At Gamescom last month, we saw several interesting games for children or for all audiences, including Paw Patrol, Star Trek and Dragons from OG Games; Lego Bricktales from Thunderful, or Asterix and Obelix from Microids. But on the THQ Nordic booth, there was one specific title that looked insanely good, which is probably the most anticipated of them all, and which, surprisingly, doesn’t have a release date yet. We’re talking about Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake.
The platforming adventure feels like a Nintendo game, and we can’t wait to get out there to see if it plays as well. Alas, the closed-door presentation we attended was hands-off, but we used it nonetheless to find out more about it and to speak to developer Purple Lamp’s project manager, Andreas Jarzabek.
But before we get into gameplay and content, there’s of course only a wacky premise for all of this:
“What basically happens at the beginning [c’est que] Spongebob and Patrick find the magic bubble tears [de la sirène qui exauce les vœux] and they wish for all the nice things they can have for their friends in Bikini Bottom and, as always, they overdo it,” Jarzabek says of the spiritual successor to the Battle for Bikini Bottom. “They go for too many wishes, the wishes collide with each other, and basically they destroy the very fabric of reality, creating seven different wish worlds that all of their Bikini Bottom friends have been dragged into.”
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Moreover, this time Patrick has a very important role, because he could be considered “the Cappy” or “the Navi” in this adventure, if we stick to Nintendo references.
“One of the wishes, as you can see, is for Patrick to turn into a balloon, so that he is your best friend throughout the game, being with SpongeBob, supporting him,” explains the developer. “One of the things Patrick will do for you is if you drop a ledge he flies there like a balloon, he grabs you and brings you back because he’s your best friend, he’s always there for you. And also, if you’re low on health, he’ll come into battle, drop some health for you (which, as we always do, is the underpants). And he will help you with directions.”
But it’s also used as a narrative device, because “it’s also one of the major features that we have, the banter between the two, because it’s such an iconic and central part of the original series,” Jarzabek continues. . “And we’ve been super lucky with all the help that we’ve had from Nickelodeon, having the original writers of the show helping us out, getting us started, writing things for us, going through all these scripts. »
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“Nintendo Switch is still our primary platform, but that doesn’t mean we’re going for low quality. It is very important not to fall into this trap.
Then the variety comes with the various episode-based themes used for each world and with the unlockables and collectibles that come with them. The settings include pirate, medieval, prehistoric, western… and of course karate, based on the episode with Sandy, where players will unlock the Karate Kick ability. Along with that, there are over 30 costumes that can be unlocked through the campaign or through progression using jelly currency, all themed too.
“If you go to the medieval level, you will have the bard costume that your colleague has on his arm. I love it, it’s a very beautiful thing that happened! says a touched Jarzabek of the tattoo inked on the arm of Gamereactor’s own camlady, Natascha.
All in all, it will be “8 hours of gameplay in total”, not to mention “lots of cutscenes with the original cast of voice actors”. And here’s what the developers say when asked why the new SpongeBob Adventure is better than other licensed games for kids:
“For us, it was very important not to fall into this trap of ‘it’s just another licensing game’. We knew the dangers out there, so we wanted to give gamers the look and feel they deserve for the game. [Nintendo] is still our primary platform, but that doesn’t mean we’re going for low quality when it comes to the Switch. We have a dedicated team working on optimizing the platform and of course for all other platforms”.
Spongebob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake seems to offer some interesting platforming challenges, nice verticality, and smooth graphics, other than the aforementioned variety, content, and fan-service. So when will it come out? “You’ll soon have the answer, that’s all I’m going to say!” laughs the Purple Lamp man in the video.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake already looks like a polished, wacky platformer