Fans of 3D platformers were treated to one of the most surprising gaming remakes in recent memory in 2020 with the release of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated, a full remake of Heavy Iron Studios' 2003 cult classic that originally released on PS2 and GameCube. In 2021, developer Purple Lamp Studios and publisher THQ Nordic announced that it would finally be making an original SpongeBob 3D platform with the reveal of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake.
Being the first original SpongeBob platformer since 2009's Truth or Square, and coming off the back of the modern revival of the genre from big titles like Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and It Takes Two, The Cosmic Shake has the potential to be one of the best licensed 3D platformers ever made. Judging from the trailers, Purple Lamp is taking inspiration from one of the genre's biggest titles in the last decade, Super Mario Odyssey, and it seems to be paying off in a major way for the latest game based on Steven Hillenburg's beloved animated show.
How Super Mario Odyssey Is Inspiring SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake
Being one of, if not the biggest 3D platformer released in the last decade, it's no surprise at all to see that Super Mario Odyssey's influence is all over SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake. This is the first original SpongeBob 3D platformer in over a decade, meaning that the title is the first to take influence from how much the genre has grown. While Battle For Bikini Bottom and its remake were inspired by collect-a-thon 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie, Jak & Daxter, and Spyro the Dragon, The Cosmic Shake seems more inspired by recent open-world examples like the aforementioned Super Mario Odyssey and Sonic Frontiers.
The removal of multiple playable characters like Patrick and Sandy has also allowed Purple Lamp Studios to focus more on SpongeBob's movement, with traversal mechanics looking similar to how the implementation of Cappy expanded Mario's movement in Odyssey. There's also a bigger emphasis on combat, which seems almost more inspired by The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game, which featured multiple combat sequences. Even smaller elements like character customization in the form of costumes that players can equip on SpongeBob that reference various episodes and moments from the beloved show are similar to the costumes that could be purchased in various worlds in Super Mario Odyssey.
How The Cosmic Shake Could Be The Best SpongeBob Game Yet
Super Mario Odyssey is one of the best examples of imaginative world and level design in a video game in recent memory, and this is one area where The Cosmic Shake seems to have taken the most inspiration from. Areas seem far more diverse from the recognizable Bikini Bottom locations seen in Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated. This time around, the worlds are either entirely original or have been lifted directly from the cartoon, such as the prehistoric and Wild West settings. Each of these look highly detailed and filled with references made specifically to delight long-time SpongeBob fans.
Like how Mario Odyssey successfully returned 3D Mario games to their roots while moving the series (and genre) forward, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake looks to be pushing SpongeBob 3D platformers into the modern era, but how it can really define itself as a modern classic among the genre is if Purple Lamp Studios crams the title full of side activities and challenges instead of Battle For Bikini Bottom's relatively small levels that featured very straightforward missions and objectives.
While it's one of the most unlikely franchises to become a long-running platformer series, SpongeBob SquarePants video games have a dedicated cult following outside their mainstream success with older and younger audiences alike. Purple Lamp Studios has a lot of pressure in making the first major original 3D platformer for the series in over a decade, but the trailers for The Cosmic Shake have been full of imagination, looking to take major inspiration from how far the genre has in recent years.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake releases on January 31 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
