Licensed video video games have had a spotty monitor report over time. Through the GameCube period, getting a licensed online game (particularly 3D platformers) was an nearly month-to-month incidence. Now that pattern has died down, however occasionally an organization tries to carry a license IP to video video games, and often it doesn’t work out nice. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake could be one of many first licensed video games in years to interrupt that mildew. Whereas it nonetheless suffers from the same old licensed online game trappings, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a 3D platformer that stands out and ought to be checked out.
The principle premise of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is that SpongeBob and Patrick are given a bottle of mermaid tears to make use of as bubble cleaning soap. These tears have magical powers, and, as is regular for SpongeBob and Patrick, issues get out of hand and actually tear the material of the universe aside. Now, it’s as much as Patrick and SpongeBob to restore the injury. The story is your typical licensed online game story, which truthfully isn’t a foul factor. What makes SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake so fantastic is that it does an amazing job of re-creating the texture and humor of the primary three seasons of SpongeBob SquarePants. To be truthful, I solely watched the primary few seasons of SpongeBob earlier than dropping off as I acquired older. Nevertheless, I’ve some nostalgia for these older episodes, a time when the episodes felt genuinely humorous and extremely intelligent. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake does an amazing job at offering that stage of humor. It’s intelligent, witty, and genuinely goofy, however not so goofy that you just roll your eyes.
The precise gameplay itself of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a 3D platformer. You’re put in these massive sandbox worlds to run round and discover, beat up enemies, and decide up a ton of collectibles alongside the way in which. All through every stage, you be taught new strategies that will help you progress, comparable to studying learn how to grapple and swing or to make use of a surfboard to glide throughout massive distances. Every stage includes a distinctive theme and usually modifications up the strategies it is advisable use so as to progress. Truthfully, the platforming is kind of enjoyable and surprisingly correct. There was a protracted time period when licensed 3D platformers made the precise platforming really feel floaty, janky, or simply plain damaged. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake fortunately feels good to play and feels even higher to regulate the precise platforming.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a very good wanting recreation. In case you’re accustomed to the latest Battle for Bikini Backside remaster (which seemed…meh), this recreation is a large visible enchancment across-the-board. Characters really feel extra alive and convey much more expression than the earlier remaster. Plus, the worlds really feel much more in-depth and lively than ever earlier than. It’s a soar in high quality that I wasn’t actually anticipating however was blissful to have. It genuinely feels such as you’re taking part in an episode of the TV present.
My major subject with SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake has to do with its puzzles and fight. Little question this recreation is aimed in direction of a youthful viewers, so the puzzles are aimed to be extra simplistic and straightforward to resolve. The problem is that the puzzles by no means actually change. So, that tremendous simplistic puzzle on the very starting of the sport is the very same simplistic puzzle on the finish, which is genuinely disappointing. It provides you the sensation of when you’ve seen one puzzle you’ve seen each puzzle.
The opposite major subject has to do with fight. In SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake you come throughout loads of enemies you need to karate chop, assault along with your bubble wand, and/or floor pound. The issue is the fight by no means feels nice. There’s all the time a half second delay between urgent the assault button and it truly taking place, which supplies the fight a janky feeling. It additionally doesn’t assist that almost each enemy might be defeated utilizing the very same assault. It simply felt pretty boring after an hour or two. It will’ve been nice if there was some method to change up what assault labored on what enemies or to only change up how the precise assaults really feel. Perhaps that is one thing that may be addressed in an upcoming patch, or possibly this was a purposeful design alternative. Both means, as a result of fight is such an necessary a part of the gameplay, it simply doesn’t really feel overly nice.
Total, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a enjoyable recreation followers of the 3D platforming style ought to take a look at. It’s simply the most effective licensed video games to return out in various years. Visually, the sport appears to be like like an episode of the TV present, with tremendous vibrant colours and worlds which might be lively. There’s additionally the nice humor discovered inside the recreation, harking back to the early seasons of SpongeBob when the jokes felt intelligent. That mentioned, it’s not with out its faults. Finally, the puzzles and fight—two main areas of gameplay all through Cosmic Shake—aren’t nice. The puzzles are extremely simplistic and by no means change as the sport goes on, and the fight simply feels off all through your entire recreation. Neither factor is a recreation breaking factor, however they do take away from a enjoyable expertise. In the long run, in case you’re a fan of 3D platformers or fan of SpongeBob SquarePants, there’s sufficient enjoyable available in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake that you must take a look at.
