Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 Preview – Loaded With Potential

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was launched in 2021 and offered a competent but underwhelming alternative to platform fighters such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The premise of taking heavy inspiration from the Smash Bros.’s gameplay but replacing the gaming icons with some of the most popular Nickelodeon characters from across generations is enticing, but the launch product didn’t quite live up to the lofty expectations established by Nintendo’s genre leader. Although post-launch DLC and updates brought the game closer to the expectations of fans, there was still a huge gap. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 uses all of the knowledge that Ludosity, Fair Play Labs and other developers gained from creating the first game to make the Nickelodeon-crossover fighters fans crave.

This rebuilding began with the character. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 includes characters who have either been rebuilt or totally remodeled from the original title. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 features 11 additional characters in addition to the 14 characters that return, such as The Angry Beavers and Donatello. Other characters include Plankton Squidward Jimmy Neutron, Raphael Plankton Plankton. All characters on the roster feature far more variance than how they played in the first title, helping All-Star Brawl 2 veer closer to the game that clearly inspired it.

Characters have more differences, such as Raphael being faster or Jimmy Neutron calling his robot dog Goddard, and switching between the two. Zim is able to summon Gir who will mimic Zim’s attacks. The Angry Beavers is the best addition to this game. They are packaged as a single fighter but play far more complicatedly. The tag-based system is similar to Marvel vs. Capcom where the player can ask for help from another character. It doesn’t end there. The Angry Beavers have their own unique moves, and you can swap freely between them to try out each one. I felt I had a pretty good idea of the different strategies that can be used, but this was just a small part.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is designed for players who want a competitive experience, but also one that’s accessible. Simplified wave-dashing, auto L-canceling, a change to analog movement, and an in-depth training mode complete with hit/hurtboxes and trajectory data tools will appeal to the hardcore players, but there’s plenty for the more surface-level player as well. Ludosity, Fair Play Labs and other developers wanted to allow players to freely express themselves without being overwhelmed by technical or difficult controls.

This is done by a new system of meters that heavily borrows from Guilty Gear. Slime Meter is built one segment at time with a limit of three. You can use one bar to modify any special attack with more gusto, or you can Slime Cancel it. Both of these are simple strategies that will prove useful during competitive play. You can do a Slime Burst for two bars. This is the equivalent of Combo Breaker. Three bars are required to perform a Super that is specific to the character. This includes a short cinematic. Although they are very powerful, their power is balanced to allow for competitive play. If their damage is enough, they will K.O. 

The signature multiplayer game can now be played by up to 4 players. However, the single player content has been expanded. You can go through different node-based missions starring marquee and Minion characters in roguelite. As you make your way through, you unlock power-ups and other bonuses, some of which carry over into subsequent runs. The creativity in play was amazing, which gives me hope for Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 to be even more fun. Players can also play the standard Arcade Mode, minigames or the Boss Rush mode. This is a challenging game that has players fighting through every over the top boss from the campaign.

All-Star Brawl 2 now has all the characters voiced. This is on top of the other updates made to Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl since its launch. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is a game I thoroughly enjoyed. Campaign adds a few neat features that I would like to revisit again and again.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 has a much stronger position than its predecessor for carving its own niche in this genre. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is set to arrive November 7 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.