While I appreciate the attempts to bring as many family-friendly and cozy games to the Switch as possible, I really do wish there was also more of a focus on baseline quality. Just because something is simpler, cuter, and more approachable doesn’t mean it shouldn’t still be firing on all cylinders in terms of the quality of play. In the case of Smoothcade I’ll admit that in general its play was already pretty underwhelming as a whole, but then when it has elements that feel in common with Bubble Bobble, and invite those comparisons, the situation further deteriorates.

You can see some earnest effort to make the most of the action. You’ll be doing some platforming, using your small what I assume are magical puffs of smoke to hit targets and items as well as enemies, and there’s even an element of puzzle-solving whether needing to work out how best to navigate a stage, or which type of magic you’ll need to use to knock out specific obstacles that can block your way. Throw in some assorted power-ups you can work with, some periodic boss battles, and quite a lot of mixing of the different elements, and there’s at least some variety.

The problem is in the presentation and the execution. I don’t typically beat up on the art styles that games use but the very Flash game-esque look it uses is easily among my least favorite as I find it makes for a very stiff overall look. My second issue is with the controls, which aren’t quite terrible, but do lack nuance. In particular, when you’re trying to precisely shoot your little clouds at targets in the air it feels more tricky than it should, and I’m not sure if some of it is a function of the art style and the animations or what, but something just feels a little off, which is never good with an arcade-style game. The real kicker for me though is that it shares certain features and concepts with Bubble Bobble and yet a game that was made decades ago simply did most of it better. Again, you can see what the developers are trying to do, it just doesn’t feel like it was fully ready for the masses in the eShop just yet.

The shame is that this feels like a game I should have enjoyed, and really wanted to give a fair shot, but it feels like it stepped on its own feet too much in my play time to get excited about it. If you’re looking for something to play with younger gamers perhaps its cute characters will have some appeal, but I’m not sure it plays as smoothly or easily as would be ideal for them either. That leaves the game in an odd spot, perhaps a little too aggravating for less seasoned gamers, but too benign for more experienced ones.