The one thing you can certainly say for Nickelodeon Kart Racers is that it has a roster to match Mario Kart.

From Spongebob to Leonardo, Garfield to Jimmy Neutron. And that’s just scratching the surface. This kart racer has a who’s-who of familiar faces and honestly, there’s not too many brands that have that kind of versatility.

The other is that there is an absolute ton of tracks to choose from, all covered in slimy goopy goo, vibrant colours and locations befitting such an eclectic cast.

Unfortunately, that’s where the similarities do end as this still doesn’t have the tightness, responsiveness, performance and polish of Mario’s infamous racer, even though the developer clearly has the tenacity and desire to stick with it in this third iteration.

It’s still the closest anyone’s come to Nintendo’s flagship title since Sonic Team Racing across multi-formats but it just doesn’t quite hit those same high notes and reach the bar of quality we’ve come to expect.

That’s not to say it’s a bad game. In fact, there’s plenty of enjoyability to be had here, especially if you’re playing with a friend or family member.

Between the standard Slime Scramble Mode which is basically your Grand Prix, you also have Free Race, Time Trial, Challenges which is a fun switchup on gameplay and the Arena mode where you’ve different battles you can engage in.

As you zoom through each course, you get your standard fix of powerups that boost you, send projectiles towards enemies or even temporarily block their vision / blind them. Collecting those is essential to keeping ahead of the competition, of course, and will quite often be the difference maker in staying out front or leapfrogging into pole position.

But it just wouldn’t be a Nickelodeon title without a bit of gunk and goop and each course also has a slime trail which feels like something out of a Sonic game where you do loop the loops, wall-running and corkscrews. You just have to let the course do its thing while timing your jumps to ensure you don’t lose momentum.

You also get to pick three passive boosts on your character in the form of a Chief and Crew Engineers. More of these gradually unlock over the course of the game but some examples include Lynn who will hit you with a hockey stick to propel you forward and Krumm who drops a moving hazard to affect other players.

Crew Engineers, meanwhile can add improved boosts and increase your speed on slime slides to give you that extra advantage. Customising that, along with the type of Kart, Bike and tyres you use can give you weight, speed, handling and other advantages, just as you’re used to in Mario Kart.

It’s familiar fare, of course, with bikes newly included this time around and full voice acting giving this cast a bit more life than they’ve had before. A few notable omissions aside, you really can’t fault the respect the licenses are shown and the ability to play as your favourite characters.

Ultimately, though, it’s a game that tries so hard to follow a winning formula but still only manages to feel like a half-hearted attempt, despite its best efforts. Still, I certainly can’t deny that racing around as Ren, Rocko, and all my favourite cartoon classics has a certain element of charm about it.

Verdict

Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway is a perfectly fine kart racer that goes someway to filling that Mario Kart shaped void on multi-platforms. Its performance, handling and general sense of feeling repetitive overtime, however, mean its not one you’ll be playing over the long term.

Pros

+ Huge roster of classic, beloved characters
+ Massive selection of courses and modes
+ Game has a great sense of charm with characters really coming to life