Where do we begin with Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2? Most sequels tend to be pretty lame, except for Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil 2, ET 2… the list goes on. Luckily for Fair Play Labs and GameMill Entertainment, their foray back into the beat ’em up market is better than the first outing.
It has Rocko in it. Rocko’s Modern Life is my favourite cartoon, and the ommitance in the last game was disappointing. Now he features in the line-up – even if you youngsters have no idea who he is. Alas, he’s not the best character to play with. I’m still working on that.
Beat ’em ups aren’t known for their outstanding narratives, and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 follows that same route. Some Mortal Kombat XI-type shows up called Clockwork, a time manipulator, and informs our heroes that Vlad Plasmius is on the scene, and they have to defeat him.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 Review [PS5]
The time concept kicks in during the campaign mode as each time you die, Clockwork rewinds time, and you start again. However… the campaign here is a rogue-like, and restarting means starting a new run and getting to keep currency but not the blimps used during a run to invest in power-ups.
Slime features in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 allow you to modify attacks in-game, though, during the campaign, it is used to unlock perks, such as increasing your stock (lives), getting an additional jump, or improving your attacks. Extra perk slots are on offer, plus cosmetics from Gary the snail. Meow.
Initially, I liked the rogue-like option but gave up after a handful of attempts. That attitude flipped after a marathon run on the arcade mode – approximately 12 stages of VS battles and a couple of dreadful mini-games. The latter are very poor – at the start of every robot mini-game, I’d immediately jump off the ledge to end it.
Simple In Execution, In-Depth Mastery
So, let’s get to gameplay, and if you’re unfamiliar with the type of play, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is a Super Smash Bros. clone. For the record, I love beat ’em ups, but loathe these party games. Why cover it, then? I like to keep an open mind, and again, with Rocko on the roster, I thought I’d give it another shot.
Redacting the earlier paragraph about the rogue-like for the moment, it was the versus mode I got into first and hated it. My six-year-old thrashed me. It wasn’t the button-mashing mechanics but the infuriating ‘ring outs’ – either being knocked off or inadvertently jumping at the wrong moment. I still don’t like this style of play, though am getting used to it.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 genuinely gets better the more you play. Jumping into the Dojo mode, it’s shocking to see how many movesets exist for each character, making them all unique in execution. Moves are easy to perform, but finding out what works best is essential. I see the appeal from a competitive aspect. All beat ’em ups are competitive, but Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 ups the ante as it has a UFC sudden-death quality.
You Eediot!
Presentation-wise, it’s bright and colourful, as are the sound effects and voices, but some are off, such as Ren from Ren & Stimpy (now you’ll tell me it was John Kricfalusi or even Billy West doing the voice…). The music was better than the previous game but forgettable, and the jingles can be irritating if you binge on the arcade mode as I did.
Outside of the longevity of learning the moves and finding your favourite characters, there are a fair amount of modes like online and local play. With the latter, you aren’t penalised with a lack of trophies if you prefer couch play – essential if you’re like me and don’t enjoy playing online. There’s a Boss Rush mode, mini-games (terrible), Dojo for practice, and extras where you can obtain artwork and customise your online avatar.
Most people will compare this to Super Smash Bros. I much prefer this. It could be the nostalgia for great cartoons, but deep down, this is a brilliant multiplayer. Is Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 worth it? Aside from a few screen freezes, it ran well on the PS5, and it’s one of the best party beat ’em ups I’ve played, so yes – a definite recommendation. It’s better than the first and massively replayable.
