SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated is a 2020 platform game based on the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. It is a remake of the console versions of Heavy Iron Studios' SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, developed by Purple Lamp Studios and published by THQ Nordic for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. The game was released on June 23, 2020, and received mixed reviews.

This article is about the remake. For the original, see SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated
Game poster
Developer(s)Purple Lamp Studios[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)THQ Nordic
Director(s)Daniel Bernard
Producer(s)Martin Kreuch
Designer(s)Julian Breddy
Andrea Villa
Daniela Etzinger
Aled Gwyn Davies
Roberto Padron
Programmer(s)Philipp Kogelnig
Simon Dobelsberger
Artist(s)Stefan Krastev
Targo Sirol
Composer(s)Gabriel Schönangerer[lower-alpha 2]
SeriesSpongeBob SquarePants
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
ReleaseJune 23, 2020
Genre(s)Platform, action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay
Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom § Gameplay

The core gameplay involves collecting items and defeating the robots which have attacked various areas in Bikini Bottom, while crossing platforms and avoiding environmental hazards like spikes and flames. Some areas require different characters to beat, as each character has their own unique abilities. The player can control SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy. Switching characters requires the player to find a Bus Stop, upon using which the current character will switch to another, and using it again will switch back to the previous character, giving the player an option of two characters in each level. The default character throughout the game is SpongeBob; Sandy and Patrick do not share any levels as playable characters.

Throughout the game, the player will collect Shiny Objects, Socks, and Golden Spatulas. Shiny Objects are dropped by enemies and scattered throughout levels, and can be used to pay clams to progress through levels and unlock extra challenges. They can also be traded with Mr. Krabs for Golden Spatulas. Socks are placed in levels in harder to reach locations, and 10 of them can be traded to Patrick for a Golden Spatula. Golden Spatulas are used to unlock new areas in the game, and 75 of them are required to fight the final boss.

A new addition to the remake is a multiplayer horde mode in which two players face waves of robotic enemies.[1][2] The mode includes cut content from the original game, including a fight against a robotic Squidward, a scrapped version of Patrick's dream, and a cut phase of the Robo-SpongeBob fight.

Development and release

The game was first revealed on June 5, 2019, in the days leading up to E3 2019.[3][4][5] The game was not playable until Gamescom, which started August 20 that year, where visitors could get their hands on it at THQ Nordic's booth.[6][7] On April 16, 2020, it was announced that the game will be released on June 23, 2020.[8]

The game is available in two limited editions on all platforms. The Shiny Edition includes wall stickers, six lithographs, special SpongeBob SquarePants tennis socks, and a figurine of SpongeBob with a flexible tongue and a golden spatula in his hand. In addition to that, the F.U.N. Edition also comes with two similarly-sized figurines of Sandy Cheeks and Patrick Star, as well as a set of five tiki keyrings.[9]

The game features the original archived and new recordings from the English voice cast, as well as new recordings from the French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, and Japanese voice casts. It supports text and subtitles in Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Malay, Thai, Korean, and Simplified Chinese.[10]

The game is powered by Unreal Engine 4 and supports 4K resolution on the enhanced PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X models.[11][12]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic66/100 (Switch)[13]
68/100 (PS4)[14]
69/100 (PC)[15]
71/100 (Xbox One)[16]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid6/10[17]
Easy Allies7.5/10[18]
GameRevolution[19]
GameSpot2/10[20]
IGN5/10[21]
Nintendo Life7/10[22]
Nintendo World Report7.5/10[23]
PC Games7/10[24]
Shacknews8/10[25]
The Games Machine7.8/10[26]

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated received "mixed or average reviews" according to Metacritic.[13][16][15][14]

IGN gave the game 5/10, saying that it "sinks under its reverence to nostalgia" and wrote, "[T]here 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."[21] In its 2/10 review, GameSpot wrote that "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."[20] Customer reviews on Steam give the game a rating of “Overwhelming Positive”[27]

Sales

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated placed at 19 on NPD's list of top 20 sales in the month of June.[28] In the UK, Rehydrated was the 3rd bestselling video game software in the week of June 27, 2020.[29]

As of August 13 2020, Rehydrated has sold over 1 million copies.[30]

Notes
  1. Original game developed by Heavy Iron Studios.
  2. Audio design for the remastered soundtrack. Original game composed by Jimmy Levine, Robert Crew and Alex Wilkinson.

References
  1. Dornbush, Jonathon; Dornbush, Jonathon (2020-06-22). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated Review". IGN. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  2. King, Jade (2020-06-22). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated Review". Trusted Reviews. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  3. Lanier, Liz (June 5, 2019). "Classic Spongebob Squarepants Game Getting Remake, Multiplayer Mode". Variety. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  4. Moyce, Chris (June 5, 2019). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom getting remastered for PC and consoles". Destructoid. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  5. Tailby, Stephen (June 5, 2019). "Are You Ready, Kids? SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated Announced". Push Square. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  6. Garst, Aron (July 25, 2019). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated will be playable for the first time at Gamescom". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  7. Stevens, Colin (June 6, 2019). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated Announced". IGN. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  8. Romano, Sal (April 16, 2020). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated launches June 23". Gematsu. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  9. Romano, Sal (October 24, 2019). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated special editions announced". Gematsu. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  10. "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated 'Languages are F.U.N.' trailers". Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  11. Van Allen, Eric (June 5, 2019). "THQ Nordic Announced a Remake of Cult Classic SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom, and the Internet is Freaking Out". USgamer. Archived from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  12. Baez, Ryan (February 18, 2020). "Interview: THQ Nordic talks Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated". Jack of All Controllers. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  13. "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated (Switch)". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  14. "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated (PS4)". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  15. "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated (Windows)". Metacritic. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  16. "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated (Xbox One)". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  17. Andriessen, CJ (2020-06-27). "Review: SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated". Destructoid. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  18. Ellis, Bradley. "Review: SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated". easyallies.com. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  19. "SpongeBob: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated Review for Switch, PS4, PC, Xbox". GameRevolution. June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  20. Joseph, Funké (June 22, 2020). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated Review - Expired Nostalgia". GameSpot. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  21. Dornbush, Jonathan (June 22, 2020). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated Review". IGN. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  22. http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/spongebob_squarepants_battle_for_bikini_bottom_-_rehydrated
  23. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/54122/spongebob-squarepants-battle-for-bikini-bottom--rehydrated-switch-review
  24. Benke, David (2020-06-22). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Wie viel F.U.N. steckt in der Neuauflage?". PC GAMES (in German). Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  25. Chandler, Sam (2020-06-22). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated review: I NEED IT". Shacknews. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  26. https://www.thegamesmachine.it/spongebob-squarepants-battle-for-bikini-bottom-rehydrated-pc-ps4-xbox-one-switch/spongebob-squarepants-battle-for-bikini-bottom-rehydrated-recensione/
  27. "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  28. "Matt Piscatella on Twitter". Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  29. "UK Sales Charts: The Last of Us Remastered Returns Amid Sequel's Success". Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  30. "Q1 REPORT WEBCAST PRESENTATION". Retrieved 13 August 2020.
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