In an age of remakes and remasters, there’s always a lot of hype behind playing titles from our earlier years with a fresh coat of paint. The track record of this style of games has been fairly consistent in its positive reception, so when Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom got its remake announced, waves of adults with fond memories of the original title were thrilled across the board. So now that the rehydration has hit, how does it stack up?

Thankfully, I have nothing but good news. Purple Lamp Studios, who has an otherwise minuscule track record in game development, hit a home run with this remake. As someone who grew up with collect-a-thons and found them to be one of the most rewarding genres of that era, I can gladly say that this title is a pleasure to play. I actually didn’t play the original, so I went in blind to this game with nothing but a deep love for the show itself. However, I can assuredly say that anyone who played the original will love revisiting this gem.

Battle for Bikini Bottom has you exploring the city from the show in beautiful 3D environments. While the original looks muddy by today’s standards, Purple Lamp Studios added vibrant colors to the levels and their backgrounds. The studio left the level design alone to preserve its nostalgia value and opted to only improve on the visuals and maintain the game mechanics so as to not tamper with history.

Speaking of game mechanics, Rehydrated handles and performs like a dream. While there are no visual settings like most PC games, it runs butter-smooth at an uncapped framerate. While combat is nothing to sing home about, it never feels like an impediment to the fun, as the puzzles are the main focus. Obviously, the game is catered towards children, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a head-scratcher or two that gives the player a rewarding feeling after completing.

In Purple Lamp Studio’s efforts to not fix what wasn’t broken, the levels and voice acting weren’t tampered with. Unfortunately, the original didn’t have Mr. Krabs/Mermaid Man retain their role, and instead got an impersonator that doesn’t do the best job to fool anyone. Hilarious YouTube content creator Uncle Al offered to step in for the former but didn’t get the big break he deserves. Nevertheless, all the other big players were on board and definitely didn’t phone it in, with great performances all around.

The game has quite a lot of content, as most collect-a-thons do. It’s a joy to explore Bikini Bottom in game form, from Goo Lagoon to The Chum Bucket. The only part of the game that I wasn’t big on is The Mermalair, with a few puzzles being too much trouble for their measly reward. Some Golden Spatulas (the game’s main collectible) take roughly a minute to achieve, while others are locked behind challenging timing puzzles. Regardless, you can pick and choose your achievement method, so you don’t have to worry about 100% completion unless you’re a completionist.

Hearkening back to my 2000s love of the yellow sea sponge, I had a blast with Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated. There’s even a Co-Op horde mode that I played with Phenixx co-writer David, and we had barrels of fun with that too. At half the price of a AAA game, this is within must-buy territory for those who love the show and the original game, as it’s packed with great Spongebob content and is sure to slap a smile on your face.

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

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!

Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated

$29.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Beautiful Levels
• Updated Animations
• High Fun Factor
• Good Bang-For-Buck

Cons

• Not All Original Voice Actors Perform
• Some Grinding