Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong
Title: Nickelodeon Kart Racers
Developer: Bam Tang Games
Publisher: GameMill Entertainment
Genre: Arcade, Multiplayer, Racing
Price: $39.99
Also Available On: PS4, XB1
Before anything else, this needs to be out of the way: Nickelodeon Kart Racers is not Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. And neither does it wish to be. As seemingly alike as it may be to Nintendo’s flagship series, it acknowledges its limited scope and tries to meet far less ostentatious objectives. From the outset, its intentions are clear; it simply wants to appeal to kids — and, needless to say, parents out to spend quality time with their kids — who love Nicktoons characters and would like to see the latter race against each other in recognizable settings.
In this regard, Peru-based developer Bamtang Games succeeds in its efforts for GameMill Entertainment and Maximum Games. Leaning on its experience turning intellectual property from other media into the principal protagonists of its creations, it manages to present Nickelodeon Kart Racers as a fair representation of the Nicktoons world. Twelve playable characters from SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hey Arnold!, and Rugrats are on tap, with locales from the same shows serving as tracks.
In terms of gameplay, Nickelodeon Kart Racers delivers as promised. Controls are easy to master and make for a pleasant driving experience; just about the only aspect that needs improvement is the drifting option, which suffers from inconsistency and thus becomes a risk-reward proposition for those wanting a boost at pain of lost time due to programming quirks. Representative of its source material, slime is a welcome feature and used to positive effect, providing unique twists to the usual kart racing staples.
For all its modest leanings, Nickelodeon Kart Racers likewise exhibits surprising depth. Even as gamers can take advantage of pickups and shortcuts while in races, they profit from their results via earned currency that allows them to change their karts’ parts for the better. In turn, the methods of advancement generate significant replay value. On the flipside, it suffers from a relative lack of fundamental choices. There are no means by which more playable characters from other Nicktoons offerings can be unlocked, a decided lost opportunity given the sheer number of IPs Viacom has on its stable. Who wouldn’t have wanted, say, Fee and Foo from Harvey Beaks or Lincoln Loud from The Loud House to join the roster of racers?
The good news is that Nickelodeon Kart Racers features tracks lifted from the usual haunts in the Nicktoons series, allowing for an immersive experience. Moreover, much thought is given to their in-race layouts. That said, the absence of any chances to add to the total number available stunts its capacity to stay fresh. Additionally, it could have benefited from online play. It does have quite a number of multiplayer modes across three difficulty settings, but collocation is required. Perhaps the interests were in ensuring hassle-free connections and securing safe playing parameters given the age brackets of the gamers.
Technically, Bamtang Games does a yeoman’s job on Nickelodeon Kart a Racers given the short three-month turnaround time from announcement to release, but it nonetheless fails to hide its product’s rough-around-the-edges look and feel. Parents — who, it cannot be emphasized enough, hold the purse strings — would have appreciated, for instance, voice and music tracks from the source series. Moreover, it suffers from occasional stutter; its high undocked is at 30 frames per second, but drops to the precarious 20s with increased on-screen activity, and especially when more gamers are in the race.
On the whole, Nickelodeon Kart Racers is a decent release that makes no pretensions on its reach. It’s a niche title that should appeal to the younger set who religiously tune in to their Nicktoons favorites. It could have done better even in light of its targeted simple pleasures, but at $40 and a third less expensive than the gold-standard Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it provides adequate value for money and myriad opportunities for parent-child bonding sessions.
THE GOOD
- Familiar characters and landscapes from Nicktoons series
- Easy-to-pick-up gameplay
- Much lower price point than racing-standard Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
THE BAD
- No opportunity to add to the roster of characters or number of tracks
- No voices or music from source material
- No online modes on offer
- Suffers from occasional frame drops
RATING: 7/10
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