Licensed games over the years have always been wild cards, capable of occasionally being fun and great, but often ending up being over-priced messes. This generation with the Switch has seen the Smurfs make their return to the gaming space, and overall the pleasant surprise is that more often than not the results have at least been consistently positive, even if not Earth-shattering. Dreams thankfully continues that trend, with a focus on imaginative 3D platforming that keeps things relatively simple and should be enjoyable for just about any audience.

It’s important, right off the bat, to emphasize that by no means is this on par with a Mario game, and that’s on multiple fronts. Its controls aren’t as varied or tight, its stages aren’t as impressively expansive and creative, and its overall design is also a rung or two below those titles on the ladder to greatness. That said, as 3D platformers that aren’t as great as Mario, but are still well-made go, this at least makes that cut. While perhaps the controls feel a little more loose, thankfully in general the game’s stage design and play aren’t quite as demanding either overall, so they sort of balance out. While your Smurf is also missing the variety of Mario’s trademark jumping moves, they at least have a few of their own. Most notably you’ll be able to form a bubble which will keep you suspended inside it. While perhaps that isn’t as exciting in general, I’ll give the developers credit for the fact that this unique skill allows for some action and puzzles that work a bit differently than you may have seen before.

What helps the game stand out a bit from its peers, and this is a double-edged sword to be sure, is that it’s among the better 3D platformers I’ve played that was clearly designed to be accessible to just about everyone. In general its pacing is a bit more slow, its challenges are a bit less troublesome, and while its action puzzles aren’t necessarily easy to work through, they’re hardly going to set you back any significant amount of time, even if you’re not quite so dexterous for whatever reason. In my mind, that fact helps boost this up in general, even though it’s also likely to have more seasoned gamers losing interest. But since I do have a soft spot for games that are meant to be accessible, I’d consider it worth a look for those with younger gamers around.