The Smurfs are having a party, and everyone’s invited. In The Smurfs—Village Party, by Balio Studio and published by Microïds, The Smurfs are getting prepped for a super fun time. Amidst these celebration preparations, something much more sinister is afoot. I arrived in the village on Nintendo Switch. It was my first outing with The Smurfs, and I didn’t find as much entertainment in the experience as the locals.

We open to a well-animated cutscene of the big bad, Gargamel, seeking The Smurfs’s power for nefarious deeds and, of course, to crash The Smurfs’s party plans. Back in the village, the Smurfs go about their carefree days, with the titular hero, Smurf, running errands for everyone.

I very quickly became familiar with the quirks of the blue creatures. The tiny, beautifully vibrant village is surprisingly vast, with heaps of areas to explore and exciting sights to see, my favourite being the oversized (at least from a Smurf’s perspective) chickens. Thankfully, from the opening moments, I was given a handy Smurfway scooter-type vehicle (or, as we know it, a Segway) to get around. Not long after, fast travel points can be unlocked, but there tends to be enough to explore to make on foot or on wheels worthwhile.

The Smurfs – Village Party is an adventure game with plenty of side activities to keep you busy. Your Smurf’s missions are varied, such as chasing down a masked thief, collecting resources to aid in the construction of a home, and providing materials to the seamster to unlock new outfits.

It would only be a party with mini-games; with over 50 mini-games, this game has that aspect covered. There’s a variety of activities, from simple puzzles to sweeping up toys and battling it out with other players on complex surfaces; it stays fresh. AI mostly puts up a fight; rarely have I had a few AIs off in their own world, but when they were, some mini-games became much more difficult, think Smurf refusing to drop a puzzle piece. While the whole game can be played offline solo, with local multiplayer, up to 4 players can be in on the fun. There’s much to see and do; sometimes it’s overwhelming – from main quests to sides, mini-games and additional game modes, I was swiftly burnt out of the game before the party really took off.

The voice acting was great, and the cutscenes were fully voice-acted, but the dialogue grew tiresome. You see, they love using the word “smurf” as a substitute for other nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and it got really smurfin’ annoying very fast. There’s a lot of talking, often with repetitive lines, and I turned the volume down while exploring to silence the chatter. I’m not a parent, but I would imagine hearing that dialogue on car trips or at home as your kids play could become quite infuriating. Otherwise, the sounds were great, and the music was quirky and fun and delivered the whimsy.

Performance-wise, The Smurfs – Village Party tends to lose some of its charm. While the map is massive, there’s lots of space filled with very little note, and unfortunately, it makes slow texture load-in much more noticeable. The characters looked great, but generally, environmental textures lacked detail, starkly contrasting the gorgeously rendered characters and cutscenes. Sometimes, there were a few frame drops as well, which became apparent during some open-world activities.

Nintendo Switch controls worked as a treat for mini-games. They were straightforward, such as in the rhythm game, which had the usual press buttons in time with the beat formula. However, controls faltered when working alongside the camera out in the wild. The Smurf-Shot, a slingshot used to fling projectiles at unsuspecting balloons and other objects, was awkward to aim, with the reticle being challenging to maneuver. Add in the sometimes finicky camera when climbing or driving the Smurfway, and tasks became tedious with clipping and issues when navigating the village.

Speaking of navigation, the game provides plenty of guidance for players. This is great for gamers of all ages, especially younger kids, to explore everything the game offers. A small flying critter accompanies our hero, which helps direct us to the next objective. The mini-games are enjoyable and scratch some of the party game itch. This is great for a small gaming session on the couch with some friends, like another well-known Nintendo party game we all know and (mostly) love.

For long-term Smurf fans and younger audiences, The Smurfs – Village Party might tick several boxes on your party must-haves. With a nostalgic feel and loving tribute to The Smurfs, there’s plenty to entertain. Still, it all depends on whether you’re keen to attend despite the party’s little problems.

The Smurfs – Village Party is available on Nintendo Switch, Playstation, Xbox and PC.

Written by: Yasmin Noble