like Sunshine, players spray the vileaf plants to turn them back to healthy grass and flowers. Spraying all of an area provides additional seeds for currency and opens up paths and collectibles. The Smurfizer upgrades throughout the game to provide a hover and glide, rocket boost, and suction. Progressing the story unlocks each of these additional abilities. However, Hefty Smurfs’ shop provides additional upgrades like a longer glide, better in-air control, and more powerful Smurfizer attacks.
The combat in Mission Vileaf is minimal. Smurfizer spray, a ground pound, or a combination defeats most enemies. For younger players, a second player can join and play as a robot Smurfizer. This provides assistance in spraying vileafs and attacking enemies. Fortunately, as any good platformer should, the main challenges come from platforming not attacking. The critical path does not require significant platformer skills. However, areas in the Swamp and Castle levels require tight jumps with moving platforms or falls into instant death (water or heights). Thankfully checkpoints are frequent and even losing all hearts only brings one back to the most recent checkpoint. Smurfizer upgrades on distance, height, and duration of jumps reduce the difficulty of some platforming challenges. One incredibly difficult jump in the Castle level became easier after upgrading the distance of the glide.
Smurfing Challenge
Many of the platforming and puzzle challenges are optional and provide new paths to collectibles. Smurfizer upgrades require the collectibles in each area. Consequently, these optional challenges allow the game to be accessible for less experienced players while providing tricky tests for those more experienced. Once the story of an area is completed, the levels remain open for return visits. These return visits allow players to access new sections of the map with the increased Smurfizer move set. Smurfs strikes a satisfying balance of allowing players to move forward and rewarding them for exploration.
There are three difficultly levels that impact the amount of health and enemies. While this is helpful to adjust the challenge, most of the challenge is in lining up and making jumps not in defeating enemies. The final stage of Gargamel’s castle injects stealth gameplay and creates a new challenge. Unfortunately, some of the stealth is trial and error to figure out where to hide and Gargamel’s patterns. This is a welcomed variety and reasonable within the lore of the Smurfs.
Graphics & Sound
Mission Vileaf is as bright and colorful as the world of the Smurfs should be. Most levels maintain this cheery atmosphere, but the swamp is appropriately gloomy. However, the textures and backgrounds are limited and reflect the limited budget of the game’s development. This is a minor issue given the need to focus on transversing the level. There is attention to detail on the Smurf characters. The hats include a woven pattern that creates a Smurf-created feel. The graphics do not push the Xbox Series X the game was reviewed on (Series X|S and PS5 versions are coming in 2022).
The sound effects are upbeat and cheerful in the bright outdoor stages. While sound effects are eerie in the swamp and Gargamel stages. Unfortunately, limited music plays throughout the game and is another reflection of the scope of the game.
CONCERNS
Smurfs requires camera babysitting. However, this is expected in 3D platformers with a free camera. Furthermore, players aware of this genre reality understand the need to rearrange the camera to line up a jump. Some sections of levels lock the camera perspective creating a 2.5D perspective. The stealth section in Gargamel’s castle uses this camera perspective successfully.
The Smurf character designs differ from in-game and static illustrations. In the game, the characters’ eyes are the black dots from the `80’s cartoon. While the illustrations contain pupils and match the Nickolodeon show. Whether this is intentional or a result of different design teams, the result is striking at first.
However, Smurfs is such a solid platformer that character models are a minor concern.
Smurf the Whole Day Long
The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf is a joy to play. Cleaning up infected plants and exploring the Smurf-sized world is peaceful and satisfying. Platforming to the next collectible creates a self-driven challenge. The light-hearted franchise is a bright ray of family-friendly 3D platformer fun. Younger players and parents familiar with the franchise will both find a lot to enjoy. After 8 hours, I finished the story but there are plenty of collectibles to go back for that were formerly out of reach. Genre fans will have a smurfing good time.