Honestly speaking, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 doesn’t feel too different from its failed predecessor, except for some tweaks and improvements here and there.
Licensed games have always caused a frenzy due to the presence of famous characters. And when it is a game similar to Super Smash Bros., one of the most popular video games of all time, the enthusiasm around these games reaches new heights. After an unsuccessful effort with Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, GameMill Entertainment published Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 with probable expectations to beat a game that has set the standards at such a high level. In this review, we will provide you with a detailed review of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2.
A missed chance to redeem
Starting the review, In terms of the fundamental aspects, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is essentially the same game as NASB, but with a few bells and whistles. GameMill Entertainment did a terrible job of introducing any variety, which is a missed opportunity to make up for the sins of NASB. Despite the fact that a few additional single-player modes have been added, the game still does not provide enough content to players to allow them to expand their playtime. The game has the same old repetitive gameplay modes, in which you compete against the computer or other people using the same mechanics as before.
The introduction of voices for each of the playable characters is perhaps one of the most noteworthy additions to the game. Finally, we will be able to hear our favorite characters at least deliver a few words with their iconic voices. In addition, the game included eleven brand-new playable characters, bringing the total number of characters up to 25. However, given that many of Nick’s most famous characters are still missing from the cast, the developers should unquestionably add more characters.
There is just so much potential that Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl failed to tap to make its gameplay unique. A unique skill or character upgrade system would most definitely make the game more competitive and enjoyable from a player’s point of view. It’s possible that, just as in the past, this could be yet another factor contributing to players leaving this game early.
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Lacking depth and nostalgia
There aren’t many people who would disagree with me when I say that Nickelodeon always presents itself to the viewers with a unique vibe and a vibrant orange-colored theme. In this respect, the game fails miserably to convey to players the genuine Nickelodeon vibe through the gameplay. The only positive aspect among all of these is the game’s soundtrack. The songs are excellent, and there is a Jukebox option in the game that allows players to listen to them.
In terms of the game’s environment, it is lacking in a great deal of depth in terms of animation and other features. In spite of the game being a licensed one, the user interface is of very poor quality. Among the 25 available stages, players are only familiar with very few of them. Despite SpongeBob and other characters of the series being featured prominently, there is not a single famous place from the SpongeBob series that has been adapted as a playable stage. (It’s more ‘meh’ than ‘MEH-oyoyoy!’)
An underwhelming sequel with new flaws
When compared to other platform fighter games, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 does not bring any new element to the combat. Players will have a straightforward combat system that features standard attacks, jumping, and a knockout mechanism. NASB2 also brings back the previously used percentage meter of the game, where you can make enemies more vulnerable to getting knocked out by your attacks. If someone has any kind of experience with other games of this type, they will find Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 pretty easy to play. There are a variety of skill moves to use for each of the characters. Each of these moves comes with a different combo to hit, which makes learning enjoyable.
In spite of all the drawbacks of the offline game modes, it is guaranteed that the online conflicts are going to be more exciting. The online mode also implements a ranking system, where players can climb through the ranks by fighting against other players in a 1v1 fight. The other online game types, such as 2v2 or a free-for-all fight, also bring a lot of excitement, which helps to make up for the monotonous combat mechanics. The single-player mode of NASB2 has also been improved with the addition of new modes like Boss Rush and Minigames.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 has a new mode called Campaign. However, this mode seems to have a lot of room for improvement. The progression throughout the campaign is really weird, and there is no fixed sequence for fights. Every time you die in this mode, you will be sent back to the very beginning and must go through the same initial stages before returning to the progression stage, which is a bit of a bummer. As you progress through the story to save the world, you will fight other characters of the game who are mind-controlled and obtain them one by one. The game modes featured in the campaign are also repetitive, which makes the campaign mode monotonous to play. You will either pop some balloons, fight an opponent, defeat waves of enemies, or whack some bots. Moreover, there is not much meaningful engagement or cutscenes in the middle of the campaign, except the one shown in the very beginning.
Conclusion
It is clear the developers tried to produce yet another game that is similar to Smash Bros. Even if it was successful in becoming a clone of the immensely popular Smash Bros., Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is still a long way behind the pioneer of this genre. To begin, NASB2 does not provide the same level of gameplay depth as Super Smash Bros. Anyone could keep on playing the single-player modes of Smash Bros without getting even a bit tired because of the variety of options it provides to the players. Despite the fact that Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is on par with Smash in terms of combat, it did not manage to provide players with a more appealing experience.
In a nutshell, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 needed to place a greater emphasis on the gameplay features in order to reach the same heights as Smash Bros. The single-player mode, in particular, needed to have more interesting and engaging variety added to it. Although, any game that tries to enter this genre, just looks like another clone of the massive hit Smash Bros because there is indeed not much to innovate in this genre. There is little question that Super Smash Bros. has evolved into its own genre, and despite their best efforts, its competitors have been unable to match the game’s success.
That’s our Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 review. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is now available on PC. Download the game from here.
Published: Nov 7, 2023 10:00 am