Say what you will about 2020 but at least in gaming revivals, it’s been a very productive year. Quite the bounty was caught in THQ Nordic’s proverbial fishing nets, only that this particular IP is licensed and was already adapted from the eponymous animated series into a video game, roughly 17 years ago. Now it’s remade as SpongeBob SquarePants Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated! Well ain’t that a mouthful? Instead of going for the same ol’ “remastered” moniker, we’re quite literally roleplaying as a rehydrated sea sponge this time around. I never experienced the initial game version since that PC port was more of a minigame spinoff on the 3D rendering for the main platformer which was only available for the PS2, Xbox & GameCube. I’ll also admit that I haven’t seen many episodes from the Nickelodeon original series either.

I'm a fast learner though and despite growing up with other cartoons and kid-focused TV stations, SpongeBob is not an alien concept since it sprang out some very creative memes over the last few years. I definitely didn’t skip that form of humor which has appealing originality, just like the SquarePants animation. This is the second collaboration between publisher THQ Nordic and developer Purple Lamp Studios, after the latter’s debut in 2017 with the less successful third iteration in The Guild series. Lessons were learned and second chances proved their utility in the end. You have to admit that it’s quite a ride from a mediocre economic simulation to one of the best platformers on Steam in the span of just three years.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2167347795

I’ve read and saw plenty of auxiliary material on the original game in order to compare it to its current remake. Storywise, the core elements are still in place as well as the obvious cast of characters which you’re probably aquainted with from the animated series. I’ll do my best to avoid any spoilers, but you need to understand at least a few things about the narrative and its portrayed game world. Human-like (anthropomorphic), bottom-dwelling sea creatures in a semifictional location called Bikini Bottom, are living their peaceful lives in a tight-knit community that’s no stranger to intrigues & modern issues such as gainful employment or social distancing. The real life Bikini Atoll officially hosted at least 23 nuclear tests for the United States of America, yet radiation is still not among the show’s running gags! Being intended for kids, don’t expect gloomy themes even if topics such as greed or stupidity are still fairly common.

It’s packed neatly alongside lighthearted humor and life lessons involving the importance of community support and veritable friendships, though occasionally it does leave room for sarcastic nihilism (Squidward, who else?) which hits the right spot for me. Burgers are a central theme for both the show and this video game adaptation. SpongeBob and most of his acquaintances are involved in fast food in one capacity or another, so it’s no surprise that the most valued form of collectible in this platformer is a gold plated kitchen utensil. The spatula is used for flipping burgers and also smashing those patties (my preferred way of cooking them at home) in the old school style. If you’ve seen at least a couple of episodes from the animated series, you know about a rivalry between two fast food joints and most subplots revolving around SpongeBob being caught somewhere in the middle. No exception in Rehydrated either, but the biggest threat is now represented by a somewhat disorganized army of robots.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2167348104

This has to be one of the rare instances in which I praise the Unreal Engine 4, since it manages to power up the game to an unprecedented level of stability as far as I can vouch for it. I must have tested over a hundred UE4 projects just in the relatively short period in which I’ve been reviewing on Steam, so I’ll safely declare that it’s really uncommon for this engine to run smoothly at 4K@60fps without a single crash to desktop or skipping a frame. And yet it did all of that while dispensing any unnecessary elements belonging to a User Interface. Hidden by default, Rehydrated only shows on-screen counters and tooltips on demand by pressing a button instead of pointlessly clogging the view at all times like in almost every game out there.

This remake actually improves the experience over its original version, by allowing players to take in the sights and almost roleplaying episodes from the source material. I couldn’t find a flaw here even if I wanted to. It looks great, it runs in the same parameters at all times and caters to the needs of any screenshot enthusiast not wanting to hassle with modified files or dev consoles for something as simple as nuking the HUD out of sight.

Likewise, nothing to complain about the sound assets. The animation’s original voice actors are also breathing life into the video game adaptation, while the soundtrack is spot on and well diversified. Innocent jokes are being made and the music is actually more relaxing than the gameplay. You can’t get bored and no one can resist the Krabby Patty!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOBDzc1ME5M

Even by “standard platformer” design, Rehydrated isn’t a punishing title when it comes to messing up a jump or being attacked by evil minions. Checkpoint saves aplenty, though I wish more attention was diverted towards the hard save slots which are currently just three and insufficient if you ask me. There are 13 large levels (each with its own distinct sections) covering pretty much the entirety of Bikini Bottom as it was showcased by its creators. I can only say the same about the numerous cast of secondary characters as well as the diversity players shall notice when controlling either SpongeBob, Patrick or Sandy. Different strategies and power-ups for these three protagonists teamed up to defeat a robotic menace plaguing their hometown.

Apart from the Golden Spatulas needed to further unlock new levels, a more common form of collectible and in-game currency is represented by Shiny Objects of various colours and values. You’ll need to grind for them at one point, yet fortunately they are very easy to attain even by revisiting a previously explored level section. Replayability plays a crucial role as you’ll gain new abilities over time and these can further help exploration, an activity I encourage you to partake in. If not for more Spatulas, then surely for the carefully planted memes surrounding SpongeBob and his friends.

It was about time this yellow rascal gets a shot at PC stardom in a proper manner. Steam players couldn’t ask for a better representation of the character while in my personal case, this is one of the finest 3D platformers I’ve had the chance to test out and review on Steam so far. Keep in mind that as a genre, it used to be my focus way back in 2016, so I played quite a few platformers whether they were indie or not. None left such a strong impression as Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated did in such short time and without any substantial exposure to its colourful lore beforehand. Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I am.

+ Great replay value.
+ Beautiful graphics and sounds.
+ Humorous, story-driven platforming.
+ Steam Achievements & Trading Cards.

- I wish there were more save slots.

Rating 90/100

This review was submitted for Imperial Reviews through the generous contribution of Zyddie. Following my Curator Page, will help me keep publishing new reviews as soon as I can. I appreciate your support!

[h1]Introduction[/h1] Say what you will about 2020 but at least in gaming revivals, it’s been a very productive year. Quite the bounty was caught in THQ Nordic’s proverbial fishing nets, only that this particular IP is licensed and was already adapted from the eponymous animated series into a video game, roughly 17 years ago. Now it’s remade as SpongeBob SquarePants Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated! Well ain’t that a mouthful? Instead of going for the same ol’ “remastered” moniker, we’re quite literally roleplaying as a rehydrated sea sponge this time around. I never experienced the initial game version since that PC port was more of a minigame spinoff on the 3D rendering for the main platformer which was only available for the PS2, Xbox & GameCube. I’ll also admit that I haven’t seen many episodes from the Nickelodeon original series either. I'm a fast learner though and despite growing up with other cartoons and kid-focused TV stations, SpongeBob is not an alien concept since it sprang out some very creative memes over the last few years. I definitely didn’t skip that form of humor which has appealing originality, just like the SquarePants animation. This is the second collaboration between publisher THQ Nordic and developer Purple Lamp Studios, after the latter’s debut in 2017 with the less successful third iteration in The Guild series. Lessons were learned and second chances proved their utility in the end. You have to admit that it’s quite a ride from a mediocre economic simulation to one of the best platformers on Steam in the span of just three years. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2167347795 [h1]Story [/h1] I’ve read and saw plenty of auxiliary material on the original game in order to compare it to its current remake. Storywise, the core elements are still in place as well as the obvious cast of characters which you’re probably aquainted with from the animated series. I’ll do my best to avoid any spoilers, but you need to understand at least a few things about the narrative and its portrayed game world. Human-like (anthropomorphic), bottom-dwelling sea creatures in a semifictional location called Bikini Bottom, are living their peaceful lives in a tight-knit community that’s no stranger to intrigues & modern issues such as gainful employment or social distancing. The real life Bikini Atoll officially hosted at least 23 nuclear tests for the United States of America, yet radiation is still not among the show’s running gags! Being intended for kids, don’t expect gloomy themes even if topics such as greed or stupidity are still fairly common. It’s packed neatly alongside lighthearted humor and life lessons involving the importance of community support and veritable friendships, though occasionally it does leave room for sarcastic nihilism (Squidward, who else?) which hits the right spot for me. Burgers are a central theme for both the show and this video game adaptation. SpongeBob and most of his acquaintances are involved in fast food in one capacity or another, so it’s no surprise that the most valued form of collectible in this platformer is a gold plated kitchen utensil. The spatula is used for flipping burgers and also smashing those patties (my preferred way of cooking them at home) in the old school style. If you’ve seen at least a couple of episodes from the animated series, you know about a rivalry between two fast food joints and most subplots revolving around SpongeBob being caught somewhere in the middle. No exception in Rehydrated either, but the biggest threat is now represented by a somewhat disorganized army of robots. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2167348104 [h1]Graphics[/h1] This has to be one of the rare instances in which I praise the Unreal Engine 4, since it manages to power up the game to an unprecedented level of stability as far as I can vouch for it. I must have tested over a hundred UE4 projects just in the relatively short period in which I’ve been reviewing on Steam, so I’ll safely declare that it’s really uncommon for this engine to run smoothly at 4K@60fps without a single crash to desktop or skipping a frame. And yet it did all of that while dispensing any unnecessary elements belonging to a User Interface. Hidden by default, Rehydrated only shows on-screen counters and tooltips on demand by pressing a button instead of pointlessly clogging the view at all times like in almost every game out there. This remake actually improves the experience over its original version, by allowing players to take in the sights and almost roleplaying episodes from the source material. I couldn’t find a flaw here even if I wanted to. It looks great, it runs in the same parameters at all times and caters to the needs of any screenshot enthusiast not wanting to hassle with modified files or dev consoles for something as simple as nuking the HUD out of sight. [h1]Audio[/h1] Likewise, nothing to complain about the sound assets. The animation’s original voice actors are also breathing life into the video game adaptation, while the soundtrack is spot on and well diversified. Innocent jokes are being made and the music is actually more relaxing than the gameplay. You can’t get bored and no one can resist the Krabby Patty! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOBDzc1ME5M [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Even by “standard platformer” design, Rehydrated isn’t a punishing title when it comes to messing up a jump or being attacked by evil minions. Checkpoint saves aplenty, though I wish more attention was diverted towards the hard save slots which are currently just three and insufficient if you ask me. There are 13 large levels (each with its own distinct sections) covering pretty much the entirety of Bikini Bottom as it was showcased by its creators. I can only say the same about the numerous cast of secondary characters as well as the diversity players shall notice when controlling either SpongeBob, Patrick or Sandy. Different strategies and power-ups for these three protagonists teamed up to defeat a robotic menace plaguing their hometown. Apart from the Golden Spatulas needed to further unlock new levels, a more common form of collectible and in-game currency is represented by Shiny Objects of various colours and values. You’ll need to grind for them at one point, yet fortunately they are very easy to attain even by revisiting a previously explored level section. Replayability plays a crucial role as you’ll gain new abilities over time and these can further help exploration, an activity I encourage you to partake in. If not for more Spatulas, then surely for the carefully planted memes surrounding SpongeBob and his friends. [h1]Verdict[/h1] It was about time this yellow rascal gets a shot at PC stardom in a proper manner. Steam players couldn’t ask for a better representation of the character while in my personal case, this is one of the finest 3D platformers I’ve had the chance to test out and review on Steam so far. Keep in mind that as a genre, it used to be my focus way back in 2016, so I played quite a few platformers whether they were indie or not. None left such a strong impression as Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated did in such short time and without any substantial exposure to its colourful lore beforehand. Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I am. [h1]Strong Points[/h1] + Great replay value. + Beautiful graphics and sounds. + Humorous, story-driven platforming. + Steam Achievements & Trading Cards. [h1]Weak Points[/h1] - I wish there were more save slots. [b]Rating 90/100[/b] [quote]This review was submitted for [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ImperialReviews]Imperial Reviews[/url] through the generous contribution of [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/zyddie/]Zyddie[/url]. Following my [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/25802515-Imperial-Reviews/]Curator Page[/url], will help me keep publishing new reviews as soon as I can. I appreciate your support![/quote]