Smurfs Kart Targets Game of the Year Status on PS5, PS4

Dabba dee dabba die

by Sammy Barker Mon 15th May 2023

Smurfs Kart is launching on 22nd August for PS5 and PS4, bringing disruption to the ongoing Game of the Year debate. All insincerity aside, the arcade racer from French duo Microids and Eden Games first launched on Nintendo Switch last year, and is now getting a wider release across PlayStation and various other platforms, including PC.

There are few surprises here: expect turbo starts, drifts, shortcuts, and special powers. To be honest, as far as these kinds of titles go, this doesn’t look like an egregiously bad one – and that’s reflected by its reviews on Nintendo’s hybrid hardware, where it scored a fairly middling 66 on the back of 14 or so reviews. The very definition of acceptable albeit uneventful.

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The full game will have 12 playable Smurfs and a further 12 themed race courses, as well as split-screen multiplayer, unlockable art work, and a time trial mode. You can check out some footage of the PlayStation version in the trailer embedded above.

[source youtube.com]

As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.

1
Hundred_Hand_Slap
Mon 15th May 2023

I find the way Papa Smurf's hat moves in the wind a bit unsettling.

2
Fartingale
Mon 15th May 2023

If it was still 1983 my sister would be very excited about this game.

3
__jamiie
Mon 15th May 2023

Why are there so few decent Mario Kart challengers?

4
jgrangervikings1
Mon 15th May 2023

How much do they expect parents to Peyo for this smurfy Mario Kart knock-off?

Serious question: Has there been ANY real game-changing innovation to kart racers since, oh, about 1997 when Mario Kart 64 released?
Boost from the start…
Drift around corners…
Pick up items on the track to increase speed or shoot projectiles or lay down mines…
Race from a behind-the-kart 3rd person view on cartooney-looking tracks…
Compete to earn points on races to win a cup championship…

Smurfs should’ve just sold their rights to Nintendo to add playable Smurf characters into the next Mario Kart game. They’d get more press and player goodwill from that than they ever will from this hackneyed, by-the-numbers snoozefest.

I really hope I’m wrong and this game turns out to be a gem. I just don’t see it.

5
RobN
Mon 15th May 2023

@jgrangervikings1 ModNation Racers let you build your own tracks to share, which few others seem to have attempted. It had a ton of customization for the characters and karts, too, but it was the racetrack customization that set it apart.

Otherwise...no, they're all various attempts to copy the same formula.

6
Hundred_Hand_Slap
Mon 15th May 2023

@RobN The loading time set it apart too

7
Shrek_Realista
Mon 15th May 2023

@__jamiie Because Nintendo has the budget and the public to focus on a kart game, other companies can't take the same risk because it's a niche genre.