Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny review for Nintendo Switch

System: Switch
Release date: September 30, 2025
Developer: Petit Fabrik and Fair Play Labs
Publisher: GameMill Entertainment

Everyone has a generation of Nickelodeon that they grew up on. As someone born in the late 90s, my association with the brand comes from the cartoons and shows they were airing between 2000 and 2009. Although I would catch some older Nicktoons on repeat broadcasts growing up, like Rugrats and Ah! Real Monsters, the shows I most associate with the kings of slime include SpongeBob SquarePants, Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, Jimmy Neutron and Avatar: The Last Airbender (The Legend of Aang back home in Ireland), which all aired their runs in that period, aside from the first two, which had incredible staying power and carried on airing for much longer. SpongeBob right now seems stronger than ever, in fact. I now think of this time as a happy childhood memory of loving Nickelodeon.

Little did I expect in the year 2025, a new Nicktoons game would hit the scene. This time an action RPG with rogue-like elements, Mystery Dungeon style maps, and a unique art-style to boot. That is Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny, and when it was announced at The Game Awards with a trailer narrated by Timmy Turner (again played by Tara Strong), I found myself intrigued. The Fairly OddParents hadn’t featured in the recent Nickelodeon All-Stars fighting games or the kart racers due to licensing issues, so I was curious to see how they would approach a new game with Timmy as lead character. The answer? A Dungeons & Dragons sendup in aesthetic and tone.

The plot is pretty straightforward; Timmy asks for a wish from his Fairy God Parents Cosmo and Wanda to place him inside his favorite board game. However, as is often the case, the wish goes haywire for unknown reasons and the trio end up in a place called The Tangle, a hub world where various stars of Nickelodeon have found themselves. Katara from Avatar, Leonardo from the 2012 iteration of the TMNT, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Sandy Cheeks are all here. Alongside other heroes they meet along the way, like Susie from Rugrats and Danny Phantom, they set out to find the mysterious Dungeon Master and collect all the dice of power, which the gang believe will return them to their worlds.

Although there are only a handful of playable characters, they are impressively animated for the style, and all have unique visual designs to match up with the medieval/fantasy theming of the game they are trapped in. The vast majority of characters here are voiced by their actors from the cartoons. SpongeBob is played by Tom Kenny, Jimmy Neutron is played by Debi Derryberry, and Cree Summer is back as Susie Carmichael. It is very cool, and the voice work is extensive. All textbox cutscenes are voiced and acted out, and the playable characters aren’t the only ones who get this treatment. NPCs, boss characters, and residents who find themselves in the Tangle all have their voices, even if they aren’t on the roster. Rob Paulsen is back playing Carl Wheezer from Jimmy Neutron as well as Donatello from the TMNT, Azula from Avatar has Grey DeLisle playing her, and many more. It is very cool, and even the characters who have new voices all do a terrific job too. It’s exceptional and as I outlined before, having grown up in this specific era of Nickelodeon, I couldn’t be more thrilled to feel that same fan emotion from seeing all these cartoons I love teaming up and interacting with each other. The production value is worthy of praise, and although the plot isn’t deep, it is rich with character and personality, and that counts for a lot.

In terms of gameplay, this one takes inspiration from several different genres. The one thing people will notice immediately upon looking at the character select screen after talking to Pearl Krabs is that each character represents a different class. SpongeBob is a Knight, Timmy is a powerful Wizard, Sandy is a bruiser, and so forth. As the whole roster levels up simultaneously, players shouldn’t be dissuaded from trying everyone out as the team grows together. Perhaps you are struggling with a boss fight with Azula, or one of the Ghost Zone stages as you play the game. It doesn’t hurt to go back to Pearl and change your hero up, as the fresh moveset may suit the level or boss better than the one you were using already. Jenny Wakeman is better at shooting from a distance while Leonardo is better suited getting close and personal with the enemy. Mixing and matching was really fun and I really enjoyed experimenting with the roster available. The level cap is at 40, so if players decide to grind a few levels early like I did, you’ll be more than equipped to deal with the last two worlds and what the game throws at you. 

Within Tangle, several Nicktoons set up shops to help our heroes. Carl Weezer sells weaponry, Donatello can then upgrade player’s items and Sokka sells potions, which grant various buffs. You can also spend rainbow leaves earned from completing side quests to hold more than the base five healing potions the game offers with Sokka. Other characters appear to offer more side-quests for rewards, like Tommy Pickles from Rugrats and Sheen from Jimmy Neutron. These are optional, but usually involve collecting items or beating the boss of the world you just completed. Most worlds are broken down into four stages, with the fourth including a boss fight with a Nick villain, ranging from Angelica to the Dirty Bubble. Through treasure chests scattered around each level, players can net gear they can put on a character, including defensive protection and mana boosts. These are things Donnie can upgrade in the Tangle. The player’s health and mana gauge is similar to Kingdom Hearts, with a red and blue meter surrounding a character portrait. Blue is mana, red is health. When a player dies in a level, they go back to the start, there is no checkpoints, so make sure you are ready before you ‘venture forth, 0

The music in this game is also really good, and fits the style of medieval fantasy that the developers are going for. They aren’t without the Nickelodeon flavor, however. For example, in stage 4-3, when listening to the BGM of this Ghost Zone stage, players can hear the melody of the hook from the Danny Phantom theme song (Gonna catch ’em all, ’cause he’s Danny Phantom!) and it just makes you smile when you hear it. Several stages interweave recognizable themes like that into the original music, and it is very cool. I beat the game, completing all side quests, in under eight hours so the campaign isn’t tremendously long, but actually I think it’s the perfect length. If there was another two worlds, I worry that maybe I’d grow a little tired of the gameplay loop and would hope for the game to swiftly finish. As is, the endgame is satisfying, and I left the game happy with my time playing it. Exploring different worlds from Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom and TMNT was really fun, and the game’s challenge progresses in a natural way that doesn’t feel alienating. 

Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny is a really unique, really fun action RPG that dishes out the fun and leaves none of the fluff. Though I played the game solo, the options is there to partner up with a buddy, so if the difficulty feels a little much, you can always unite with a pal. A cute chibi art style, addictive gameplay loop and great music is accompanied by stellar voice work and solid Nickelodeon fun. I went into this game expecting to get slimed, and came out wanting more. Ah, here it goes!

Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny copy provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review