Обзор SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom — Rehydrated
By ForGeeks SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom — Rehydrated marked the return of the iconic character to 3D platformers. However, the game may seem too simple or trivial in comparison to the same remakes of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Yes, unfortunately, this bright and colorful remake actually feels more like a remaster. But still it’s as catchy as the first seasons of SpongeBob SquarePants. And in what ways, let’s find out.
Atmosphere of the Battle for Bikini Bottom remake
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When it comes to the game’s story and atmosphere, the jokes and episode references remain faithful to the first seasons of the series. The developers decided to leave much of the series’ rich comedic deposits unused. On the other hand, it is the first seasons of SpongeBob SquarePants that are considered its golden era. Only a few references to SpongeBob memes have been added, and the rest is as similar to the original game as possible.
The remake retains the atmosphere of the old game, but in a new simple and beautiful wrapper. Walking around Bikini Bottom’s famous locations with appropriate music in the background — a pleasant nostalgia. The only strange thing is that between many locations (even between the one-room houses of Patrick or Squidward) you have to see the loading screen (even on PlayStation 5!).
The remake, like the original, has a conventional single plot with Plankton’s robots, but each level has its own little story. It turns out that the levels are pretty much unrelated to each other. However, this allows for the complete absurdity that we love SpongeBob episodes for. Just the jokes and lines from Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Sea Superman and Glasses, Mrs. Puff, etc. make many simple or ridiculous tasks interesting to complete.
Battle for Bikini Bottom — a light but fun platformer
The game Battle for Bikini Bottom — Rehydrated — is an ambiguous platformer. It’s generally uncomplicated, there are only a few really difficult sections. Levels like SpongeBob’s Dream, for example, bring a real challenge for any player, but they are very different from the rest of the adventure, which then returns to simplicity. As in the original, you can periodically switch between SpongeBob, Sandy, and Patrick, often to solve character-specific puzzles, but it’s rare that Battle for Bikini Bottom uses this to create a unique gameplay situation. The platformer puzzles are simple, but often fun. That’s the payoff.
Like a platformer for obsessive collectors, Battle for Bikini Bottom makes the process of collecting Patrick’s golden spatulas and socks fun, sometimes challenging. Each level clearly shows how many items are found, which is handy. The bling, meanwhile, is infinite. So if you need a few thousand more to hand over to Mr. Krabs, keep deliberately dying and reviving in convenient places, and you can mine sequins ad infinitum.
The colorful and vibrant remake captures the atmosphere of the series far better than the original
If you’re looking to replay the original Battle for Bikini Bottom adventure to recall past highlights, fun character interactions and walkthroughs of famous locations, the remake does the job perfectly.
The remake does it well.
Battle for Bikini Bottom seems a little behind by a generation, but its graphical update can be appreciated. The bright, fun world feels much closer to the energy of the series and protagonist than the original. Characters are well animated in scenes, with most attention paid to the main characters and locations, as opposed to the lifeless inhabitants of Bikini Bottom who walk around serving no function other than decoration.
Animated by the main characters and locations, Bikini Bottom’s characters feel like they’re in the same place as the original.
It’s nonetheless a pleasure to see the various neighborhoods of Bikini Bottom come to life — from the dingy Rock Bottom to the Mermaler to the town itself. And SpongeBob’s Dream is playable with a quirky, surreal level design backed by a graphical upgrade. Unfortunately, some of the emptiness of the locations feels like it’s stuck in an earlier incarnation, and despite the multitude of Bikini Bottom residents walking around each area, interacting with them doesn’t really lead anywhere.
The game’s level design is a bit lackluster, but it’s a bit of a mess.
Cooperative Mode… why?”
Battle for Bikini Bottom adds a new wave-based co-op mode in which you and one other person, locally or online, fight wave after wave of robot enemies you fought in the campaign. And it’s… a waste of time. The mode is so simplistic, monotonous, and unhelpful that it would have been a poor addition to the original Battle for Bikini Bottom that came out in 2003, and even worse now. The inclusion of characters you don’t play in the single-player portion of the mode — a nice touch, but they control the same, only visually differentiated by melee and ranged attacks.
They’re all the same.
And the waves boil down to the fact that there’s nothing much in the way of strategy, other than pressing the «attack» button and gathering swarms of enemies to then easily dispatch them with a powerful punch. Having different attacks for each character doesn’t change anything. The biggest obstacle, rather than the enemies, is that every few waves take place on a different island, and many enemy attacks can easily knock you into the water.
So you’ll have to make sure you’re in the water.
But while one player survives a round, you both move on, and the demise of both resets the wave. There’s little risk of being too aggressive with enemies, and there are no other options, as the mode itself is limited. Going through all 27 islands with a friend, each consisting of three waves, took about 30-40 minutes. And those 30-40 minutes I’d like to get back…
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Conclusions
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SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom — Rehydrated doesn’t sound like a breakout remake. There are plenty of other tittles that claim that title. However, the game does not need that. It positions itself as a bright remake of an uncomplicated but good game of the past about a favorite character of many people. And with that, the game manages to do just that. As a fan of the SpongeBob series, I genuinely enjoyed the full playthrough. I’m sure fans of the source material will enjoy diving into this fun and fascinating world. But for those who are not familiar with SpongeBob or don’t like this character much, the game will seem unimpressive in comparison with Crash Bandicoot or Spyro remakes. The main thing is not to mention the co-op mode…
