Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity) Video Game Review
INCLUSIVE TALLY (Overall): 5.9/10
"A bare-bones clone that is not quite right, but boisterous and viable nonetheless"
Bang for your Bounty (Value): 4/10
Unpolished. The game released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch with a $49.99 price tag, savvy PC users and PS+ members we are able to shave anywhere from $10-17 dollars off that price but in my opinion all of these price tags feel out of line when the game felt to tattered and like it cut too many corners. My recommendation is to wait for a price drop and hopefully snag it with some updated material and adds later down the road.
Ocular Pleasure (Graphics): 5.5/10
Meh-Ordinary. Not much to say here. Lacking details but I guess the game hits the mark for the intent. It didn't under deliver or over deliver. The stages provided enough positivity in the form of easter eggs to allow the score to land right in the middle.
Butter or Stutter (Gameplay/Mechanics): 7/10
Depends on your background. I can appreciate trying to be different, but in short I am not a fan. I have my issues, they are big issues, but not sure I would have these issues if I had not played every generation of SBB. Ludosity seemed to intentionally try to differentiate the NASB mechanics from SBB. All in all the mechanics are viable and it makes for a fast paced game comparable to speed from Melee. It offers a wide variety of character builds that work but I find myself aggravated by the awkwardness of block/dodge mechanics and cringing every time I go to roll or spot dodge. After putting in a significant amount of hours and getting the platinum trophy then sleeping on it... I still find myself annoyed with the controls and wishing it was more similar.
Appraisal of Recapitulation (Replay Value): 8.9/10
Absurd merriment. What can I say, the game is fun and sometimes that's all we need right? I leave this category as the highest score in hopes of future considerations. It's a nostalgic SBB platform fighter. You can get hours of enjoyment with your friends with a wide open door for DLC characters and Nickelodeon gems that didn't make it on launch day.
Affair of Adversary (Competition Feasibility) : 6.5/10
Uniquely Balanced. Smash mechanics aside, the intentional mechanics (in their own way) feel balanced and capable of competition. While I don't think we will be seeing an "EVO" tourney with this game anytime soon, I could see this happening on a local to "cult-following" level. Playing online regularly, I frequently ran into several very good players and took my ass whoopins on the chin. Shout out to the players who allowed me several rematches to get my revenge.
Unique Entities (Characters): 7.2/10
The right mix of Oddball and Obvious. A hearty mix of "must haves", odd ducks, "oh yeah..." and who the hell is that (I'm too old for the "Louds"). The mix of generational characters and the coverage of unique platform fighter builds leaves the game feeling largely balanced and great. There are some obvious ones that feel like a miss not making it day one but hey that's what DLC is for. A few of my oddball favorites I would like to personally see:
- Uncle Iroh (Avatar/Korra)
- Zuko or Azula (Avatar)
- Naga (Korra)
- Master Splinter (TMNT)
- The Crimson Chin (Fairly Oddparents)
- Jorgen Von Strangle (Fairly Oddparents)
- Porkchop (Doug)
- Roger Klotz (Doug)
- Barry Bear (Angry Beavers)
- Lars Rodriguez (Rocket Power)
Not sure if Nick Jr is in the mix but I think it would be very comical for someone to catch these hands with Blue (Blues Clues), Dora the Explorer or Franklin the Tortoise.
Triumphs/Keepsakes (Achievements/Trophies):
3/10 difficulty. Personally got it done in 8 hours. With favorable online matchmaking 5-10 hour range dependent on skill level. Overall, Piece of cake - tops out at beating a team of 3 CPU lvl 9 players and the rest is just grinding out matches or arcade mode.
Undefined duty (Other Criticisms or Praise):
Let me first brace you because this is going to sound like a laundry list, but I must get it off my chest. It plays into my overall score on the game. Budget may have inhibited lots of possibilities, or at least I like to think so.
No Voice Acting. Come on man (Charles Barkley voice)!! In my head, throwing in some voice clips is an easy low budget no-brainer. There has to be clips of a Spongebob laugh plastered all over the internet, hell all of these characters.... Not sure why this didn't happen or if I am missing some obvious licensing agreement. No voice clips makes the game feel just that much flatter. Fingers crossed for future updates.
No costumes or colorations?? EVEN WHEN YOU PICK THE SAME CHARACTER?!?! In SBB, they had the iconic "Crown Jigglypuff", "Dark Link", "Pink Suit Lil Mac" "Black Charizard" - the list goes on and on. This is an essential part of expressing ourselves and taste while playing these games and a clear missed opportunity. Son, am disappoint.
Items?! I fancy myself more of a competitive no items player but who doesn't want to Nickelodeon slime someone? How about a Jimmy Neutron laser blast?? Slice and Dice with Raff's twin sai or how about a palette full of pizza?? How about an assist trophy??! Picture a giant sky bison crashing the party or maybe a fairy crazed Mr. Crocker popping up all over and yelling "FAIRIES!!" If I can come up with these ideas off the very top of my head just sitting here mashing the keyboard, I am sure the creative minds dedicated to this game can hit us with some mind blowing surprises.
Zero, zilch, nada!! No meaningful unlocks, items, or characters through progression. I mean truly, what gets you on the edge of your seat more than "A NEW FOE HAS APPEARED" and trying to guess who it is if you dodged spoilers. Can't say enough how that would've increased the score.
Matchmaking. Maybe it's the fact that nobody can still buy a PS5, but my research tells me otherwise. Either way, I found stretches where I couldn't find an online match at all regardless of server jumping or favorable PING. Constant issues with connectivity in matches and connection bar not being representative to the actual conditions. Without a doubt this needs to be addressed for a game that is marginally majority multi-player driven.
We will leave on a positive note with high hopes for the future. The most important component is there. The base mechanics allow for a fast paced competitive game. Let us all hope the polishing throughout the life of the game speaks to our gripes and leaves us with a generational fun platform brawler. We could use some variety and we hope other franchises follow suit.
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