In recent years, both Nickelodeon and Warner Bros have tried to capture the essence of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with their own crossover fighting games. Last year, Nickelodeon released the flawed but fun Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl while Warner Bros. recently launched the free to play version MultiVersus. Both games offer a fair amount of fun, but the choices Player First Games has made for MultiVersus put it miles ahead Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.
Both platform fighters bring together IPs from each studio’s catalogs. MultiVersus pit characters like Arya Stark and Bugs Bunny against the likes of the Iron Giant and Batman, and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl brings together characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and Aang to fight Michelangelo and Hugh Neutron. Both games serve as love letters to the history of the companies, but MultiVersus managed to attract a larger audience and apparently left All Star Brawl in the dust. This is due to many factors, including the choice of the free-to-play model and the inclusion of voice actors at launch, and it’s something that All Star Brawl could have prevented.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was missing features
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl released a year earlier MultiVersus went into open beta and it gave players a Super Smash Bros. game outside the Nintendo Switch. It was published by GameMill Entertainment and brought together many iconic animated characters from throughout Nickelodeon history. It served as the final entry in the recent revival of Nick-based titles that has led to the release of two different Kart racers and a remake of SpongeBob SquarePants battle for bikini bottoms. Fan expectations were high for the game, and it was largely fulfilled.
The game of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was a lot of fun, and it gave players that Super Smash Bros fix that they wanted. However, a lot was missing from the title, which prevented it from being heralded as the next big fighting game. For starters, there was no voice acting at launch, which gave the game a lifeless feel. There were no quips, no hostile voice lines, and every character felt empty. They all looked and played the way the characters would probably feel, but their personalities were limited.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was criticized for lacking content, as it only offered local or online competitive play. This wouldn’t be such a problem if it was free, but the developers asked players to hand over $50. That’s no small amount of money, and players want to receive a decent amount of content before transferring that money. Instead, they were greeted by very few modes and a small selection that fell short of the asking price for some fans.
Since its release, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl has added more characters to its roster, voice acting and items that can be switched on during battle. This has brought the game more in line with Super Smash Bros.but the damage is already done. Players have switched to other platform fighters, or have just returned to ultimate. What could have been the next big fighting sensation has largely died out, ignoring its competition.
MultiVersus has done crossover fighting games right
Expectations were high for MultiVersus, and it has largely delivered what fans of platform fighters want. The game has brought together all sorts of iconic characters from across the Warner Bros. IP range, and each one feels like they belong in the game. It has proved hugely popular with fans of the genre, and Player First Games seems committed to making it the best it can be,
One of the big draws for MultiVersus is that it takes away the high asking price of its competitors and is instead a free-to-play game. It’s much easier to convince someone to pick up a free game than paying over $50, and that has increased the number of players significantly. Instead of, MultiVersus includes microtransactions and a battle pass that are quite in line with other free-to-play multiplayer games, and so far they don’t seem to be predatory.
MultiVersus also launched with voice acting, making it significantly higher than Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. Each character feels like they stepped right off the IP, and some actors even came back to reprise their roles for brand new voice lines. This gives life to the game and increases the fun for many players as they hear characters from different IPs interact for the very first time.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Missed
MultiVersus has been able to attract millions of players, and it is only in season one. The selection and number of cards will only grow. It has been able to outperform its competition due to many factors and has a strong Super Smash Bros. experience outside the Switch. Time will tell if this success will last, but for now it looks like MultiVersus has a pretty bright future ahead of it.
This could have been the fate of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl too, but it melted instead. If it had launched with voice acting and as a free-to-play game, it might have had more staying power. Platform fighter fans might still be talking about it and anticipating the next addition to the roster, but it didn’t. While it was nice to see Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl‘s developers add features that were missing at launch, it happened too late.
If GameMill Entertainment has plans to keep Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl float, then it should follow the example of MultiVersus. The first game promised a lot, but lacked some essential features, and that made it possible MultiVersus to fly past it. The game needs to feel lively from day one and either ditch the $50 asking price, or include more modes to justify that price. Doing those little things can greatly improve the game’s lifespan and give players even more smash clone to go to.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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