I like watching SpongeBob SquarePants. I love the quirky characters, the delightfully blunt humor, the Hawaiian tiki bar music. I can sing along to the campfire song without any problems and when Patrick asks if mayonnaise is also an instrument, it still makes me smile even at almost 30 years old. Accordingly, I explicitly insisted on testing the latest video game adaptation Battle of Bikini Bottom Rehydrated; and then earn the platinum trophy privately. And yes, I’m now also unironically looking forward to The Cosmic Shake when it releases on January 31st, 2023 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch – although this time there’s a bit of skepticism as well.
Unlike its spiritual predecessor, the new SpongeBob adventure is not a remake, but a completely independent adventure – the first in over seven years. So it no longer has any nostalgia bonus, no fond childhood memories associated with it. How good is The Cosmic Shake without the rose-colored glasses? We’ll clarify that in the test!
Let’s jump back then
There is at least one big thing in common: Like Battle for Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is also (buy now €39.99 ) a classic 3D platformer in the style of great role models like Banjo Kazooie or Super Mario 64. So you jump, roll and fly again through different levels, collect a lot of stuff and beat up a few opponents here and there. Bikini Bottom serves as the central hub world. From there you can jump straight into the action via various portals.
Wait a minute, portals? Yes, they are not usually part of the cityscape as you know it from the series. At the beginning of The Cosmic Shake, however, something went a little wrong: SpongeBob and Patrick somehow got their hands on wish-fulfilling bubbles made of mermaid tears. And how it works, the congenial duo inflates them all at once, things fly wildly around, collide with each other, burst and thus destroy the entire space-time structure. A typical Tuesday in the life of a burger-frying sponge.
As a consequence, the Krusty Krab or SpongeBob’s pineapple house suddenly find themselves in other dimensions. The inhabitants of the small underwater town are also scattered to the four winds. So our two heroes set out to patch up the cracks in the universe and restore peace and order.
Buddy movie feeling
Butter by the fish: The story of The Cosmic Shake is nothing special now. It’s also not really told at length and never reaches the depth of a real TV episode. There’s more to it than “Go save the world” – no matter how much the creators can boast that even Nickelodeon showrunners were involved in the game. Nevertheless, the adventure is definitely fun. Above all, it scores with a great buddy movie atmosphere, which made the first cinema film so good.
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Source: THQ Nordic
This is mainly due to the fact that you have Patrick with you all the time. It was transformed into a balloon by one of the wish bubbles, which always hovers over your shoulder – and adds its very stupid mustard to almost everything in the game world. The starfish will also pull you up if you accidentally land in a chasm, or provide you with extra lives in the form of fresh panties.
The game world also impresses with the charm of the template: Developer Purple Lamp presents you with a kind of best of well-known SpongeBob scenes: from Rock Bottom, to the glove world, to the jellyfish fields. The total of seven stages were each provided with a small twist. For example, you can sometimes find yourself in a medieval setting, as you know it from the episode “The Noble Knight” – with appropriate lute music, fool’s costume and all the trimmings.
Old sponge, new tricks
What is striking: The design of the levels is much more linear this time. So you no longer wander relatively freely through the area, but follow a clear path. The adventure is so much better timed. However, the missions are still just as shallow as they used to be. Actually, all you have to do is look for something or collect something: you get cactus juice for Mister Krabs, you go on a candy hunt in a Halloween costume or collect the stinky socks of the Flying Dutchman. It doesn’t have much to do with innovative design.
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Source: THQ Nordic
At least you can give the developers credit for breaking up the monotony with nice mini-games again and again. Among other things, you sizzle burgers or play a melody in Simon Says style. At one point the game even switches genres completely and suddenly becomes a 2D sidescroller.
There is also a breath of fresh air in the skill sections. You only play SpongeBob now, the character change feature from the predecessor is passé. In return, the powerful series hero has been given a few new moves. Don’t worry: Classics like tongue surfing or seahorse riding are still there. A fishing hook swing and a pizza box glider now provide even more variety.
