As an 80’s kid, SpongeBob SquarePants is a phenomenon that I was too old to experience. To me Nickelodeon is best know for The Rugrats and Ren & Stimpy. However, I was around at the time when we had platforming pioneers like Mario and Sonic and lived through eras which include seminal classics like Banjo Kazooie and Jak & Daxter. Platformers helped introduce me to gaming as a kid and they have consistently drawn me in over the years. Granted, I’d rather tackle something like Shinobi or Contra or more recently things like Hollow Knight and Blasphemous but they have always been a part of my life.
And now we have SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated, a remake of a PS2 game from 2003. Rampaging robots that have been unleashed by Plankton and it’s up to SpongeBob and his buddies to traverse the locales of Bikini Bottom to bring their reign of tyranny to an end.
Is this a battle worth fighting or is this little more than a damp squib? Well come with me to the bottom of the sea and we’ll find out.
Battlestations, Ready!
The story isn’t very deep, as we have come to expect from most platformers over the years, but it’s all presented with a great deal of humour that will not only tickle kids, but adults a like. It’s also littered with references to episodes of the show and a multitude of in-jokes. But newcomers shouldn’t worry, there’s no need to be au fait with the ins and outs to enjoy what’s on offer.
SpongeBob delivers a rather comprehensive package, providing 13 areas which are based on regions from the show. Whilst the levels are relatively linear, they offer a wealth of objectives and hidden content for players who do venture off the beaten path. There’s a considerable amount of depth hidden beneath the SpongeBob veneer and it’s deceptively grown up.
For a start, each area has several golden spatulas that are required to unlock new levels and open up the world hub. But these aren’t just scattered about willy nilly and are often locked behind puzzles and quests that are dished out by the cast. It often devolves into “collect X number of objects” or “defeat X number of enemies”, but it adds variety with platforming puzzles and through the use of each characters special abilities. SpongeBob may need to throw bubble balls at switches, Patrick lobs watermelons at stuff and Sandy uses a lasso to glide or swing from anchor points.
Platforming will make up the majority of the playtime but expect a variety of robotic enemies to defeat along the way. These come in different shapes and sizes, each delivering their own unique attacks. Then there’s the bosses for each area. Each battle takes place on a separate stage and as expected, you need to learn and avoid their various attacks. The bosses are little puzzles in themselves and require a bit of thought to defeat them.
The rest of the time will be spent smashing up tikis and collect shineys. These can then be spent on unlocking hidden routes or most importantly, more golden spatulas.
The remake also sees the addition of a multiplayer horde mode that can be played locally, online or via multiple connected consoles. Unfortunately at the time of writing, online mode wasn’t supported and the Mrs isn’t a gamer so local mode was a no go as well. Hopefully I’ll be able to return with an update once things go live.
Oooooh, Shiny!
The game maintains the look of the show whilst bringing the world into 3D. It’s strikingly beautiful at times with a great deal of care and attention put into fleshing our each environment. The team at Purple Lamp Studios have run over everything with a fine grit sandpaper to smooth off all the rough edges. The improvements on the original release are remarkable. The geometry is vastly improved and the shift to HD sees everything brought to life. Gone are the dull, flat textures, angular backdrops and listless skyboxes. Everything has been completely reworked and it really pops.
Animation is fluid and the characters models are chunky, well detailed and highly emotive. Little graphical flourishes like SpongeBob tippy toeing around when he’s sneaking or seeing his bubble blower flare into different shapes when doing a super jump never get old.
It’s not quite on par with the recent work done on Spyro Reignited or the Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy but it’s still wonderfully remade.
Voice acting is stellar and captures the essence of the show perfectly. With every cast member reprising their roles for the game it adds authenticity to the proceedings. Cutscenes really shine and are exceptionally charming and full of the trademark SpongeBob humour.
That Sinking Feeling
It’s not all perfect though as the improved density of objects and geometry can prove too taxing. Not only does the frame rate can lurch and stutter, but object, texture and enemy pop-in was also a regular occurrence. It’s also not uncommon to see odd flashing effects on some objects. It’s likely that Nintendo Switch was being pushed to its limits in handheld what with the reduced power.
The camera also dragged up a few of its own problems. This seems to something that plagues a lot of 3rd person platformers and whilst it mostly works well, jumping onto some of the smaller platforms can seem a little finicky. It’s hardly a bad camera but it’s easy to over or under estimate jumping distances.
Design Showing its Age
It also suffers from some poor signposting. There were a handful of occasions where the route to the next objective wasn’t completely obvious which lead to getting lost and wandering in circles. This is obviously a hangover from the original game design but its something that could have been ironed out.
Some of the puzzles require a fair amount of dexterity and others may lead to younger players struggling a little. There were a few that had me stumped for a few moments. Not due to misunderstanding the mechanics but due to the controls not always being the most accurate.
Sink or Swim
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is an excellent package. This is a lovingly crafted remake that shines but doesn’t quite sparkle on the Switch. For those who are able to forgive a few technical hiccups and the 18 year old game design, it’s a wonderful platformer with a great deal of content.
Fans will find a lot to love while the rest of us have been provided with a solid platforming experience. The graphical overhaul really helps bring this game into the modern day and the humour helps carry you to the end of a joyful adventure.