Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Reviews
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is, well, fine. It will provide a good few hours of harmless fun and raise more than a few smiles in the nostalgia sector of the cortex as Reptar beats on April O'Neil. Underneath that initial sheen however is nothing of real interest. Thankfully, support seems to be very much active and maybe the initial issues will be focused on to provide a more well-rounded, in-depth experience. For now, though, the shadow of its inspiration looms heavy and ensures that this will not be challenging for any place in the top tier of party'esque fighters for some time.
Probably the biggest and easiest missed opportunity to get players on board with some of the characters they know nothing about would have been to include a cartoon episode for each character. Instead there is nothing but still images. For $49.99 USD, this is a rip-off and is a wasteland of content. Maybe Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl will get better with updates, but it would take a miracle to salvage this pile of slime.
All-Star Brawl deserves a Kid's Choice Award for Most Kneecapped Game of 2021: a nuanced platform fighting foundation so damaged by slimy timeline & pricing expectations.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl often feels hollow and commercial; however, at its core, it remains fun and engaging enough to warrant its $40 price tag.
If Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl came out twenty years ago it would have been a smashing success, ignoring that many of the characters within didn't exist back then.
More than a nostalgic joke, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl delivers a genuinely fantastic cartoon fighting game just slightly marred by unpolished presentation.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a must-play for the hardcore, but doesn't look after casual audiences.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a solid platform fighter with an awful lot of hidden depth, and also an unfortunate lack of polish outside the fighting. If hardcore gameplay is the number one concern you'll have a wealth to sink your teeth into here, but expect to be underwhelmed by various elements that surround it. There's a grand old time to be had, but it's no Super Smash Bros. (damn it yet again).
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl contains the beginnings of what may end up being the most unlikely competitive fighting franchise ever conceived. It knows its audience and it has been able to appease them, garnering a lot of excitement along the way. However, where Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl missteps is in the handling of its properties. It's easy to get excited about the thought of Reptar dash-dancing across Jellyfish Fields, but it's tough to buy into the idea when there's a rogue ukulele serenading the mute dinosaur while it happens.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is full of quirky references, easter eggs and cameos of many popular Nicktoons franchises. But once you manage to see past that, it's easy to notice what a shallow and empty game this is. Sure, it can be fun at times, but the magic dies down quite easily.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Brawl it out as your favorite Nickelodeon characters in bombastic platform battles! With a power-packed cast of heroes from the Nickelodeon Channel.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a great Smash clone that painfully underutilizes its Nickelodeon license, to its own detriment. Lacking some of Nick's biggest characters, franchises, and environments, absolutely no voice lines whatsoever, and all wrapped up in a rather unimpressive package, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a good concept, and one of the best Smash-alikes to come along in the last 20 years. But it really needs a stronger presentation and more thorough use of its namesake license to earn a better foothold as a mainstay character brawler.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a great idea with some powerful nostalgia and a winning formula behind it, but the execution is lacking. With lackluster aesthetics, spotty online issues, and a host of other issues, it's not a great experience for those accustomed to highly polished alternatives, namely, Super Smash Bros. I believe it will find its audience, but it doesn't straddle the line between casual and competitive as effectively as the original Nick cartoons seamlessly wove adult jokes into children's shows. Ultimately, the idea may be more exciting than playing the actual game.
Hopefully, characters can be voiced soon, because currently, without voices or soundtracks containing memorable tunes from shows, “Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl” feels lifeless, with the characters and stages appearing as copies that don’t quite nail the memories we cherish from the cartoons. Sure, the gameplay is tight and fun, but without the iconic phrases, noises and soundtracks, these fighters might as well be anyone.
Unfortunately, these issues make the product feel cheap, which does the quality of the actual fighting a tremendous disservice. Again, it’s the best Smash clone we’ve ever played – we just wish Nickelodeon had shown some confidence in it.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl tries to be a challenger for Super Smash Bros. and aims for the weak spot of his opponent, showing off a stable and solid netcode. A good multiplayer and tight controls, though, are not enough to reach the stars. The roster is good and varied, but a little scarce right now (maybe DLCs will fill the gap) and characters lack characterization (no pun intended): a pity, because Nickelodeon's original voices and music would have added a lot of value to the game.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Nickelodeon All-Stars is an obvious yet forgivable clone the manages to squeeze tiny sprinkles of originality in to its mix. However, the chasm left by what is missing from the game at the moment is almost irredeemable. Whilst the actual fighting mechanics of the core gameplay are well worked for competitive play, the lack of voice acting, game modes and general party utility leaves much to be desired. The general zaniness of Nickelodeon carries reasonably in the game, but certainly not enough to warrant purchase by casual players who are fans of the franchise.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl offers surprisingly competent Smash-like brawler gameplay, but is severely lacking in the bells-and-whistles department. Brawling fans will likely have a great time with this one, but those looking to ease into the genre should look elsewhere.