Everyone loves a good kart racing game. Throw in some nostalgia and you are on to a winning formula. That’s what Nickelodeon Kart Racers has gone for and ultimately failed massively at.
Content
Straight off the bat, the first thing that jumps out at you is the lack of character selection in Nickelodeon racers. With 12 characters from 4 shows you cant help but feel you have been sold a little short.
Nickelodeon has been around since 1977 and responsible for some of the most iconic cartoons of the 90’s. Yet the character roster not only seems bare but you instantly notice missing characters.
Character List
Spongebob Square pants
- Spongebob
- Patrick
- Sandy
Rugrats
- Tommy
- Angelica
- Raptor
Hey Arnold
- Arnold
- Helga
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Raph
- Leo
- Donnie
- Mikey
Some of the character omissions are shocking. Like including Raptor from the Rugrats but omitting Chuckie or Phil & Lil. I at least expected to have iconic characters from shows such as Rocko’s Modern Life, Catdog, The Wild Thornberry’s and Argggh Real Monsters to just name a few.
Gameplay
The actual game itself is pretty decent. It handles well, controls are simple and drift mechanics work well. The graphics are decent enough and the track layouts are fun.
Your first instinct when racing is to avoid the slime on the course but this is a mistake. You actually wanna drive through slime and collect it in order to fill up your boost bar.
Progression
Progression is fairly balanced throughout Nickelodeon Kart Racers. You win cups to unlock other cups. Collect coins throughout races to but parts to upgrade your kart. Characters don’t seem to matter in the game as all characters can use all karts. Emphasis is put on upgrading your kart in order to win.
A nice touch is the victory lap which is awarded when you win a cup. You get given a set amount of time to complete a lap grabbing as many coins and boxes as you can. Once completed the boxes will open up to reveal either coins or free parts for your kart.
Overall Thoughts
Nickelodeon Kart Racers had the opportunity to bridge the gap between parent and child. It could have been a good little kart racer that had the characters from the 90’s and modern day Nickelodeon shows.
If it had of done that I could have
Instead we are left with a competent kart game whose biggest notable point is it’s lack of characters. As a kart racer it does it’s job fairly well. As a Nickelodeon game it missed a massive opportunity and leaves you feeling as empty as it’s character selection.
Overall Score – 5/10
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