Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 Review (Switch)

Simply two years after the discharge of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, the Nicktoons have been thrust collectively as soon as once more within the title of licensed platform preventing, of all issues, in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2. The unique was a strong outing with deep mechanics, however was held again by a scarcity of polish exterior of gameplay, and though historical past isn’t precisely repeating itself with the sequel, it actually rhymes.

Anybody acquainted with the primary recreation will instantly discover one thing totally different in regards to the fighters, all of them really feel rather a lot heavier. Moderately than zipping round at lightning velocity, every character has been slowed down significantly, giving extra weight to every motion, but in addition a weird floatiness within the air with critical momentum on the bottom.

It might be unfair to name the controls ‘slippery’, however the ultra-tight really feel has positively been misplaced considerably. As we stated, this does imply that assaults have notably extra weight and influence to them, so there’s one thing of a trade-off at play. Characters do have extra talents, although, now capable of dodge left, proper, or on the spot out of a defend, and a brand new final assault that fills the display screen and offers large injury and knockback to any foe caught inside its blast.

If all that sounds a little acquainted, then you definately’ve in all probability performed a recreation within the Super Smash Bros. collection. The unique Nickelodeon Brawl wasn’t shy about its inspirations, nevertheless it nonetheless managed to have its personal id and distinctions from Nintendo’s colossal crossover fighter. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, alternatively, says ‘To hell with it’ and decides to imitate as a lot as it may possibly.

That’s to not say there aren’t issues that make it stand out; the brand new Slime Meter can provide you extra highly effective assaults, prevent from being unceremoniously yeeted from the battlefield, and enact that final assault we talked about that we promise doesn’t Smash and completely isn’t Last. It’s a neat addition that may increase the talent ceiling, however the fighters’ movesets have been altered in order to convey that talent cap down a bit.

Most of the madcap strikes that the likes of Nigel Thornberry and Ren and Stimpy employed have been changed by a extra commonplace fare of clobbering methods. This undeniably makes the sport extra easy and fewer complicated when selecting up a brand new character for the primary time, nevertheless it’s misplaced a few of its originality and edge within the course of. It’s nonetheless enjoyable and responsive and little question makes balancing simpler, however a few of the chaotic magic is gone.

The place Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 does enhance issues is in its single-player providing. The brand new marketing campaign mode has you trekking by way of a roguelite-esque collection of ranges with a view to cease the evil Vlad Plasmius from controlling the minds of everybody within the universe, or one thing. The plot’s pretty skinny, however there are some frankly pleasant character interactions that may happen consequently. We notably liked an trade between the now (sadly) NPC Powdered Toast Man and a besotted Ren and Stimpy. There are at the very least a number of long-time Nickelodeon followers on the writing crew, and it reveals.

The gameplay of this new mode is a barely much less thrilling affair. It’s not dangerous by any means, nevertheless it wears skinny disappointingly rapidly after the sixth bout of preventing minor bot characters as they spawn repeatedly and generally do not even throw themselves to their very own doom. Boss fights are a nice change of tempo, however there aren’t as a lot of them as we’d like, so that you’ll be preventing the Flying Dutchman an terrible lot.

However there’s an unlimited elephant within the room separate from the one utilized in Nigel Thornberry’s final. The sport runs at 30fps on Swap. For a platform fighter, that is bordering on a demise knell. However the visuals have had a giant step at the very least, haven’t they? No, they haven’t.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 seems tough and runs rougher. The static digicam and restricted fashions on display screen ought to make optimisation a breeze in comparison with one thing like an open-world RPG, however that apparently wasn’t sufficient. Docked, the sport is fuzzy at greatest, with no shadows and primary lighting. Characters look flat and missing intimately, and when taking part in handheld you possibly can expertise all the above, however at an excellent decrease decision. Loading screens for a single battle can absorb extra of 30 seconds, and body drops on sure phases are frequent and anticipated, even with solely two fighters at a time.

The menu music doesn’t at all times loop correctly, there’s no method to choose customized controller bindings in sure modes, and as for the final word strikes, they’re enjoyable in principle, however appear to be lacking sure sounds, lessening their influence significantly. The initiator’s one-liners typically get minimize off early, and NPC fighters from the marketing campaign have zero animation when caught within the blast, making them slide round like confused chess items.

These points reek of a recreation that’s nonetheless in improvement, quite than a completed product. It’s a crying disgrace, as similar to with its predecessor, there’s a extremely strong recreation underneath right here, presumably much more matured (if rather less distinct), nevertheless it’s buried underneath a lot chaff that it spoils every part and frustrates greater than it entertains.

Conclusion

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 has the potential to be a powerful platform fighter, however on Swap it’s wrapped up in a frankly unimaginable quantity of poor efficiency and presentation. Fighters really feel weightier, and the brand new marketing campaign provides context and appeal to the bundle, nevertheless it’ll take a miracle patch to reserve it from being a uneven, blurry, flat-looking barrel of disappointment on Nintendo’s console.