Is this remake Sponge-tastic?
Are you ready, kids? The cult classic is back, faithfully remade in spongetastic splendor! Play as SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy and show the evil Plankton that crime pays even less than Mr. Krabs. Want to save Bikini Bottom from lots of rampant robots with your mighty bubbles? Of course you do! Want to underpants bungee jump? Why wouldn’t you! Want to join forces in a brand new multiplayer mode? The battle is on!
I must admit, I know very little about SpongeBob other than seeing the odd clip online or a meme and I had also missed out on any games, so I was intrigued to find out what the fuss is all about and why THQ Nordic would go out of their way to remaster a platformer from the PS2 era.
As far as the platforming itself goes, Battle for Bikini Bottom is actually pretty decent. Sure it won’t win any awards for originality or creativity, but it’s definitely entertaining and well executed overall. While it can’t compete with the likes of Mario, Banjo or Crash, it still manages to be a truly enjoyable platformer.
I definitely want to give credit where credit is due and I feel in this case, it’s deserved. I’ve seen footage of the original and to see the detail gone into the remake, it looks great and runs at a steady framerate. The load times are short and it’ll please any SpongeBob fans out there.
The Verdict
While not the most challenging or original platformer, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated is a fun experience that I’m glad THQ Nordic decided to give another chance to. Hopefully it’ll lead to a sequel of sorts with some fresh ideas that could give the competition a run for its money.