Whoa, the new Smurfs game looks better than Balan Wonderworld

Too soon

Did you know that we’re getting five new Smurfs games? Well buckle up, Brainy Smurf! The first one is nearly upon us. And surprisingly….it doesn’t look half bad for a licensed mascot platformer.

Thanks to a new trailer from Microids, we have a bit more info on what one of those Smurfs games actually is. Dubbed “Mission Vileaf,” it showcases some of the action-platforming core, alongside of some very familiar gimmicks we’ve seen in the last 30 years or so of the genre. We also now know that it’s due out on October 26 on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and current-gen platforms.

Funnily enough there’s actual effort put into the trailer, framed around an infomercial to get rid of the pesky invasive plant species Vileaf. It seems like most of Smurfs: Mission Vileaf is based around a Luigi’s Mansion/Mario Sunshine-esque Smurfizer vacuum, which also doubles as a jetpack. Incredibly, it seems like the main antagonist is leaves this time around, which would be amazingly adorable. Gargamel probably can’t help himself though.

As we’ve seen many times in the past, licensed games don’t have to be bad (paging X-Men Origins: Wolverine), and they can be especially interesting if they don’t have a direct tie-in like a film or TV show to worry about.

I’m getting real G-Force vibes from this one. You know, that game based on the film starring Nicolas Cage as a mole that was surprisingly alright? Look, don’t blame me if eBay copies of G-Force suddenly skyrocket.

As for Balan Wonderworld…all we can do is press “F.” It’s sad that Square Enix disowned it like a week after release…but hey, I get it.