A slimy entry: a review of ‘Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway’

When you have a popular character or series, there are a few things that always seem to happen. Often, they start to think about spin-offs, dipping their toes into the waters of new genres in the hopes of revitalising the franchise. The two most popular types of spin-offs are, invariably, the fighting game and the kart racer. We’ve seen Nicktoons characters brawl in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl last winter, and now they’re taking to the track in their third karting adventure. Theoretically, as the third entry in this franchise, Slime Speedway ought to be the most refined and the most impressive, but that doesn’t come across in a game that is enjoyable but clearly flawed.

Slime Speedway is exactly what you’re imagining – a racing game, three laps, and a colourful cast of characters all aiming to come first. You can launch items to take out your opponents or have a boost, the customary drifting mechanics and vehicle customisation options, etc., that you’d find in kart racing games all over the shop. There are some points of difference, such as the titular slime – you pick it up to power up a special ability, and there are a number of slime shortcuts that speed you along, but are littered with hazards. You also pay for customisation with slime tokens, although you get them far too slowly in comparison to something like Mario Kart’s coins.

I didn’t hate Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway, but it’s a little too frustrating to be a satisfying time

Something unique in this game (although it first pioneered in Kart Racers 2) is a ‘pit crew’ system – essentially, you equip characters to your team before each race, and they give you extra abilities. You prioritise the pit crew members depending on the kind of abilities you want to focus on – if you choose Shredder, say, you have blades that automatically deploy to hurt nearby enemies. Mixing up these buffs results in some interesting strategy, and it also allows for a comprehensive pool of Nickelodeon representation.

On that note, the game boasts an impressive selection of characters, and from a wide bunch of Nickelodeon properties (although it also takes a long time to unlock many of them). You’ve got the expected classics – the main characters from SpongeBob SquarePants, for example, and the potentially over-represented Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There are also characters from past hits, such as Invader Zim and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, coupled with newer shows such as The Legend of Korra, The Loud House and The JoJo and BowBow Show Show (although I can’t claim I know the latter two at all). There’s voice acting for all of the characters, so it brings them to life in a way that the recent Nicktoons fighting game did not, and there’s not at first glance anyone obviously missing, which is the mark of a representative roster.

However, the fun of the Nickelodeon elements often fails to uplift a racing experience that, while basically decent on a fundamental level, proves disappointing. The performance quality on Switch is shocking, and the game feels sluggish whenever there’s more than two things on screen in a race – when you get to the higher-speed settings, there are some races that are nigh-on unplayable. The slime slide gimmick doesn’t work too well as a result of the performance, meaning it’s tough to crack when you need to jump to get onto them. Things can get glitchy, and things like item warnings are surprisingly on and off, increasing the annoyance rather than the challenge.

I also had a crack at online play, but it was a painful experience. If you don’t know the shortcuts on a track, you have no chance, and the items are not really strong enough to have an impact on the race against other skilled players. It’s tough to actually get into a race with other players in the first place, and then there’s a bizarre decision to end the race the moment the first human player crosses the line. I also noticed on a number of occasions that the game randomly changes your placement for no real reason, another glitchy wind-up.

I didn’t hate Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway, but it’s a little too frustrating to be a satisfying time – it’s much too slow on multiple levels. If you can find this cheap, it might be worth picking up, but don’t go out and buy it at full price unless your love for Nicktoons is so overwhelming that it can paper over a lot of cracks.