Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a fighting game with platform elements that delivers a simple but fun experience, drawing from Nickelodeon's rich character list, and gives the fans an engaging but accessible fighting system. Its performance needs improvement, though, as fluidity problems become too common, and there could have been a greater effort to go into Nickelodeon's catalogue, especially when it comes to the audio environment. A package of fun action that's mostly directed at Nickelodeon animation fans.

A lot of the game feels like a rough draft, but it's simplistic enough for families to jump into for a quick match and have a lot of fun. Just don't expect to spend a ton of time with it. [Issue #56 – November/December 2021, p. 70]

The long and short of it is that if you’re a fan of Nickelodeon and Smash, this is absolutely worth it, but it might take some time to flesh out the sturdy fighting skeleton with some Mr Meaty.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is the best Super Smash Bros game I’ve played not featuring Mario. The fighting system underpinning it is a lot of fun, introducing enough new elements to stand on its own amongst its peers and having enough depth to foster competitive play going forward. It’s a shame that the list of features and content is so threadbare and that some further love hasn’t been shown for the rich source material, but hopefully, the developers can support the game and expand on this in either updates or a sequel. For the time being, this is a solid alternative to Smash Bros if you’re after something a little different, or just want to reset the playing field for that one friend who has just become too good at Ultimate.

Ultimately, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a solid competitive platform fighter, but it's lacking in several key elements. If you've got a group of buddies that enjoy competitive Smash and have a lot of love for Nickelodeon's catalog of cartoon characters, you'll find All-Star Brawl quite satisfying. But if you're looking for substantial single-player experiences or a fun mess-around party fighter you can play casually with friends and family, you're going to run back to the warm embrace of Nintendo's juggernaut very quickly.

A person could buy Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for just a little more money, and unless they’re a Nick fan, they probably should. But if you already have Smash and are looking for something else along those lines, this is a good pick-up.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is obviously in no position to take the platform fighter throne right now, but I think the teams at Ludosity and Fair Play Labs have created a very good blueprint for what could be a very great franchise. If Super Smash Bros. is a celebration of all things Nintendo, I don’t see why an All-Star Brawl 2 couldn’t be a celebration of all things Nickelodeon. I think it’s possible with the right amount of time and money, and I hope this game is successful enough to convince GameMill to invest in a sequel that could be truly spectacular.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is riddled with flaws. Not very pretty, not always very precise, a little sparse in content, the dubbing of the original cartoons are absent ... However, the fighting game of Fair Play Labs exudes passion. We don't recommend it to everyone, as NASB is targeting a very specific niche. By mimicking the physics of Super Smash Bros. Melee and implementing one of its advanced techniques, this atypical brawler manages to seduce those nostalgic for the early 2000s. Those will see it as a good way to immerse themselves in the licenses of their childhood while by rediscovering familiar sensations and a solid competitive environment. Hopefully the studio's follow-up will be good, as Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is holding something.

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 often feels hollow and commercial; however, at its core, it remains fun and engaging enough to warrant its $40 price tag.

The new Nickelodeon's fighting game feels great in terms of gameplay, but it fails in everything else. The characters' voices are lacking, the presentation is generic, the songs are not the licensed ones and a DLC was already announced even before the game came out.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is an ambitious game that tries to pit 20 classic Nick characters against each other in a platform brawler highly reminiscent of Super Smash Bros. However, due to technical issues and a lack of immersive details like voice acting, it doesn't stand up to the competition. This game will excite people who love Nickelodeon and platform brawlers but will be a hard sell to anyone else.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a passable Smash Bros. clone. While it lacks the depth and polish of a game like Smash Bros, it’s not without its charm. Being able to brawl it out with beloved Nickelodeon characters such as Ren & Stimpy, TMNT’s Michelangelo, and Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants is a lot of fun at first. Unfortunately, the lack of depth really starts to take notice when you realize the 20 playable characters is all that’s included – no unlockable characters or stages. Completing the Arcade mode provides no unique character endings; however, you do get some unlockable images and music to view in the Extras menu. Beyond that, your only drive is to try and complete the game with each character on more challenging difficulties.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a must-play for the hardcore, but doesn't look after casual audiences.