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Spongebob isn’t everybody’s cup of tea; hell, he isn’t actually mine! From the obnoxious snort and the puerile behaviour to his sheer ignorance at his boss’ capitalistic gluttony, for a very long time I averted the character and sequence utterly. In recent times although, I’ve began to recognise the deserves of the sequence: the dry, darkish humour; the constantly humorous side-cast; the creeping realisation that Squidward is the one sane character – It’s not simply the brainless cartoon I as soon as thought it was. It even had a reasonably good musical adaptation! So once I observed Spongebob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake was releasing shortly I assumed it could be price a glance; particularly after listening to of the massive quantity of affection some gamers have for the same previous title – Battle for Bikini Backside.
For individuals who’ve been dwelling beneath a rock for the previous couple of a long time, Spongebob Squarepants is a well-liked cartoon sequence which follows a yellow sea sponge – Spongebob – who lives in a pineapple beneath the ocean. He works at a burger store, has a snail-cat-thing referred to as Gary and has a voice which may curdle milk. It’s a typically foolish sequence, nevertheless it’s been endlessly standard because it arrived in 1999. There have been a number of video games launched beneath the property, however most have felt like easy money grabs and have been poorly acquired, however from the outset SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake – a classically designed mascot platformer – feels instantly completely different.
The sport opens with Spongebob setting out for a beautiful day at a theme park. He will get previous a automotive/ship pile-up in his hometown of Bikini Backside, meets a number of the numerous residents, has a beautiful day, and eventually comes dwelling. Having purchased a bottle of magical bubble fluid from a suspicious fortune teller, he finds he can materialise his associates’ goals in bubble kind – however after over-using this energy a disaster hits and the city is completely destroyed, scattering the residents throughout time and house. The remainder of the sport is then a journey by way of a lot of thematic “wishworlds” to rescue them and restore Bikini Backside. So far as the plot goes, it feels far more attention-grabbing than most discovered inside the style and the stakes genuinely really feel excessive. As an off-the-cuff viewer, I solely recognised a number of characters initially, however the introduction offers every sufficient screen-time for you to have the ability to determine why they’re attention-grabbing and really care after they’re ripped into one other world. The overarching plot and thriller have been additionally fairly cool and inspired me to play on.
As in most platformers, you’ll spend many of the recreation preventing enemies, leaping between platforms and fixing environmental puzzles in a sequence of smaller worlds. While the controls and gameplay aren’t as tight as one thing like in Tremendous Mario Odyssey, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake does a surprisingly first rate job avoiding the frustrations usually seen in these kind of video games. While I wouldn’t dream of calling it troublesome, the tougher platforming sections really feel honest and also you get a good suggestion of what you’ll be able to constantly obtain when it comes to soar top and size. Motion is tight and satisfying, and while I did get annoyed by a small variety of management selections I didn’t ever really feel like they have been of huge detriment to the general gameplay.
I used to be additionally shocked by the fight choices, which go properly past what I anticipated. Spongebob solely has a spin assault initially, however shortly features the flexibility to stomp, hearth enemy-capturing bubbles, dodge assaults and carry out a long-range kung-fu kick. The enemy selection additionally ramped up steadily, including extra difficult globs of purple goo to struggle which had some attention-grabbing mechanics to beat. Fights by no means stayed repetitive for lengthy and have been surprisingly difficult, properly breaking apart the platforming and lightweight puzzle-solving.
Granted, it isn’t good by any means. Some platforming sections do undergo as a result of lack of a dependable drop-shadow and a few tough signposting. There’s a distinct lack of polish, particularly in sure set-piece sections and fight encounters. Regardless of this, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake nonetheless feels a lower above many platformers I’ve performed and jogged my memory of these uncommon, mid-quality tie-ins you used to search out across the flip of the millennium – issues like X-Males Origins: Wolverine, A Bug’s Life and Spider-Man 2. Video games that have been good – not good – however which had a appeal to them regardless of occasional moments of jankiness.
The worlds visited by Spongebob are additionally actually attention-grabbing, reminding me strongly of these present in different basic platformers. I received’t spoil the later ones, however I’ll use the primary for example. The primary world showcases a nautically-inspired wild west, with SEAhorse using sections and a practice heist. Mr Krabs is given a bandito makeover, Sandy (the Texan astronaut squirrel?) seems as a surprisingly intimidating Sheriff and a blowfish teaches you how one can experience. Spongebob himself can also be given a cowboy makeover. Between these encounters, you might be tasked with gathering cactus juice from numerous cacti, discovered alongside a linear trap-and-enemy-infested path. It’s all properly performed and lends a extra attention-grabbing flavour to the Spongebob universe, nevertheless it’s the smaller issues – like a string of sarcastic and satirically sensible cow skulls – which elevate the setting change. The later worlds proceed this mixture of satire and absurdity to create some actually attention-grabbing settings which really feel distinctive and contemporary regardless of the very fact they’ve been performed earlier than in different video games. It simply goes to show which you could reuse concepts however nonetheless make them your individual and I discovered myself eagerly awaiting every new world to see what they’d do with it. The degrees don’t outlast their welcome both, although they do comprise further content material to return to when you’ve unlocked later talents.
As you’d anticipate, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is stuffed with humour, and while not all of it’s comedy gold there are many moments that almost all will discover humorous. It’s stuffed with references and in-jokes for Spongebob followers (reminiscent of a wide selection of costumes for Spongebob to put on which mirror sure episodes of the present,) however there’s additionally a number of extra common pop-culture references to search out – like an early reference to the invisible man leaving his invisible automotive in questionable locations. What I discovered essentially the most amusing was simply how trusting and naive the primary character is. For instance, it’s clear that the fortune teller is a villain from the get-go, however the sheer indisputable fact that Spongey-bob trusts her instantly, regardless of overwhelming proof that she’s the one behind the disaster was a lot funnier than it had any proper to be. It’s clear that this can be a world to guage from the surface and that the true humour of Spongebob comes from witnessing him fail upwards regardless of his incompetence. Usually it actually seems like an episode of the present – for higher or worse – and I feel that’s an actual achievement inside a tie-in recreation.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake can also be an arguably fairly recreation. While I wasn’t a fan of the considerably clean faces of characters throughout dialogue, many of the recreation’s animations are glorious and the general look feels ripped straight from the present. It’s vibrant and interesting, with a mode which displays the absurd and kooky world properly. Textures and results additionally look nice for essentially the most half – even on the Swap – and there have been instances once I was shocked by simply how good this recreation seems to be. It additionally sounds good, with glorious voice appearing by the unique present solid and a variety of music underpinning the journey.
General SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake was a welcome shock to play. I went in anticipating a low-budget platformer with an annoying protagonist, however what I discovered was a refreshingly enjoyable expertise with a novel aesthetic and a few genuinely glorious moments. While this isn’t going to transform religious Sponge-haters this can be a must-buy for Bikini-Bottomites of all ages. It could even have wider attraction to followers of the style in want of a brand new, refreshing mascot platformer.
Reviewed on the Xbox Platform, Seize your copy right here https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/video games/retailer/spongebob-squarepants-the-cosmic-shake/9NDVBN7QKLPC
Platforms: Nintendo Swap, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Home windows
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