SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake Review – A Wacky Adventure

A PC review copy of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake was provided to IGN India by THQ Nordic.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is the newest platform game from game developer Purple Lamp Studios and publisher THQ Nordic. I grew up watching the Nickelodeon animated series and was excited to dive into the game to explore its familiar world and characters such as SpongeBob and Patrick. After spending several hours on the game, I can say that it offers a mixed experience, with some enjoyable moments as well as some frustrating aspects.

One thing I loved about SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is its faithfulness to the source material. All the beloved characters from the show make appearances, along with the classic SpongeBob humour and well-written dialogues present throughout. The game also comes with dubs and text translated into multiple languages, including Hindi. This made me revisit my childhood when I watched SpongeBob with Hindi dubs. It was interesting to play the game in Hindi, and it’s something that I would like to see happen more in video games.

However, the game is not without its flaws, as some levels are long-winded and involve repetitive tasks. In addition, some of the platform mechanics can be frustrating at times. Let’s check out our complete review for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake below.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake – An underwater adventure

Of course, as this is a game involving SpongeBob, we travel under the water to Bikini Bottom, where everyone from the animated series resides. It is worth noting that the game is not limited to this location. The game takes you through several “Wishworlds” where you help SpongeBob and Patrick save Bikini Bottom and their friends who have become lost in the respective worlds.

Things reached this dire state because SpongeBob and Patrick accidentally caused mayhem in Bikini Bottom by using a magic bubble soap given to them by Madame Kassandra. Now, it is up to them to save the world as Kassandra assists them while they travel to different worlds. They need to save their friends and fix Bikini Bottom little by little in each world. However, it soon becomes apparent that Kassandra has her own plans, which puts them in conflict with King Neptune.

One thing I loved about SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is its faithfulness to the source material.

All the levels in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake are unique and provide a pleasant change of scenery and gameplay. As for combat and travel, you have multiple moves such as Spin Attack, Glide, Karate Kick, and Fishhook Swing. The game introduces these moves one by one as players progress through the game. These new moves and the experience while moving ahead in the game improves your playstyle. Fighting enemies can be a bit wonky, but it is quite easy overall with some challenging moments.

However, I found some of the platform mechanics to be a bit frustrating sometimes. At times, the Karate Kick was hard to aim with a keyboard. The levels do become challenging as you progress in the game, though. This increase in difficulty is a good thing, as I expected the game to be a complete casual experience. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find the challenging aspect of the game.

While SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is charming for sure, it started to feel a bit tedious to me after a while.

There are also several things to collect throughout the game, such as cosmic jelly, gold doubloons, golden underwear, golden spatulas, Plankton’s pet Spot, and other collectibles. However, I opted to just play the game straight, as I am not much of a completionist. The game also includes a variety of costumes for SpongeBob, which are based on some of the most iconic episodes from the show.

Boring Bikini Bottom in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake

While SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is charming for sure, it started to feel a bit tedious to me after a while. The gameplay itself doesn’t vary too much and while each of the seven worlds has its own unique design and challenges, they follow a similar pattern. This made me sometimes lose interest, even though I love 3D platformers.

The game also starts to feel long, which is not a good sign for me. I am not saying this is a problem per se, as there is plenty of content to keep you engaged for hours on end. However, the repetitive nature of the gameplay felt like SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake was dragging on for too long. It would have been nice if there was more variety to keep things fresh for the entirety of the game.

Voice acting reels you in

What I found outstanding in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake was the voice acting. It feels authentic to the TV show. I played the game in both English and Hindi, and the voice actors in both the languages knocked it out of the park. The writing is also great, with the classic silly SpongeBob humour making me laugh. The dialogues are also well-written, and they feel like something the characters would say in an episode.

The inclusion of Hindi and other languages not just for in-game text (UI and subtitles) but also dubs is great for fans of the show. The Hindi voice actors did an exceptionally good job of conveying the humour and energy of the characters. Though some minor characters’ original personalities were lost in translation. And there were moments when the translations were a bit off. But nothing major that deviates fans and gamers from the story.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake – Worth the price?

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is available on Steam at the price of Rs. 1,600 at launch. This is a fair asking price for the amount of content the game offers, especially for people who like platformers and SpongeBob fans. A costume pack is also available for Rs. 480, but this is purely cosmetic and does not add anything to the actual gameplay experience.

If you are someone who cares about cosmetics and would pay to access these costumes, then Rs. 480 might not be too much of an ask. Here is everything this SpongeBob costume pack offers:

• RoboBob SteelPants
• Mermaid Man Bob
• Purple Sponge
• Primitive Sponge
• Dried Sponge
• Opposite Day Bob
• Band Geek

If you are someone who cares about cosmetics and would pay to access these costumes, then Rs. 480 might not be too much of an ask.