Pokemon Sword and Shield news may be the talk of the town, but on the same day as the Direct, something else came out of left field. THQ Nordic announced that they would be publishing Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated, developed by Purple Lamp Studios.

It is a remake of Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, which was published by the original THQ. Its primary console releases were developed by Heavy Iron Studios, who had also made an official video game for the first Spongebob movie.

Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom is a curious game, in that it is known as one of the few licensed video games that’s actually good, whilst being faithful to the source material. I myself remember renting it from Hollywood Video (Rest In Peace) when I was a kid and having sincere fun with it. The home console versions of the game, considered the main version, mostly scored in the respectable 70s. The game even enjoys a surprisingly vibrant speedrunning community, with a new world record established a mere two months ago.

Battle for Bikini Bottom was a collectathon platformer, a mascot platformer that already has an established mascot. Switching between Spongebob, Patrick, and Sandy, players fight an army of robots produced by Plankton that have run amok, collecting golden spatulas to open up new areas. It wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking game, but it was a game that was competent at what it did which is, again, not something you’d expect from a licensed game.

While the teaser trailer for Rehydrated did not say much, the Steam page has more to tell. Aside from the improved visuals, Rehydrated will also be introducing a horde battle mode that can be played cooperatively in split-screen and online. It will also have “new” content that was cut from the original game, like a Robo Squidward boss fight.

Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated will be released on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.