Summary
Though a handful have cropped up over the last few decades,Super Smash Bros.clones have really started to hit their stride in recent years. A side-scrolling fighting game that collects a range of combatants from across various franchises,Super Smash Bros.cloneshave the potential to be some of the most enjoyable, intense party games out there, but they’ve rarely hit the mark - that is until recently. Releasing in 2021,Nickelodeon All-Star Brawlproved that aSmash Bros. clone could actually stand pretty close to the real deal, and last year’sMultiVersusadded more evidence to the case. And withNickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2right around the corner, it’s time to prove that once and for all.
Justannounced,Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2is already proving that it’s learned all the right lessons from its 2021 predecessor. Voice acting right out of the gate, a larger roster, more unlockables, and more stages are all just a few ofAll-Star Brawl 2’s biggest improvements. But by far the most exciting addition to the sequel is its full campaign mode, which could easily put it leagues ahead ofMultiVersus,long before it even sees its full release.
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WhenMultiVersusfirst released in July 2022, it became a bit of a gaming sensation. ASmash Bros.clone with genuinely great fighting mechanics,MultiVersushad some pretty excellent foundations to lean on. When paired with the sizable roster of iconic Warner Bros. characters and a free-to-play model,MultiVersusbecame an overnight smash-hit, with word about the game spreading like wildfire online. In many ways,MultiVersuswas a much better game thanNickelodeon All-Star Brawl, another game that tried its hardest to replicateSuper Smash Bros.' successbut fell short in some major ways.
ButMultiVersuswasn’t without its own issues. Being a free-to-play game in the year 2022, and coming from Warner Bros.,MultiVersusnaturally had its own Battle Pass system, along with its own set of in-game currencies that required players to drop quite a bit of cash if they wanted to unlock every character right away. This controversial monetization system gradually led to a bigdecline inMultiVersus' player-base, and the game has since ended its beta period, and is set to return in 2024. But before then,Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2might beat it to the punch in a major way.
On top of its greedy monetization,MultiVersusreceived criticism for its lack of game modes, in particular its lack of any single-player content.Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2looks to get ahead of that criticism long before it even enters players' minds. In its announcement trailer,All-Star Brawl 2confirmed that it’ll have a single-player story mode, one which sees characters from across the Nickelodeon multiverse come together to fightDanny Phantom’s Vlad Plasmius. With it being one of the first things detailed forAll-Star Brawl 2, it seems like this story mode will be a pretty major addition, and it might end up setting a pretty high bar forMultiVersus.
WithNickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2releasing in October of this year, it’ll probably end up having quite a big head start onMultiVersus, and as such, its story mode revolving around multiverses could end up setting a precedent that fans expect Warner Bros.' fighting game to follow. The pressure will be on forMultiVersusto deliver with its own campaign mode, and ifAll-Star Brawl 2’s own story mode ends up being good, there’s an additional pressure forMultiVersus' to follow suit and even outdo its apparent rival.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl2is currently in development for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
