PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, SWITCH, XBOX ONE/SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
This third entry in the series features 40 playable characters from Nickelodeon’s most popular shows. Ren and Stimpy are there alongside all the Turtles, SpongeBob and his pals, Rugrats‘ Chuckie and Suzie (strangely there’s no sign of Tommy), Garfield, Arnold and plenty more. Racing around 36 tracks (almost half of which have appeared in previous NKR games), you’ll be smashing through item boxes that give you a power-up of some sort (either offensive or defensive), performing stunts, and drifting around shortcuts and alternate routes at super-fast speeds. You’re not alone on the track though, as you take a “chief” and two crewmates into each race with you. The chief allows you to perform a special move which can be activated whenever your slime meter is full, and the crew members add modifiers such as giving you extra items, speed boosts, or faster recovery after being hit.
NKR3‘s “Slime Scramble” is the standard “cup” race, consisting of nine groups of four tracks where you try to finish at the top of the leaderboard. Each track can be played individually if you want to spend time looking for shortcuts or alternate routes, while the time trial allows you to set your own fastest time or test yourself against an AI “ghost” racer. There are also objective-based “challenge” races where you might have to complete a fairly simple task like picking up a certain amount of tokens or performing a few stunts, or trickier tasks like not hitting any walls or running off the track. Elsewhere, in the Arena, all of the racers are dropped into an open area to partake in either free-for-all or team-based competitions.
With a decent amount of modes, tons of unlockable vehicle parts to customise your kart with as well as additional playable characters, chiefs and crew members, NKR3 does have a lot to offer. Its gameplay is solid and enjoyable, but it doesn’t really do anything that hasn’t been seen in any other kart racer. Certainly the best Nickelodeon Kart Racer so far, but might not quite make it onto the winners’ podium when put up against the genre’s big hitters. You’ll have a laugh with it if you’re into the TV shows though, and sometimes that’s all you want, isn’t it?
