SpongeBob has taken center stage again thanks to the graphical overhaul of Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated. It was also a pleasant surprise since the sensations of our childhood remained intact with this re-edition. I was all the more pleased that I was proudly waiting at the most beautiful booth at Gamescom (that of THQ Nordic) to test the new opus. The cosmic shake.
Finally something new!
What is this devilry? The cosmic shake offers a completely new adventure with the graphics of its predecessor. So how to refuse? If you missed the announcement of this new game, here is a quick topo. SpongeBob and Patrick got their hands on a wish-granting item. So they decided to make SpongeBob SquarePants out of it. Conclusion ? Space-time is being torn apart, and now our infernal duo undulates from world to world and temporality to temporality. You go through prehistory and many other crazy times and places.
The demo version puts us in the world of Jelly Fields. It’s a desert universe that’s a bit reminiscent of Death Valley. I was allowed to browse a piece of this landscape for 15 minutes. Not one more. Is that enough to form an opinion? Yes, but only in this episode.
A simple but effective 3D platformer
In just a few minutes, I was able to get a good idea of how the game plays compared to its predecessor. I can also reassure you because it keeps that atmosphere reminiscent of the game on PlayStation 2 while being more fluid and dynamic. Luckily you will tell me because we are still in 2022. Bob is a pleasure to deal with. Thanks to a pizza box, he can run, jump and above all hover. At costume level, our dear sponge proudly walks around in his cowboy hat. According to the trailers, each era will feature different costumes, enough to customize our childhood hero.
So during my gaming session I had to collect cactus juice for Mr. Crabs. For this I had to climb mountains and valleys! The little extra was that shortcuts would appear at every stage of my ascent, as long as we rodeo attack the appropriate button. On the bestial side, Jelly Fields is pretty stingy. I saw a jellyfish, small purple monsters and a larger one of the same color. But are we playing a platformer for creature diversity? I do not know. We obviously find the emblematic totems of Battle for Bikini Bottom
Conclusion: Bigger, denser, more ambitious
I’m a fan of the license and always happy to see SpongeBob on a screen. As the icing on the cake, the development team handled the voice acting for the series. That way, you won’t even get disoriented by the voices! So if you like 3D platform games and the world of SpongeBob, you’ll undoubtedly like this opus.
