Need a burst of 90s cartoon nostalgia? Nickelodeon Kart Racers is trying to bring that to the Nintendo Switch by combining the familiar mechanics of kart racers like Mario Kart with a handful of Nicktoon characters. Though the roster is small and the gameplay doesn't seem to stand out, from what we've seen so far, Nickelodeon Kart Racers appears to be a competent kart racer that will be great to play with kids.
Here's everything we know about the game so far.
What is Nickelodeon Kart Racers?
Nickelodeon Kart Racers is a racing game with a lot of similarities to Mario Kart, but featuring characters from various Nickelodeon kids TV shows. The game has a total of 24 tracks and 12 playable characters from (sadly) only four different Nickelodeon series. Ten characters at a time will race three laps around a track, with certain zany, Nickelodeon-themed obstacles causing mayhem as they do.
That's about all there is to it, but if you already love the kart racing shenanigans of Mario Kart or have kids around, then this may prove a unique spin on the genre they can enjoy.
What's special about Nickelodeon Kart Racers?
While Mario Kart has physical course obstacles, Nickelodeon Kart Racers uses, of course, slime. Scattered around each track are various pools of classic Nickelodeon green slime. Driving through them can fill up your kart's slime meter, which can then be spent to get a big speed boost. In certain scenarios, karts can also turn into big jet skis and sail at top speed across large pools of slime. These areas are typically large and open, so it's easy to get going really fast if you have enough slime power, speeding and sailing past your opponents.
That doesn't mean Nickelodeon Kart Racers skips the goofy items, though. We don't know exactly what all items are in the game or what they do, but like Mario Kart, Nickelodeon Kart Racers uses item boxes that can give players an edge. One item we've seen in a trailer looks like Tommy's bottle from Rugrats - other items seem to affect a player's slime meter.
Who can I play as?
Here are the playable characters in Nickelodeon Kart Racers:
- SpongeBob (SpongeBob Squarepants)
- Patrick (SpongeBob Squarepants)
- Sandy (SpongeBob Squarepants)
- Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
- Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
- Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
- Raphael (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
- Arnold (Hey Arnold!)
- Helga (Hey Arnold!)
- Tommy (Rugrats)
- Angelica (Rugrats)
- Reptar (Rugrats)
Can I play with my friends?
You absolutely can. Nickelodeon Kart Racers includes a co-op mode that allows two racers to compete together and unleash fused attacks that will stop their opponents. It also has a more traditional local multiplayer mode where up to four players can play against one another on a split screen. There doesn't seem to be an online multiplayer mode that we know of at this time.
When can I get it?
Nickelodeon Kart Racers is planned for release on the Nintendo Switch on October 23, 2018. It will cost $39.99.
Any questions?
Want to know more about Nickelodeon Kart Racers? Ask away in the comments!
