SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake

Have you ever wondered, what would’ve happened, if you gave a multiverse unlocking tool to an infantile sponge? Well, even though SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake doesn’t really reinvent the basic formula of its predecessor, it at least aims to answer that very question! This vibrantly colourful collection of teleportation-requiring adventures of the inseparable duo surely brings back a ton of memories. Get ready, because SpongeBob, Patrick, and the Bikini Bottom gang are back with a multiuniversal bang and a whole bunch of wishing bubbles.

Purple Lamp has created one of, if not the best, SpongeBob SquarePants video games to date, and if you're a fan of the series, it's worth giving this one a look because it will undoubtedly give you a few laughs and fill you with tons of warm nostalgia.

A consistent evolution of Rehydrated with an extra ton of fan service, but without challenging gameplay.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a solid game that will make series fans happy and surprise the more casual ones. The action in the levels meanders a bit, and the platforming can be a little rough, but the majority of the action is good. The multitude of secrets to uncover give the game some real legs after you complete the campaign. If future entries are handled by this developer, SpongeBob fans will have some good stuff to look forward to in the years to come.

While fairly short and easy, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake does a good job of bringing the cartoon world to life with good writing, fun platforming, and colorful, varied levels.

While it doesn’t do anything new for the platforming genre, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake offers innocent adventures with iconic characters across Bikini Bottom.

Its adherence to the cartoon is also its saving grace, as excising the IP from this title leaves you with little more than a simplistic, passable platformer. If nautical nonsense be something you wish, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake will absolutely deliver enjoyment on par with the cartoon itself—just don’t expect there to be much of anything you haven’t seen before.

The Cosmic Shake disappointed me in many ways, but I can't say it's a failure, not at all. It's simply a game aimed directly at a particular target group. The youngest SpongeBob fans will have a good time, but the more mature enthusiasts - not so much.

It could have ended up with a boring, old-fashioned 3D platformer. However, the features for SpongeBob fans somehow turned the game's outdated style to feel like an old-school. If you can indulge in the series' humor and SpongeBob's new look, you will find some classical fun with this game.

That would be unfair to call SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake a bad game. Compared to the previous games, I think it would be more accurate to call it "soulless" rather than "bad". You're not surprised by this though, because every sailor knows that 4/4 string ostinato in D minor means death.

Altogether, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake feels like it’s exactly in line with what the cartoon has become. The humour isn’t quite what it used to be, the characters are flanderisations of their original counterparts, and the plot is just too weird that it probably won’t appeal to older fans. But the children will love it.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a fun title that harkens back to older console generations whilst taking advantage of today’s technology. It makes for a visually appealing experience but one that may be a tad too shallow for anyone besides the younger side of the sponge’s fanbase. Amusing lines and colourful costumes can only do so much to shore up an ultimately “okay” game, one which does everything it sets out to do surprisingly well, but isn’t really doing enough to be as great as it could be. With all that being said, your kids may end up loving this game to bits, and if that’s who the game is for, then who’s to say they’re wrong?