Fighting games come in all shapes and sizes. Among the more energetic examples is the arcade brawler free-for-all, popularized by the Super Smash Bros. series. As such, plenty of games have chased the Smash train. Sony even tried it with PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale a few years back.
Now, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl throws its hat in the ring. Its mission is simple: bring several Nicktoons from past and present together for one royal rumble. It's easy to see the potential in that premise, and the result lays a fairly solid foundation for a series. Sadly, this initial outing inevitably comes with a few kinks in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.
10 Loved: Unexpected Characters
To reach the younger demographic, the developers could have filled this game entirely with current Nickelodeon characters. Essentially, SpongeBob SquarePants and The Loud House could have dominated the character roster.
What a pleasant surprise that the game includes faces from throughout Nick's history. Players can expect to see fighters from The Wild Thornberrys, CatDog, Danny Phantom, the Avatar shows, and even Ren & Stimpy. Not only does this avoid recency bias, but it also means nostalgic parents might want to play the game with their kids.
9 Didn't Love: Glaring Omissions
This game wants to cover as many bases in Nickelodeon's history as possible. Why else would it throw in obscure characters like Oblina from Aaahh!!! Real Monsters? The downside to this is that it leaves prominent Nicktoons by the wayside. Fans are already pointing out the conspicuous absence of Jimmy Neutron and The Fairly OddParents.
On top of these, why not throw in some live-action Nick characters? Shows like All That, iCarly, and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guideare just a big part of the network's legacy as its animated works. They should logically get some representation in this celebratory title.
8 Loved: Fast, Smooth Performance
There's never a dull moment here. The way this brawler is designed, combat unfolds quickly and efficiently. Characters can close the distance between each other at an alarming rate, and their rapid-fire combos are sometimes hard to keep up with.
Online gameplay would ordinarily threaten to sabotage this speed, but that's not the case. Matches keep up their breakneck pace throughout, with screen-tearing or lagging being rare. Anyone with a halfway decent internet will need their reflexes in top form, as the competition won't be compromised by connectivity. That's a good thing, too, since the game mainly aims for a multiplayer market.
7 Didn't Love: Dumb AI
Nothing kills the immersion or flow of combat like a braindead opponent. Unfortunately, that's what happens in All-Star Brawl when the AI gives out. Enemies will suddenly stand still or recycle movements that players can easily exploit. Most egregious is when they can't get around environmental hazards, resulting in funny deaths and easy victories.
It doesn't happen often, but it does plague players enough to notice. One minute they'll be watching their favorite Nicktoons smack the Nickelodeon slime out of each other. The next, they'll marvel at the algorithm failing to compute a simple jump.
6 Loved: Arenas
Arguably more impressive than the character roster is the plethora of playgrounds they find themselves in. Rather than a static background, these arenas are as lively as the combat. Players must beware of stage hazards almost as much as their enemies.
On top of that, many of these backgrounds are beautifully recreated from the shows. Nods and in-jokes lurk around seemingly every corner. The detail on display is astounding, further cementing this game as a love letter to longtime Nick fans.
5 Didn't Love: The Characters Are Only Surface Level
Despite having an admirable character roster, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawlundermines this with a lack of voice acting. Much of what made these characters so endearing was their voices. Nigel Thornberry was nothing with Tim Curry, and Tom Kenny definitely wouldn't have turned down voicing SpongeBob here after more than two decades on the show. This makes the fighters feel somewhat impersonal.
This feeling is amplified by the absence of alternate costumes, which is perplexing when they have plenty to choose from. Take the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The game has its look from the '80s, but not from the edgier 2003 show or the stylized 2012 series. Even characters with seemingly only one look can benefit from a little research. With Reptar, his alternate skin could be Robo-Reptar from Rugrats in Paris. All of this would provide some much-needed incentive for devoted fans to stick around.
4 Loved: Varied Fighter Types
Fighting games sometimes have all of their characters function the same. While this helps with accessibility and balance, it doesn't do much to differentiate combatants who should feel unique. Otherwise, what's the point of including different characters?
Thankfully, the fighters here all handle distinctively. Some are faster; others are slower and hit harder. With their varying stats and move sets, players will definitely find a few favorites that they fall back on. The Nicktoons catalog is diverse in both appearance and abilities. They should naturally feel just as diverse to handle.
3 Didn't Love: Shortage Of Single-Player Content
Most fighting game fans spend their time online. They test their well-honed skillsets against their friends in intense ranked matches, but some simply want to practice on their own or enjoy the game without the competitive multiplayer. That's why devoted developers like NetherRealmhave put surprising effort into their extensive story modes. In their Mortal Kombat and Injustice titles, this feature helped players get to know the characters they control and forced them to find the ones that worked for their style.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl has no such mode, making for a shallow experience overall. It's more confusing given that previous Nicktoon crossover games have had story modes. True, they were nothing groundbreaking, but they led to several fun moments between these animated icons. Why couldn't this most recent entry continue that tradition?
2 Loved: Animations
Translating 2D characters into a 3D format could have been disastrous. Many of these guys have already fallen victim to this in prior licensed titles. They tend to look stiff, and their simplistic designs are frankly unsettling when rendered in 3D. Thankfully, they're not horrific here.
Perhaps part of it comes down to them fighting on a 2D plane, but this squash-and-stretch style helps them retain the fluidity and energy they had in their respective shows. They showcase this during their attacks and other movements. However, nowhere is it more impressive than in their taunts and victory/defeat animations. Not only do these come directly from fan-favorite TV moments, but they demonstrate that this new medium hasn't hindered these characters' expressiveness in the least.
1 Didn't Love: Lack Of Customization
This red flag goes up every time you select a fighter. Players can't have a mainstay loadout; they have to repeatedly edit a character's move set before each match. Suffice it to say, this gets old fast.
Also lacking in this area are the match setup options, or lack thereof. Super Smash Bros. provides a ton of modifiers and conditions before each battle. This ensures fans can compete in whatever type of game they see fit, personalizing it to their heart's content. The settings in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl are extremely limited by comparison. The inability to craft specialized battles makes the gameplay monotonous after a while. Sure, there's the soccer mode, but that's a small consolation.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was released on October 5, 2021, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.