KART RACING BLENDS WITH NICKELODEON LIKE OIL MIXES WITH WATER.
Like the design of this game, I will treat the Nickelodeon license as an afterthought in this review.
The kart racing is well done with the general controls being odd but quick to adjust to. The jump button is left bumper while accelerate is the right bumper with the face buttons being used for items and special abilities. It’s definitely an odd choice that I hated at first but since there’s no in game options to change that I had to get used to it. For the most part this is a fairly standard kart racer. Time the acceleration with the lights to get a boost at the starting line. Pick up items to help win the race. Power slide out of corners to get boosts. This is all standard fair, however the driving through slime to power up a special ability is a unique twist.
PLATFORMS: PS4, XB1, SWITCH
MSRP: $39.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $29.99
Throughout courses there is a ton of slime which once enough is collected, allows the player to activate a special ability of their choice via the pit crew options. Not only do each racer and kart parts have stats, there are collectible pit crew characters that allow for a bigger advantage in races: two passive pit crew members whose abilities activate automatically when certain criteria are met during the race and a third which is the special ability which requires slime. Slime can be collected by driving through it (which seems counterintuitive at first) and by doing stunts by timing the jump button while going off ramps and reaching the top of half pipes. I love the pit crew idea a lot and that is new to Racers 2: Grand Prix and is very much necessary to win in the chaotic higher difficulty.
There’s championship races, multiplayer, and a mission mode. Mission mode unlocks new characters (as does completing championship races) and offers something I haven’t seen as a separate mode since Mario Kart DS. It offers something different in a kart racer without requiring it to finish the main portion of the game (which Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed did). The missions also felt different from one another, so I didn’t just have to shoot targets or do stunts; it’s very refreshing.
What’s not so refreshing is the license which feels slapped on. None of the characters talk and the courses, which are very good, don’t feel like I’m in the shows they are referencing for the most part. The pit crew characters also don’t talk and could literally be anything else. The licensing in this game is so pointless that I don’t know why it is here at all. Sure,Spongebob may push a few more copies, but most of the characters are bizarre choices. Rugrats hasn’t been on the air in over two decades. Rocko came back but was for adults. Same with Ren and Stimpy which are soon to return as of writing this. Danny Phantom? DANNY PHANTOM ENDED IN 2007! The audience for this game is people born after 2007. Invader Zim at least is sold in Hot Topic I suppose. It’s not even the current TMNT designs? It’s bizarre. Topped by the appearance of real-life YouTuber JojoSiwa which is fine, but clearly looks odd standing next to Ren &Stimpy.
I don’t see this being a huge sell to kids and clearly this game has kids in mind and it’s disappointing because the game is good. The license is just so squandered. It’s a game that I think is fun and is worth a play, but I cannot recommend paying full price. $30 is the sweet spot because it just lacks the character that other karts racers have. It’s simple to pick up and play so if Mario Kart has run its course (heh) give this one a try with some friends.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
