Just like many cartoon characters, SpongeBob SquarePants is no strange to being in video games. Most of his games came out during the sixth console generation, but recently, the cute sponge has seen something of a comeback. After THQ Nordic remade Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated, they decided to make more SpongeBob games using the same formula, and they’ve been doing so almost annually. Tides of Tomorrow is one such game.
I have to be honest here; I wasn’t expecting more than “just another SpongeBob game”, but after playing till the end, I’m happy to say that the game pleasantly surprised me. Sure, you could say it’s the same as Battle for Bikini Bottom (and it’s sequels) but that doesn’t mean that the game is any less creative nor charming.
SpongeBob and Patrick vs. Ghosts
One day at Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob’s Boss, Mr. Krabs hosts a one-day-only special event: half-price for all Crabby Patties (the burgers he serves at his restaurant: The Krusty Krab). Seeing how this is a very special event, many famous people… uhhh… fish-people, are invited including King Neptune. Unfortunately, while in the queue for their order, King Neptune and the Flying Dutchman get into a fight, and the Dutchman turns half of the residents into ghosts, including SpongeBob.
Fortunately, SpongeBob can “revive” himself thanks to his best friend Patrick Star. Because the two of them wear matching BFF rings, they are able to swap places… or corporeal forms. Of course, solving the feud between King Neptune and The Flying Dutchman falls on to them, and the only way to do so is by navigating a few semi-open levels. As you can see, the story isn’t exactly mind-blowing but it’s in the spirit of the cartoon. It often felt like I was watching an old SpongeBob episode, except there’s a lot more jumping and some light combat. The music is very reminiscent of the show, and the voice actors reprise their roles while the main gameplay formula remains the same.
The biggest innovation for Titans of the Tide is the swap mechanic between SpongeBob and Patrick. While playing as one of the heroes, the other one floats around as a ghost, and you can change their positions with the press of a button. SpongeBob can use karate moves and blow bubbles, while Patrick can burrow in the ground and lift objects. Of course, both of them have their own combat moves during battles. I have to say, I’m not sure if the swap mechanic was a good idea. Granted it doesn’t hurt the gameplay, but I could easily see SpongeBob having the same moves as Patrick which would completely negate the need to swap between them. Oh well, it’s not like it hurts the actual gameplay much, which you’ll likely enjoy because of the brilliant level design.
The level design is way better than it has any right to be
Titans of the Tide, as I stated above, is a 3D platformer, much like the ones we played during the late 90s and early 2000s. Lately, this genera has been been gaining traction again (likely because of the success of Astro Bot). In my opinion, most developers and publishers are too afraid to take risks with 3D platformers. Oftentimes, I feel like many “modern” platformers play it too safe, and lack variety. Well, that’s definitely not the case for Titans of the Tide.
While it may seem like another 3D platformer at first, the game quickly breaks it’s shackles and gets really creative. Each level is packed with new gameplay mechanics, puzzles, and some really creative platforming. It’s not just about reaching the end while jumping, you’ve got to activate platforms mid-air, find hidden objects, new permanent power-ups, solve environmental puzzles, and even stop and think about how you’re going to progress. All this in a game intended for kids. Titans of the Tide really blew me away with these levels and I was genuinely looking forward to experiencing them all. Seriously, the amount of creativity for some of these sections was astounding. Of course, none of this would have worked without precise controls, and I’m happy to say they work just fine.
In each level, you also have a few side activities, such as jellyfish collecting, coin collect, time trial races and even some side quests which can unlock a new wardrobe for Patrick and SpongeBob. That being said, as much as I loved the level design, the game did have a few issues.
A few issues
Let’s start with the optimization. The game runs at a mostly stable 30 FPS on Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, which is a bit disappointing. Seeing how Titans of the Tide is very similar to other SpongeBob games, I don’t see the reason why the game couldn’t have run at a higher framerate. Not to mention, the game isn’t available on last-gen hardware, which again, is strange, seeing how it uses the same graphical style and gameplay like the last few games. At certain points, the game’s framerate can dip to as low as 10 FPS, but thankfully these occur rarely.
The other problem are the battles. Battles are either too easy or too overwhelming. Either you destroy all enemies on the screen with just a few hits, or they all swarm you and drain your health. I’m glad battles aren’t the main focus of Titans of the Tide because fighting the same mobs over and over again got old fast. The same can be said for the boss battles too as they all have a pattern where you dodge projectiles until the boss shows it’s weak spot.
Thirdly, and this may not really be an issue, the game is very similar to the last few SpongeBob games which use the same formula as Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated. Sure the graphics are bit more modern, same goes for the music scores, but the mechanics and the gameplay remain the same. Still… if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Now even though I loved exploring the levels, at the end of each one there was a sliding section. At first these were great because they broke the monotony a bit, but many of them are long, tedious and if you fall into a pit, you have to do the entire thing.
Fortunately, most of the issues above can be fixed with a patch or two, and I really hope the Day 1 patch addresses most (if not all) of them. What can’t be fixed are the brilliant levels, the fun puzzles and the slightly difficult platforming sections which really managed to impress me, despite the few shortcomings. All this, in a game aimed at younger players.
SpongeBob Squarepants: Titans of the Tide (Nintendo Switch 2)
SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide was a very pleasant surprise. I was expecting a generic 3D platformer, and what I got were some very well designed levels, fun puzzles and a very fun experience. Even though Titans of the Time still uses the same formula as Battle for Bikini Bottom, I had a real blast playing as SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick.
