The last few Nickelodeon-themed games published by GameMill have been impressive surprises, especially when it comes to their take on the karting genre, but I never thought I’d ever play a Nickelodeon-themed action RPG inspired by Diablo and Path of Exile, and for said game to end up being, like, quite good. Granted, we are not talking about the next big thing in the genre, but color me impressed: I expected very little from Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny, especially after its lacklustre reveal earlier this year, but this ended up being a pleasant, and even somewhat nostalgic surprise.

Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny is one of those weird borderline fanfics you never truly see being developed and released to the public, as you’d never expect for all legal issues, budgetary constraints, voice acting and conflicting art styles to be solved in a single, cohesive product. The plot goes as follows: Timmy Turner (of Fairly OddParents fame) is playing a tabletop RPG with his Fairy Godparents until he wishes to be transported into an RPG with magic dice and more realism. As to be expected, the wish is botched beyond belief, resulting in Timmy, Cosmo, Wanda, and many other Nickelodeon universes to be sucked into this RPG. In order for the heroes to escape the confinements of this mystical world, they need to collect magical dice, the titular Dice of Destiny.

This is the kind of mashup usually relegated to a party game or a kart racer, as the sheer fact you gotta come up with a plot that can cohesively bring all of those characters together. Not only does Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny manage to make this nonsense interesting and un-messy, but they were even able to hire the entire voice cast for these characters to deliver all of their lines. So we have Tara Strong as Timmy Turner, Sean Astin (yep, Samwise himself) as Raphael, Tom Kenny as SpongeBob, Rob Paulsen delivering a hilarious Carl Wheezer from Jimmy Neutron, and so on. Visually-wise, the game is also cute and colorful, but a bit too repetitive. It’s nowhere near as amazing as the sound design. But that wouldn’t matter that much if playing the game ended up sucking, right? Thankfully, it doesn’t.

Is it amazing, groundbreaking, the Diablo clone to kill all Paths of Exile? Absolutely not. It’s a bog standard take on a traditional isometric hack n slash / action RPG formula, but let me emphasize the following: it’s more than enough for the target audience. This is meant to be a kid-friendly take on its sources of inspiration, and for what it’s worth, I don’t think the developers should have tried to be anything other than what they were able to deliver. There’s already quite enough in terms of classes, which each character representing a specific one (Leonardo is the rogue, Timmy is the wizard, SpongeBob is the knight, Sandy Cheeks is the monk, and so on).

You walk around the central hub, talk to some characters, buy equipment, and take on new quests. You then walk into the hub’s main portal gate, select a level, and proceed to beat up foes left and right. Each character has a set amount of skills they can learn and use, and each one of them feels different enough in terms of playstyle. That being said, the core loop is purely about mashing the attack and special attack buttons to get rid of all foes onscreen, whilst occasionally opening up a treasure chest or two to pick up loot. There’s the occasional boss battle as well, and depending on the difficulty setting, they can actually pose a bit of a threat.

In theory, doing a thorough explanation of Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny‘s features, gameplay and presentation might not sound like the most exciting thing in the world. But this is a clear case of a game that is a lot more interesting and fun than the actual sum of its parts, thanks to its irresistible charm. If it wasn’t for the license and the sense of humor, it would have been just fine, a decent action RPG for kids and adults alike. But its charm elevates it to the point of actually becoming a must-have for a younger audience, as well as anyone with any semblance of nostalgia towards 90’s and early 2000’s Nickelodeon. 

Graphics: 7.0 Colorful and cartoonish. It’s a bit cheap and repetitive, but it’s full of personality. The cutscenes look much better in comparison.	Gameplay: 7.0 A bog standard take on a traditional isometric hack n slash / action RPG formula. Controls are responsive and the combat is decent, but it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.
Sound: 10 A ton of voice acting performed by the original voice actors of their respective characters. Bravo.	Fun Factor: 7.5 A game that is a lot more interesting and fun than it should have ever been thanks to its irresistible charm and presentation. If it wasn’t for the license and the sense of humor, it would have been just fine. Those two elements elevate it to the status of a must-have for families.
Final Verdict: 7.5

Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch.

Reviewed on Intel i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 6GB and Asus ROG Ally.

A copy of Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny was provided by the publisher.