Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated has plenty of charm and genuine fun that’s unfortunately held back by bugs and oversights that make the game feel half-baked at times. Fans of the Nickelodeon series will find lots of loving fanservice and fun dialogue, but general platformer/collect-a-thon fans will want to wait for a sale.
Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated
Developer: THQ Nordic
Price: $30
Platforms: PS4 (reviewed,) Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PS4 code for review
It’s strange that I’ve never played Battle for Bikini Bottom, as I practically worshipped Spongebob in my earlier years. I had a ton of Spongebob games, VideoNow discs, toys, and one of those weird squishy lamps of everyone’s favorite sponge. Yet somehow, the cult-classic Battle for Bikini Bottom slipped under my radar. This meant Rehydrated was my chance to finally play this elusive classic, and while I see the appeal, the technical issues make it hard to really get into the game.
Rehydrated’s story is suitably “Spongebob” if that makes sense. Plankton makes a bunch of evil robots but accidentally makes them with the “Don’t Obey” switch pulled. This makes them rowdy and leaderless, leading to a robot uprising in Bikini Bottom. Spongebob and Patrick, after wishing for robot friends, feel guilty and decide to battle against the mechanical menace alongside Sandy. This takes them to various locations from the show, from the neon-lit Rock Bottom to the radical Goo Lagoon. It’s a completely satisfactory story that combines the franchise’s trademark silliness with fantastical elements and humor that have made the series so enduring.
“There’s just an overall sense of “unfinished” to large swathes of the gameplay, which is disappointing.“
Like many collect-a-thons of old, Rehydrated tasks you with collecting shiny objects and Golden Spatulas throughout various themed locations. You unlock new moves to battle foes and traverse environments with as the game goes on, many of which also help you to claim Spatulas through puzzle-solving segments. It can be quite fun and even a bit addictive to collect these objects, as there’s a real sense of progression that comes with collecting numbered objects to unlock new areas and abilities.
The primary problem with Rehydrated comes from how rough its overall gameplay is. The camera gets stuck behind any objects it encounters, characters can get stuck in walls or between objects, and the physics make some puzzles and platforming sections far more frustrating than they need to be. There’s just an overall sense of “unfinished” to large swathes of the gameplay, which is disappointing. I don’t know if these issues were present in the original Battle for Bikini Bottom, but even if they were, a remake is a chance to fix technical issues that add nothing to the overall experience.
There’s a lot of love for Spongebob present in the game, from characters like Bubble Buddy and Larry the Lobster being present to weird photos of Spongebob memes in the houses of various characters. The environment is littered with references to the show, from the hot sauce hazards to the Kelpo advertisements littered around Bikini Bottom. A lot of love for the franchise went into this game, and I think any old or new fan of Spongebob will find this charming reverence to be to the game’s benefit.
Visually, Rehydrated is a bit mixed. The models are pretty inconsistent, with Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy looking like they’re unfiltered Unity assets when compared to the expressive and colorful models for Spongebob and Squidward. Environments look great though, as each stage has its own tone and style that sets them apart from all the others. The music helps with this as well, thanks to the ukelele-laden tracks and uppity tunes that just ooze that Spongebob charm. The voice-acting is a bit more inconsistent, as the new voice for Mermaid Man and the odd replacement voice for Mr. Krabs sound nothing like their original counterparts, while all the returning voice actors sound excellent.
The Final Word
Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is an unfortunately rough package. The core gameplay is fun, the humor is in-line with the franchise, and the visuals and music feel perfectly colorful and lively. The gameplay just suffers from being half-baked and visually clunky at many points. It’s not a bad game per se, but it feels like it could have used a few more months in development before releasing.
MonsterVine Rating: 3 out of 5 – Average
