SpongeBob SquarePants The Cosmic Shake Review (PlayStation 4)
For this SpongeBob SquarePants The Cosmic Shake Review (PlayStation 4), we find out what happens if a Wish-granting Mermaid’s Tears are in the hands of SpongeBob and Patrick… What could go wrong? Sure, the very fabric holding the universe together could come undone, opening portals into wild Wishworlds. But that’s nothing our favorite sponge can’t handle- with the right cosmic costume!
SpongeBob SquarePants The Cosmic Shake Review (PlayStation 4) Pros:
- Excellent cartoon-like graphics.
- 15.60GB download size.
- Platinum trophy.
- Works on PlayStation 5.
- Gameplay settings – Hud always visible, objectives always visible, tutorials, smart camera, Invert axis, camera shake, and vibration.
- Accessibility settings – color blindness correction, severity slider, subtitles size, and subtitles opacity slider.
- 3D action-adventure gameplay.
- Original cast’s voice.
- In-game cutscenes.
- Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
- You can skip the cutscenes and interactions.
- The costume shop – play the story, buy them with doubloons, and do side quests.
- Buy costumes from the menu.
- The levels are big enough that you can do some light exploring.
- Simple hack-and-slash combat as you spin to attack enemies.
- Bubble gun type weapon allows you to shoot buttons, and trap enemies in them.
- You can hit people and they will react.
- Rewards are tied to achievements.
- Hidden Collectibles.
- The level design is pretty good.
- Mini-games are scattered throughout the story.
- Seahorse riding sections.
- Full 3D camera control.
- Patrick is a balloon that follows you around calling out secrets and will rescue you if you fall to your death or go out of boundaries.
- Collect underpants to replenish health.
- The map allows you to fast travel around.
- Replay levels and boss fights.
- Plenty of checkpoints.
- Bikini Bottom is like a hub world you can freely explore, find Collectibles, ride Seahorses, and go to story levels.
SpongeBob SquarePants The Cosmic Shake Cons:
- Cannot rebind controls.
- No sensitivity sliders for the camera.
- The tutorial pop-ups linger too long.
- Hit detection is a bit off.
- The tutorial doesn’t tell you about the menus and the fact you can buy outfits from the menu.
- SpongeBob repeats one-liners over and over.
- Slow pace.
- The camera goes crazy a lot of the time you are near a wall.
- The small platforming sections are just infuriating.
- The gameplay loop of every area is really repetitive.
- In cutscenes, it puts you in what it wants you to wear, not what you are actually wearing.
- Never know what can and cannot be smashed.
- Tutorial pop-ups repeat themselves constantly.
- A lot of these things are where they want you to walk small poles or beams, you can never fall off but it makes you move slowly.
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SpongeBob SquarePants The Cosmic Shake.
Developer: THQ Nordic.
Publisher: THQ Nordic.
Store Links –
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8/10
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7/10
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7/10
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7/10
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7/10
Summary
SpongeBob is back! Sticking to the tried and tested mechanics of the previous games, Cosmic Shake is a 3rd person adventure game with an emphasis on platforming and combat. The story is basically one of adventure within the Multiverses meaning the characters we know and love are them but not in the way they act. The worlds you visit are colorful and huge, this allows you to explore and generally have a bit of freedom. For the first couple of worlds, it was fun, varied, and had some depth to it, but then I saw how each world just played the same, the costumes were just cosmetic and not worth the hassle. The platforming got needlessly tedious, exploration wasn’t worth it and instead just prolonged the agony of finishing the world and moving on. SpongeBob is always going to resonate with younger gamers and it gives you what they want from the big worlds to the Bikini bottom hub world and riding seahorses around. A game for the young uns.