Story:
Smurfs Kart doesn’t have a story mode or a story at all outside of media canon. The Smurfs are a race of blue beings that live in a magical Smurf village with the antagonist Gargamel trying to capture them in any way that he can to capture their magic and use it for himself.
Gameplay:
Smurfs Kart is as the name suggests, a kart racing game. Not dissimilar to games like Mario Kart, Nickelodeon Kart Racer, and other similar games that came before it. The game features both single-player and multiplayer game modes with support of up to four players playing via split-screen. Single-player offers three game types which are Grand Prix, Time Challenge, and Free Race while the multiplayer mode only offers the latter two game modes and omits Time Challenge
Grand Prix has you pick from two different modes of racing which are fun and hyper. Fun mode is a slower mode of racing while the hyper mode is a much more fast-paced racing mode with you and all the other opponents being able to race much faster than if you were just racing in the fun race mode. Once you pick a mode, you then pick a Smurf to race with. You can race as Astro Smurf in his rocket-style kart and rocket power-up, or you could play as Jokey Smurf who has a kart featuring gag-style ornaments on it, whose special power-up is a power-up gift. There are twelve Smurfs to pick from, all with a unique special power-up and kart; so you can pick your favorite Smurf and hit the track
Tracks span three cups with four tracks for each cup giving a total of 12 tracks to race on. Completing and getting a trophy for each cup opens up the option of playing each cup of tracks in mirror mode. There are several different areas to race through such as Smurf Village, Gargamel’s Castle, and Gargamel’s Garden. Each track gives you access to a few different routes to take in addition to having shortcuts that will definitely help you turn the tide of the race in your favor.
When I first started playing this game, I initially thought that the AI was too tough but I soon realized that it comes down to the Smurf you are racing as, the items that you get, and the knowledge of each track. Each Smurf is a little unique in the way that they handle with Pappa Smurf being a little slower than the rest, and Astro being a tad faster. It’s not enough to not be able to win a race or lose a race just by the chosen Smurf, but something to keep in mind. The items are varied and abundant. Depending on how well you’re racing will determine the items you get. If you’re doing really well, you may just get some berries to eat, which act like coins and give you a small speed boost, or if you’re doing very poorly, you may get a Potion that will take you from last place to third or even first place
The more you know the track, the better you’re going to do in the races. Once you learn the shortcuts, and how to use items against other items in a defensive way, the game becomes very challenging and enjoyable rather than an unfairly balanced gaming experience.
Graphics and Performance:
Character models of the Smurfs are well done, capturing the Smurf magic of each character with as much detail as you would come to expect from a kart racing game. You can feel the scale of each track as you race through it. From the large corn fields to the oversized headstones in the graveyard. The game does a wonderful job of making you feel small in a large open world, well as open as a kart racing game with linear tracks can be. The tracks have really large set pieces that again help to give you a sense of just how small Smurfs are. There is a lot of detail put into each track that helps to make them feel unique and interesting. Shortcuts and with each track giving you multiple paths to take in an attempt to get the edge on your opponents, help to add to the large feel of the track you’re racing on.
With the details of the Smurfs, large set pieces, shortcuts, branching paths, and environmental effects depending on the track you’re racing on, you would think that there would be some slowdown or that it would look blurry or squished. On the contrary, the game is vibrant with lots of great colors and smooth, high-resolution textures for pretty much everything. I never saw an issue with the performance, no slowdown, no pop in issues, the game ran constantly smooth and was a pleasant surprise when playing this game. The only exception is sections where the game has you flying through the air in certain parts when going from one section of the track to another (depending on the track), which, when this happens causes a little bit of a performance dip. It appears that the Smurfs and Karts are moving just a tad too fast for the environment and camera to keep up with. This however doesn’t detract in my opinion from how great of a game this is with how well it performs.
Sound
Every track has its own separate soundtrack so you never get bored of hearing the same music track going through a Grand Prix, and only becomes repetitive if you decide to try to practice the same track over and over again, as you would come to expect from doing something like that. Accompanying each track’s course song, you get sound effects that help to bring the huge world you’re in to life. The sound of bats flapping around you in the graveyard, birds chirping in the forest as you race through the woods, and even the sound of leaves hitting your kart as you’re flying through bushes, gives surprising attention to detail to the game. Each Smurf even has a few lines of dialogue that are triggered if hit or affected by an item, win or lose a race, and even give a reaction when an opponent is affected by an item they have used.
Conclusion:
In the world of kart racing games, Smurfs Kart stands out from the rest. I mean sure you have games like Mario Kart and no this isn’t Mario Kart, but this is as close of a tribute game. It doesn’t change the Mario Kart formula and doesn’t add any new mechanics to the genre as other kart racing games have tried to do, looking at you Nickelodeon Kart Racing. But instead, the game gives you an established set of recognizable and nostalgic characters and a great racing experience. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with the game that this game is paying tribute to or any other game that is paying tribute to the grandfather of kart racers, I am just simply pointing out that this game is a unique gem among its fellow games.
Smurf fans, racing game fans, kart racing fans, or anyone looking for a unique and fun game to play on their Nintendo Switch, will find something to enjoy with Smurfs Kart. I would highly recommend checking this game out as it’s fun for the whole family.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided