Here we go, gamers: take your seats because Minecraft has gotten bluer, and I don’t mean the waters. Nintendo surprised everyone with a crossover: the Smurfs are invading Minecraft on the Switch. Yep, you got it right. Those little blue guys from your childhood cartoons are stomping through block by block in the wild. I mean, doesn’t that sound a little bit ridiculous?
Here’s the scoop: Nintendo went so far as to announce an all-new Smurf-themed adventure in Minecraft consisting of minigames, a fully traversable Smurf Village (a Gargamel’s nightmare, thankfully prettier), and (brace yourselves) free Smurf cosmetics. For real! You can slap on a Smurf Hat and skin to represent either Papa Smurf or, you know, maybe Smurfette, if that’s the vibe you’re channeling. The partnership went live this very moment, with the trailer giving an extensive tour of a surprisingly detailed mushroom-laden world very much looking like something straight-cut out from an ’80s Saturday morning cartoon series.
Hmmm… the internet-chair perspective. Reactions to Nintendo’s tweet were ranged instead of excitement and confusion to straight-up madness. One user, @gamedofficial_, was screaming: “Where is Gargamel???”, an excellent question. How does one even have the Smurfs without their eternally frustrated nemesis? Meanwhile, @GameWizardGumu entertained the thought of a Smurf-themed Dungeons &-Dragons campaign that… actually, we’ve got to back that. Then, @DRN_005 dropped the bombshell that “Rihanna is Smurfette,” and… well, honestly, we just can’t.”
Then, half of the internet was not amused. Seeing all this, @jazc_007 went scorched-earth, labeling the collab “greedy corporate slop,” and accused Nintendo of greed for pricing everything darn near sky-high (ouch). After which, @tsukinoazura declared Minecraft for Switch to be “unplayable,” which just… yikes. Yet another pack of gamers took over the replies, demanding a Nintendo Direct, as if Smurfs in Minecraft weren’t the headline they’ve been waiting for. Tough crowd.
Let’s be honest, though: these kinds of odd alliances are usually fun. Minecraft isn’t new to crossovers (do you remember when they brought in Halo and Sonic?), but the Smurfs? That’s… really deep territory. The mini-games seem fun to play and free cosmetics—nice touch. (Though a few players would like to see Gargamel lurking in the shadows.)
Will this collab redeem Nintendo in the eyes of its haters? Not likely. But will it give you reason to fire Minecraft up again on the Nintendo Switch? Maybe. That’s neither too bad with living in your dream as your little blue being in a mushroom house.
Smurfs x Minecraft is out now for the Nintendo Switch—don’t expect Gargamel any time soon.
