Admittedly, I feel very out of place within the player base for this game. As is already known, a lot of people hyped this up, hoping to relive part of their childhood in a shiny new coat of paint. I never managed to play the original, though. Honestly, it’s kind of hard to understand why. I’ve always been fond of the show. I was probably too busy playing whatever random licensed games my parents happened to come across. As such, I have no way to compare the original with this, but regardless, I was pleasantly surprised.
I’ve played a good handful of 3D platformers throughout the years. They’re good fun, but usually don’t do anything too special for me to get heavily invested in. This one is no exception. It’s a perfectly competent game. Functional controls, fun (if a bit annoying at times) platforming, and the collectibles offer a good balance between easily feasible and tricky to find/collect. The boss battles were also a great joy for the most part (Flying Dutchman's fight was way too easy). In the end though, the main draw here is that it’s a Spongebob game. Most importantly, it’s a Spongebob game from an era long gone. Back when licensed games were still a plenty, and you could still find some quality among the surplus of them.
The charm of the show and its humor are heavily prevalent here, especially in dialogue. Patrick’s inherent stupidity is especially worth a chuckle. The developers of this remake even went out of their way to add hilarious idle animations for Spongebob tied to meme culture. Just wanted to point it out, as it got a good laugh out of me. Aside from that, the graphical overhaul is great. I did my research by looking at original footage, and I’d say they did an excellent job in recreating the visual charm in a more polished package. I can’t speak for long-time fan of the original, but as a newcomer, I recommend this to anyone who grew up with the show and even people who are just looking for a quirky collect-a-thon.
*As a side note, there were some bugs present. None of them were game-breaking, but it was weird to see the water glitching out on some occasions (particularly in Goo Lagoon). There was even a glitch that worked to my benefit near the end of the game. There’s an objective in the Kelp Forest stage where you must find 6 “campers,” but for whatever reason, I got the reward and achievement associated with it after only finding one. Mind you, I played this on PS4, so I’m not sure how the bugs compare to other consoles or PC. There were other minor bugs, but none of them hindered my experience.
I’ve played a good handful of 3D platformers throughout the years. They’re good fun, but usually don’t do anything too special for me to get heavily invested in. This one is no exception. It’s a perfectly competent game. Functional controls, fun (if a bit annoying at times) platforming, and the collectibles offer a good balance between easily feasible and tricky to find/collect. The boss battles were also a great joy for the most part (Flying Dutchman's fight was way too easy). In the end though, the main draw here is that it’s a Spongebob game. Most importantly, it’s a Spongebob game from an era long gone. Back when licensed games were still a plenty, and you could still find some quality among the surplus of them.
The charm of the show and its humor are heavily prevalent here, especially in dialogue. Patrick’s inherent stupidity is especially worth a chuckle. The developers of this remake even went out of their way to add hilarious idle animations for Spongebob tied to meme culture. Just wanted to point it out, as it got a good laugh out of me. Aside from that, the graphical overhaul is great. I did my research by looking at original footage, and I’d say they did an excellent job in recreating the visual charm in a more polished package. I can’t speak for long-time fan of the original, but as a newcomer, I recommend this to anyone who grew up with the show and even people who are just looking for a quirky collect-a-thon.
*As a side note, there were some bugs present. None of them were game-breaking, but it was weird to see the water glitching out on some occasions (particularly in Goo Lagoon). There was even a glitch that worked to my benefit near the end of the game. There’s an objective in the Kelp Forest stage where you must find 6 “campers,” but for whatever reason, I got the reward and achievement associated with it after only finding one. Mind you, I played this on PS4, so I’m not sure how the bugs compare to other consoles or PC. There were other minor bugs, but none of them hindered my experience.