When it was announced, games touted Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl as one of the most anticipated fighting games of 2021. However, not long after its launch, the game fell into obscurity. Despite their development efforts, Ludosity developed a solid platform fighter that lacks polish. Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl has fan-favorite characters, but they are all shells of their cartoon counterparts due to a lack of voice acting and source audio. For example, SpongeBob's stage may look like Bikini Bottom, but it has generic music that makes it feel incomplete.
Furthermore, with Multiversus slated to release soon as a free-to-play platform fighter with its own roster of iconic characters, All-Stars Brawl will have its largest competition since launch. However, the game is not ready to die just yet and has numerous factors working in its favor. Promises of post-launch voice acting, crossplay, and fan-requested DLC characters may be enough to keep the game in the fight.
The most obvious sign that the game continues to receive support is the announcement of new DLC characters entering the ring. Following the free additions of Garfield and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Shredder, Jenny from My Life as a Teenage Robot, Hugh Neutron from Jimmy Neutron, and Rocko from Rocko's Modern Life will be added as paid DLC characters. DLC alone isn't enough to save a game from imminent demise, but this lineup of characters is special.
These are some of the most requested characters players have asked for since the game's announcement. Hugh Neutron alone caused the game start trending again on social media. Fans can chalk up Hugh's inclusion to a meme, but in 2022, memes can sell games. For instance, Multiversus introduced a super-powered version of Shaggy that emulates the Ultra Instinct Shaggy memes. More importantly, this shows that the development team, Ludosity, is passionate about their game and listening to fans.
One of the most important aspects of game development is fan appeal. Large gaming companies like Nintendo don't typically have to worry about winning over fans at this point; they know they have a die-hard fan base that will buy their games no matter what they release. Smaller studios like Ludosity don't have the same notoriety and must count on player support to prevent their games from sinking. With this in mind, Ludosity has done a great job interacting with its community through social media and interviews with influencers/pro-gamers like Hungrybox. The teams wants to make the game fun and appealing to fans, and a huge part of that is listening to the audience and implementing changes that will keep their interest and extend the game's longevity.
As part of committing itself to the fanbase, Ludosity also has to try to amend things that fans have complained about, such as the lack of voice acting and crossplay. Without these kinds of things, the game will always be two steps behind Super Smash Bros., Multiversus, and any new platform fighters that inevitably emerge. This is simply a new standard for gaming in 2022, and it seems the development team will finally address it, even if the change is belated.
Last December, Hungrybox spoke to an All-Star Brawl developer who hinted at updates coming to the game. Among these was a confirmation that there are plans to implement crossplay. They also hinted at new audio options, potentially including voice-acting and music. Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl needs these features to stay relevant. New characters and stages are fun, but without addressing lackluster core features, the game will never really match its competition. However, it's clear the developers know what fans want, and so long as they listen to and implement that feedback, there's a chance All-Star Brawl can be saved from being just a footnote in gaming history.
