REVIEW: ‘Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway,’ Is A More Complete Racing Experience (Switch)

Developed by Bamtang Games and published by GameMill Entertainment, Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway is the third iteration of the Nickelodeon Kart Racer series, a racing game series that brings many beloved Nickelodeon characters to the race track. Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 is a racing game in the vein of Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing, pitting popular characters against each other on nostalgic tracks that bring the worlds those characters live in to life.

New to the series in Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 is the inclusion of bikes as well as the titular karts. While that may feel like a small addition, it drastically changes the gameplay style when there are different types of vehicles. Personally, I have always been one to choose bikes over karts in games so it was refreshing to have that opportunity in a Nickelodeon Kart Racer game.

The most important part of the game is the racing, and it mostly delivers. Tracks feel smooth and fluid, and the controls of both karts and bikes are relatively simple to learn. There are some new additions like water and slime tracks that transform the players’ vehicle and change the visual presentation, but the core racing stays the same and feels fun once you get the hang of it. My only real struggle was learning the timing for the drifting mechanic. It felt slightly delayed at first, but after a few races, I finally had a pretty firm grasp on the timing. Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 doesn’t revolutionize the karting game genre, but it didn’t need to in order to still be enjoyable.

Where this game does make some dramatic changes to the genre, however, is with the customization. The sheer amount of customizable parts for each vehicle is incredible, to the point that it honestly felt a little overwhelming at first. Each new part changes the stats for the vehicles, which leads to countless options for vehicle setups. I love being able to experiment to find the build I like best instead of having either just a stock build or only a handful of options that really just lead to one or two meta setups. There are also some great paint job options that make each vehicle look as visually pleasing as they are to drive.

Thanks to the success of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 features 40 famous Nickelodeon characters that are fully voice-acted. Playing as characters like SpongeBob SquarePants, Aang, and Garfield is appealing enough, but knowing that every character has actual voice lines massively adds to the quality of the game. It may seem like a small feature, but in a genre rife with Mario Kart clones it helps Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 stand a bit apart in a way I really appreciated.

Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 does feel so much more complete than the first two iterations of the series, but it still has a little more room to grow. I did experience some choppiness, with the frame rates dropping pretty often when playing in handheld mode. The drifting mechanic also still feels pretty hit or miss even after I learned the timing. None of the issues I had completely ruined my experience, however. Even when I was frustrated at some of those things, the tracks, karts, and characters kept me coming back for more. It’s definitely worth checking out for fans of racing games and Nickelodeon shows and characters.

Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 is out now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and PC.