In 2003, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Backside was launched and have become a touchstone for a era of youngsters already obsessive about the cartoon. Whereas nostalgia performs a big issue, I, like many individuals round my age, maintain that recreation in excessive regard, even when the expertise does not fairly maintain up all these years later. Now, twenty years later, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake has been made as a religious successor and, for higher and for worse, it performs the way in which I keep in mind Battle for Bikini Backside.
In The Cosmic Shake, SpongeBob and Patrick come across a Mermaid named Kassandra, who sells vintage and mysterious objects. SpongeBob purchases bubble cleaning soap that supposedly grants needs, operating round city and asking everybody he is aware of for his or her needs. Sadly, the entire needs kick in directly, tearing holes in actuality and sending the residents of Bikini Backside off into the multiverse, with SpongeBob and Patrick left to choose up the items.
This opening units up the seven ranges gamers will discover all through the sport, every one with a unique theme and setting. The aesthetic design of those ranges is without doubt one of the locations The Cosmic Shake shines, pulling collectively references to iconic episodes of the present, whereas including new parts that match throughout the recreation’s story. A movie-set-themed episode combines SpongBob’s obsession with karate with an motion film, and a pirate stage has an enemy ship continuously firing pie bombs at you.
As for the place The Cosmic Shake pulls most of its inspiration from, it stems virtually solely from the older seasons of SpongeBob. Whereas the present remains to be airing, lots of the references made by way of the sport are from the seasons I watched as a baby and simply may have appeared in Battle for Bikini Backside 20 years in the past. There are a number of nods to the extra fashionable seasons of the present, particularly Plankton’s pet Spot, who serves as a collectible in every stage, however the majority of its jokes and callbacks are old-school. Most of those references really feel well-placed and do not overstay their welcome, with one main exception.
That exception is the caveman stage, the place Spongebob and Patrick are despatched again to the prehistoric period to attempt to save Squidward. This pulls instantly from the episode SB-129/Karate Choppers in Season 1, the place Squidward finally ends up time-traveling to each the previous and future. Prior to now, language hasn’t been invented but, so everybody speaks in gibberish. What works as a small part of a half-hour cartoon overstays its welcome right here. In most ranges, SpongeBob and Patrick are ceaselessly commenting on the extent, spouting off jokes that principally land, however right here, it is an hour to 90 minutes of caveman converse, which actually kills the sport’s momentum.
As for the design of the degrees, The Cosmic Shake takes a much more linear method than Battle for Bikini Backside and this principally works in its favor. The degrees have a little bit of width to them, permitting you to discover off the crushed path to seek out additional Cosmic Jelly, which you’re tasked with amassing all through the sport. However past this small quantity of freedom, this deal with a extra linear setup permits for the platforming to shine, since there’s a single outlined path that may be purposefully designed across the motion expertise which were unlocked up to now. SpongeBob comes geared up with a double-jump out of the gate however is rapidly given much more motion talents all through the sport, making for fluid platforming. These motion talents make SpongeBob really feel quick when they’re all working collectively and the sections that ask you to make use of all of them collectively really feel extremely satisfying.
You achieve talents like a glide, a karate kick, a floor pound, and even a grappling hook. Doling out a brand new capacity in most ranges means there’s all the time a brand new mechanic to maintain the sport contemporary, and it supplies a solution to cover secrets and techniques in every stage so that you can come again to. Ranges require you to platform by way of them, ultimately needing to seek out numerous objects to maneuver additional. These sections normally have an arena-like space, the place you’ll be able to select which path to begin in to your amassing, however all the time find yourself on the identical vacation spot. It is a good break from the extra linear platforming sections and these sections by no means overstayed their welcome. The place the linear design falls flat is within the recreation’s secrets and techniques and non-compulsory aims.
As for fight, you employ your new talents to combat off Cosmic Jelly monsters. There are a selection of several types of Jelly Monsters, and every one has a particular solution to beat it. Sadly, as time goes on, this turns into a tedious process, particularly with enemies the place it’s important to watch for a gap. For instance, the massive enemies carrying bathtubs require three hits to take down, however they solely take harm after lacking an assault on you. By the point you combat certainly one of these for the tenth time, it turns into extra tedious to attend and hit it, which is true for different enemy sorts as effectively. There may be much more platforming than fight in The Cosmic Shake, however lengthy battles, particularly late within the recreation, really feel like a chore.
Every stage caps off with a boss combat of some variety, with the precise format of the battle altering from stage to stage. The opening western stage concludes with you chasing Mr. Krabs by way of a practice whereas battling enemies, and the film stage concludes with a showdown in opposition to Sandy. None of those are notably difficult, however they’re all completely different and brief sufficient to be satisfying.
With a linear design and unlockable motion talents, going off the primary path to discover a secret can have combined outcomes. Typically you discover a Gold Doubloon, which is required to unlock additional costumes, and it feels rewarding. Many occasions, although, you discover a aspect goal that’s locked behind a capability you do not have but, which may really feel irritating within the second. That is clearly meant to get you to return again by way of every stage after beating the sport, however replaying ranges is the place The Cosmic Shake actually begins to flounder.
Since every stage is linear, replaying them can really feel like a slog. There are checkpoints which you can select to begin from in every stage, however the recreation does not inform you the place the collectibles are, simply that you’re lacking them. This implies you realistically have to run by way of the extent from begin to end, except you keep in mind precisely the place all of the secrets and techniques have been once you could not attain them. And should you miss one on that second runthrough, your solely selection is to go for a 3rd. There are some new challenges and sections added after finishing the sport, however not sufficient to justify a full second run by way of any stage.
Whereas enjoying The Cosmic Shake is definitely enjoyable, its collectibles and unlockables go away lots to be desired for one explicit motive: There isn’t a level to amassing them. Whereas it’s a part of the sport and platforming is enjoyable sufficient to make the method satisfying, the rewards are sometimes lackluster. One of many most important mechanics is that with every new multiverse stage, SpongeBob is given a brand new costume to assist him match into the setting. Along with these costumes, you may also buy extra utilizing the Cosmic Jelly you accumulate after unlocking them by discovering sufficient Gold Doubloons. The issue right here is that the costumes do not impression gameplay in any manner, so the novelty wears off rapidly. It is cool to identify an outfit that SpongeBob wore in a particular episode, however with none impression on the sport itself, they simply aren’t that attention-grabbing.
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Along with these disappointing costumes, the opposite collectibles aren’t wanted for anything. The sport tells you to gather Cosmic Jelly, however you do not want it to advance from stage to stage. If an merchandise is not part of the primary goal in a stage, there’s zero want or incentive to gather it. As soon as I spotted this in the previous couple of ranges, I started ignoring non-compulsory platforming challenges that solely appeared to reward Cosmic Jelly, because it did not really feel price my time.
Regardless of a number of hiccups and disappointing points of The Cosmic Shake design, at its core it achieves its targets. Taking part in it felt the way in which I keep in mind Battle for Bikini Backside enjoying and the entire jokes and references felt aimed toward older SpongeBob followers, pulling straight from the basic episodes. There are tons of small jokes and references within the ranges that can make you smile and SpongeBob and Patrick can have you at the very least chuckling as a rule. It isn’t a revolutionary platformer, however it’s adequate to maintain you engaged all through the whole recreation’s size. If in case you have no reverence or appreciation for SpongeBob, whether or not it’s the previous video games or the cartoon, The Cosmic Shake probably will not enchantment to you. However for these of us who love SpongeBob, the Cosmic Shake is a superb time with some previous buddies.
