DISCLOSURE: This game was reviewed on the following platform: PC – Check out our Review Policy page for more information.
If SpongeBob and Patrick get their hands on the wish-granting Mermaid’s Tears, then… What could possibly go wrong here? There is a possibility that the fundamental fabric that holds the cosmos together could unravel, allowing gateways to be opened into untamed Wishworlds. But there’s nothing that our beloved sponge can’t handle when decked out in the appropriate space garb.
The Cosmic Shake is a game that will give you power over SpongeBob and the whole world around him. You will have many activities to do as well as shapes and costumes to take while playing with your favorite Sponge. Here we will review the game split into Pros and Cons sections to give you the best possible score. Let’s get started.
SpongeBob SquarePants The Cosmic Shake Review
Pros
Let’s see what are the good side of things for SpongeBob SquarePants The Cosmic Shake!
Visuals
Each world is full of depth and color, some more than others but all lovely nevertheless, and the character animation is expressive and matches the characters nicely (though we did notice that practically all of Spongebob’s idle animations were rehashed from Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated).
All of the outfits used by the characters are authentic to the show and provide nostalgic fanservice. Although the costumes serve only for looks, they definitely give SpongeBob a different feel and vibe.
All the worlds and chapters you’ll come across are stunning and beautiful. It is very well designed because on some of these maps, you’ll actually go up very high in the air and have the possibility to directly look at the worlds under you.
Gameplay
When compared to the extremely linear levels of Battle for Bikini Bottom, the more open style of level design is one of the most striking differences. Fights are satisfying, and the new moves SpongeBob can perform are a lot of fun to experiment with.
Each world comes with a different set of challenges and puzzles as well as enemies to defeat. You will advance and get new styles of attacks that will only further upgrade the gameplay element.
Some parts of the platforming sections are more challenging than others, and this is consistent across all levels. Jumping on boulders and rolling down hills while dodging enemies is one of our favorite mechanics for platforms as well as the slide stages.
Story
After having met a mermaid which is a fortune teller named Madame Kassandra and receiving a magical bubble soap called Mermaid’s Tears, the players must help Patrick and SpongeBob return their friends to Bikini Bottom by tearing the fabric of the universe to reveal Wishworlds, which are reimaginings of locations from the show with a central theme.
Although you might not think of it as much, it is surprisingly a very good storyline and as you play the game you’ll get very different sections of the SpongeBob world each with a unique setting and story element behind it.
Level Design
Although at the beginning of the game, the levels might feel a little linear, just keep on playing through the story. As you progress you’ll get very different styles of levels on which sometimes you’ll do sliding, karate chop puzzles, opening locked doors with labyrinths, rolling stones on lava rivers, and so on.
Cons
Let’s see the bad parts of SpongeBob and his bubbly friend Patrick!
Hitboxes & Sliding Issues
This is very rare but it still happens and sometimes can lead you to your death when you simply didn’t have to get killed. As you slide across the maps you’ll get a random movement stop or sometimes even not be able to climb on the boulders themselves.
When you attack enemies for some weird reason you’ll see the hit going through them, but not actually hitting them. Although this is minor and will be fixed in the future, it is a thing that players might have concerns about.
Sometimes you’ll even get a weird hit collision on the karate chops or even be thrown in the wrong direction when swinging off the hooks.
Collectibles
There are many collectibles throughout the game that you can collect which is of course a very good thing about it. The thing is though, you need to progress through the game to be able to collect some of them.
So if you are at the beginning of the game and not able to pick up something, don’t panic. It is a little misleading that could be made differently.
SpongeBob SquarePants The Cosmic Shake Review
Summary
With its faithful visual direction, solid voice acting, and impressive level design, the game succeeds admirably as one of the best licensed 3-dimensional platformers of the past quarter century. If you enjoyed Battle for Bikini Bottom, you should definitely give this game a shot because in our opinion is the best SpongeBob game up to date. The issues that it has are fixable with just a couple of patches and we might get some very cool DLC additions in the future.
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