2003’s SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom has gone down as an exception to the general rule that licensed games tend to suck, as well as one of the more underrated platformers of the last twenty years. With all the time that’s passed since then, most of the franchise’s younger fans haven’t had a chance to try it out for themselves, but starting tomorrow, they can remedy that with SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated.
Rather than simply porting it to modern consoles, THQ and developer Purple Lamp Studios have remade the collection-based platformer from the ground up, polishing up the original with updated visuals and a remastered soundtrack. Add to that brand new content like a two-player horde mode and the inclusion of content cut from the original game, and fans have the most comprehensive version of Battle for Bikini Bottom yet.
But does all that extra SpongeBob content add up to make this the best version yet? Early reviews have started to come in ahead of tomorrow’s launch, and they paint a fairly solid picture of how the game’s nautical nonsense holds up on modern consoles.
Digital Chumps (Alex Tudor)
"Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is as close to a perfect 1:1 recreation of the original 2003 fan-favorite. While the gameplay certainly feels outdated to modern platforming standards, there’s a lot here that fans of Spongebob will find enjoyable. Much of the writing and humor from the original doesn’t hold up in 2020, but there’s something to be said about wanting to preserve all of the original content. Rehydrated is a fun little romp through Bikini Bottom, and it makes me hopeful for future games with everyone’s favorite sea-sponge!"
Score: 8.5/10
PlayStation Universe (Garri Bagdasarov)
"SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated is not only a good platformer its a great example of a game taking full advantage of its license. Fans of platformers will sure enjoy their time in Bikini Bottom, but fans of the franchise will gobble it up. Battle for Bikini Bottom features plenty of action and humor to carry your through the 15-hour campaign and some of its puzzles are definitely headscratchers, which is more then you can ask for in a solid platformer."
Score: 8/10
Noisy Pixel (Jake Yoder)
"SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is a must-play game for any fan of SpongeBob. Its witty dialogue and constant references to the show makes for hours of entertainment during every moment of gameplay. Looking past the aged mechanics and lacking multiplayer mode will provide you with a substantial 3D platforming experience, which is something that I can’t say we get too much of. I can only hope this quenches the series’ thirst so that we can get a much need adventure that only builds off the foundation that this game established so many years ago."
Score: 7.5/10
Push Square (Stephen Tailby)
"SpongeBob Rehydrated is a vibrant remake of a much loved PS2 platformer. It's a little rough around the edges, but it's a solid effort that brings back a type of game that's all too rare on modern machines. The simple fun of collecting, bashing enemies, and exploring a beloved location is very much here, and fans young and old will get a kick out of this underwater excursion."
Score: 7/10
TheGamer (Sam Watanuki)
"SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated doesn’t do anything that hasn’t been done before, but it looks and plays great with players getting to interact with their favorite goofy characters from the animated series. The game has rekindled my love of this series, and now, I can’t get “Jelly Fish Jam” out of my head."
Score: 7/10
IGN (Jonathon Dornbush)
"Rather than addressing any of the real issues with Battle for Bikini Bottom that could have been tweaked without ruining the spirit of the original, it leaves history intact at the cost of making this a better game – and its problems have only become more noticeable with age and increased competition. There are bright spots that remain fun almost two decades later, and there are pops of ingenuity in its reworking, but it does little to stand alongside the best, or even the pretty good, platformer remakes and remasters we’ve seen this generation."
Score: 5/10
GameSpot (Funké Joseph)
"Remasters, ports, and remakes are nice because they make games more accessible to new audiences, and the ones that excel understand that some features from the game's era are antiquated and should be updated or removed. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated flops like a fish out of water when it comes to this. It’s a game so focused on emulating and embellishing the original that it doesn’t know the parts of itself that are fun and the parts that aren't. It lost sight of the basic elements that make a collectible platformer enjoyable."
Score: 2/10
Judging from these, it goes without saying that SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated will more likely remind players of the game’s age instead of making them forget it. Platformers have come a long way since 2003, having found nearly countless ways to redefine what the genre can be, so it’s understandable that Rehydrated’s more archaic game design might not be all that fun for some, compared to the better platformers coming out these days.
However, if the overall critical reception is any indication, there’s still enough worthwhile content to attract plenty of fans young and old. And if not, at least it’ll give them another way to indulge in SpongeBob until the franchise’s next movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, hits theaters in August.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated launches on June 23 for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.