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Smurfs Kart is out now for Nintendo Switch, and while I’ve not actually played a Mario Kart game before – since it didn’t really grab me, I was always a huge fan of the Smurfs when I was a kid.
In fact, we had the Smurf house and an absolute ton of Smurfs, including the one-of-a-kind black Smurf. Absolutely no idea what happened to all of these as we grew up, and such childlike toys disappeared – and maybe Mum gave them away to charity – but it later transpired the black Smurf was worth around £1000. D’oh!
However, let’s hope the franchise can continue with positive members, with this new racer release.
First up, there are three Cups to race for – Village Cup, Forest Cup and Gargamel Cup – each with four tracks within – making a total of 12 races (plus mirror options, and each of these in Fun Speed and – other speed), plus a Free Play and Time Trial option.
When I first went through the cups, the difficulty with the Gargamel Cup is that you have to finish in the Top 3 (and , thus, end up on the podium) in order to progress to the mirrored section of tracks. For me, it took two full attempts to achieve this. First time, I got SO close! Ideally, you want to be aiming for 1st or 2nd in each of the four races, since all too often, if you manage to get to that point in a race, it only takes a second for someone to smack you from behind with a ‘busy bee’ – as I kept calling them – or zoom ahead in some other way (ONCE, I got a rocket to help me do this, and never again since!), and you’re languishing anywhere from 5th to 8th, and then climbing back to the top is a chore.
For example, when I played the Mirrored versions, I did so badly on the first race, that I restarted the Gargamel Cup from scratch. First two races, I came first, but for the third, I came EIGHTH! Hence, all bets were off when it came to the fourth and final race, and in the end, I came fifth… My nerves were on edge when the final tally came up for the Cup, even though I knew that Blossom was in fourth all the time, and there was quite a points margin away from the Top 3. Overall, I was placed third. PHEW!
But it ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. Firstly, I spotted a couple of audio glitches. Several times, when you collect a gift box and it randomly picks one of the items, the ‘random selection sound’ is not present. Also, once, when I set off the one that allows Smurfette to sing (which gives you a sort-of invincibility), the music that accompanies her singing wasn’t present.
Also, in the main, the collision detection is pretty bad, in that you can easily get stuck behind a piece of scenery without any easy way to untangle yourself from that. I have to try and jump a lot and turn at the same time… so, if I’m making good time in my race, all of a sudden, I’m back to square one(!)
And finally, do note, that if you decide to restart at any point in a Cup – or fail to qualify, you have to redo the entire Cup from scratch, so that’s another 20-25 minutes of time spent.
I will say from the races, that they are great fun, and quite challenging, especially as you get to the last cup, Gargamel Cup, but when I read about ’12 races’, I figured that was 12 cups! Hence, the amount of content is quite limited as a result, so perhaps, don’t get at full price, but do check it out when it goes on sale.
Check the gameplay video playlist below, for which videos will be added daily, until there’s a total of all 12 tracks, plus one video apiece for Time Trial and Free Race.
Overall: 6/10
Thanks to our friends at Maximum Games for the review code for this game.
Smurfs Kart is out now on Nintendo Switch.
Important info:
- Developer: Maximum Games
- Publisher: Maximum Games
- Players: single-player, local multiplayer
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.