Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    EA Sports Madden NFL 26 Head Coach But Why Tho 5

    Dear EA Sports, Why Can’t I Make A Hot Coach?

    08/14/2025
    Blade in Marvel Rivals Season 3.5

    Blade Can Shut Down The Other Team In Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 If You Know How

    08/08/2025
    John Cena and Cody Rhodes during Summerslam 2025

    The SummerSlam 2025 Main Event Was A Fever Dream We All Needed

    08/08/2025
    Street Fighter 6 Sagat

    Sagat Brings Depth And Approachability To ‘Street Fighter 6’

    08/07/2025
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » PC » REVIEW: ‘Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2’ Is More Brain Than Brawn (PC)

REVIEW: ‘Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2’ Is More Brain Than Brawn (PC)

Jason FlattBy Jason Flatt11/07/20234 Mins ReadUpdated:03/16/2024
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 - But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

The best way to summarize Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, developed by Fair Play Labs and Ludiosity and published by GameMill, is that everything it does is cool but most of it is too much. It’s cool how many characters there are, but they have too many moves. It’s cool that this game has a full campaign mode, but it’s too hard. It approaches full satisfaction at every turn, but rarely reaches it completely.

A dozen or so TV shows from across Nickelodeon’s decorated history are represented in its sizable roster. From SpongeBob to Avatar, Ninja Turtles to Garfield fans of all kinds of shows from all eras of the network will find a home among the brawlers. And no two characters share quite the same moveset. Nigel Thornberry has crocodiles and fish at his disposal whereas Eugene has skateboards and basketballs to wallop opponents with.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

But something is quite uncanny about the game’s presentation. Whether the characters are too small, the models’ movements are too narrow, or the perspective of the stage is zoomed out too far or lacks enough depth, the effects of the attacks are generally indistinguishable from one another. A move list can quickly describe what each character’s moves are and how to execute them, but playing through trial and error, as most people will, leaves a lot of room for forgetting how to pull off which moves.

This is not at all helped but just how many each player has. Unlike the most popular entries in the brawler genre, you have three attack buttons instead of just two. One does basic attacks, one does charged attacks, and one does special attacks, generally. Some of the moves mapped to different combinations of buttons, directions, and air versus ground feel fairly similar to one another at times, or easy to mix up with one another when you’re used to a two-button configuration. Since not every combination of direction and station has its own move, it’s a bit of a wonder why all three buttons are necessary. Despite its initial learning curve, the moves are overall diverse and nostalgic with the many ways they remind you of the characters and their adventures.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 - But Why Tho

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is the perfect kind of game to include a single-player campaign to traverse when not playing the standard brawling mode. It’s equipped with a mostly fully-voice acted story beginning with SpongeBob and Patrick and incorporating elements from the lore of other characters’ shows. You play through alternating rounds of 1v1 matches to free characters from evil kind control, 1 versus many matches to defeat a horde of weaker, generic enemies, and zones where you can pick up bonuses to increase stats or buffs. At the end of a run are creative, bigger bosses from across the shows. You can also take them in in a boss rush mode.

Which you might have to if you ever want to face them all, because the game is quite hard. Even if the lowest difficulty, the biggest crux of the campaign mode is that you only get one life and carry your damage over every round unless you happen upon one of a few slim chances to remove some of it. Even so, the controls feel heavy. You’ll miss a lot of your swings and get hit while recovering because they feel imprecise. This is especially true of the fault dodge roll and your ultimate move, which requires you to firmly hold the left trigger before you can press the second activation button. Pressing them at the same time regularly misfires. KOs also occur rather quickly when you are launched out of the play area. There’s little wiggle room for recovery, which lends itself to more frequent and rapid deaths.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 isn’t shabby, but it isn’t shining either. A great variety of characters, albeit missing many fan favorites from the previous installment, make for an eclectic roster and varied movesets. But much of the charm is diminished by the presentation and difficulty of the game. Expect to be stuck in the loop of the campaign mode for a long time, even on the lowest difficulty, until you’ve really mastered one character.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is available now on Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
  • 6.5/10
    Rating - 6.5/10
6.5/10

TL;DR

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 isn’t shabby, but it isn’t shining either.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Blue Beetle’ Issue #3
Next Article DLC REVIEW: Warbirds Take Flight In ‘Age of Wonders 4: Empires & Ashes’
Jason Flatt
  • X (Twitter)

Jason is the Sr. Editor at But Why Tho? and producer of the But Why Tho? Podcast. He's usually writing about foreign films, Jewish media, and summer camp.

Related Posts

Sword of the Sea promotional key art from giant Squid
10.0

REVIEW: ‘Sword Of The Sea’ Offers Hopeful Environmentalism

08/18/2025
Archon of Prophecy Content Pack key art
8.0

DLC REVIEW: ‘Archon Prophecy’ Takes Age Of Wonders 4 Celestial

08/13/2025
TIny Bookshop promotional image
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Tiny Bookshop’ Holds Space For The Written Word

08/08/2025
No Sleep For Kaname Date - promotional still from Spike Chunsoft
8.0

REVIEW: ‘No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files’ Is Simply A Great Entry

08/05/2025
Demon Slayer - The HinoKami Chronicles 2 promotional image from SEGA
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2’ Is A Solid Sequel For Fans

08/05/2025
Key art for Ninja Gaiden Ragebound
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound’ Is Excellent Nostalgic Chaos

07/30/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Still from Shin Godzilla
8.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘Shin Godzilla’ Is More Relevant Than Ever

By Sarah Musnicky08/16/2025Updated:08/17/2025

It is understandable how Shin Godzilla succeeded at the box office nearly a decade ago. The strength of its story still stands today.

Botanical Bliss Update Palia But Why Tho 5 News

Palia’s New Botanical Bliss Update Brings New Flora, Decorations, And Quest Mechanic

By Matt Donahue08/18/2025Updated:08/18/2025

The Botanical Bliss update adds new event, more plushes, and a host of quality-of-life improvements and more to celebrate 2 years of Palia.

BOOTS Netflix First Look promotional images News

First Look at Coming-of-Age Story BOOTS, Coming to Netflix This October

By But Why Tho?08/17/2025

Netflix is reporting for duty this fall with the new eight-episode series BOOTS, a comedic drama starring Miles Heizer and Vera Farmiga

Nuestra Magia Secret Lair Art Interviews

EXCLUSIVE: How The ‘Nuestra Magia’ Secret Lair Found Its Identity And Raised Over $1M

By Kate Sánchez08/15/2025Updated:08/15/2025

We spoke with Ovidio Cartagena about Magic: The Gathering’s Nuestra Magia Secret Lair drop, its impact, and the real treasure within.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here