Huge Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Update Adds Voice Lines, Items, and More

gamerant.com:

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is the game that finally lets Nickelodeon fans answer the burning question of whether Sandy from SpongeBob SquarePants could beat up Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender. A platform fighter akin to Super Smash Bros., it features 23 different characters between the base game and DLC. These come from 15 different franchises across more than 25 years of the network’s history.

The game received a mediocre reception so far, with Metacritic scores in the 60s and low 70s. However, its developers addressed some of the criticisms with Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl’s latest patch. New features include items and voice acting, with the patch also introducing a variety of balance changes to both stages and characters.

PS Plus Free Games for June 2022 Revealed

Voice acting was a much-requested feature for All-Star Brawl that was absent at launch. It arguably robbed the characters of some of their recognizable charm, which arguably undermines the point of a nostalgia-driven fighting game like All-Star Brawl. Character designer Thaddeus Crews even acknowledged the omission during a Shacknews interview in April. Today’s update addresses this criticism, adding voiced quips and grunts that the cartoon characters will shout as they hurl each other across the arena.

The lack of items was a bit more divisive. Some liked that it forced players to rely on their skills rather than lucky drops. However, it’s still an expected part of many Smash Bros. clones like All-Star Brawl, which faced criticism for its lack of features and polish compared to other platform fighting games. The new patch finally adds Smash Bros.-style items that players can use to turn the tide of battle. In addition, players can customize item spawns from