The game is playable at PAX East 2020, though it’s the same demo carried over from Gamescom 2019. However, a separate press-only version has been spotted, which has the horde mode playable for the first time.
There’s no footage of the press build currently, but YouTuber RidersDX has revealed some details based on what he saw – including new playable characters in multiplayer.
The key discoveries from the PAX demo include SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated's multiplayer horde mode where two players team up against wave after wave of increasingly challenging enemies, and three new characters. In the new multiplayer mode, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, and Squidward will join SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy on the roster, for a total ensemble of six.
Horde Mode also makes good on THQ Nordic’s promise to restore cut content from the original game. Once you’ve scrapped a few rounds of robots, you and your buddy face off against Robot Squidward, a boss who was originally planned for the PS2 version of Battle for Bikini Bottom, but for whatever reason was removed from the game’s final build. There’s no word yet on whether or not this new boss is exclusive to multiplayer mode, or if he has also been worked into the single-player experience.
SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated still doesn’t have a confirmed release date, though Nintendo may have mistakenly let it slip last month. Officially, though, the game and its collector’s edition are targeting a summer release, and many fans cannot wait for a chance to relive this childhood favorite.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated will be released on PS4, PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Here’s the full roundup of tidbits:
– Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Plankton are playable
– Another slot, but this could just be someone picked at random
– Robot Squidward in one of the levels
– Get waves of robots thrown at you in rounds
– You and a second player work together to attack those robots
– Platforms come out, which you maneuver across them to get to the next section or get more robots
– Robots and attacks from Robot Squidward in this level
– Level is over a giant pool of water
– A lot of robots take two hit points to be destroyed
– When you hit them once, they turn red
You can listen to RidersDX’s full report below:
The remastered version of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom is the first game from THQ Nordic's partnership with Nickelodeon, which will see the video game publisher re-release fan-favorite video games inspired by beloved Nickelodeon properties such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Back at the Barnyard, Catscratch, Danny Phantom, El Tigre, Invader Zim, Jimmy Neutron, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Rocket Power, Rocko’s Modern Life, Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants, Tak and the Power of JuJu, The Fairly OddParents (US only), The Ren & Stimpy Show, and The Wild Thornberrys.
CALLING ALL GOOFY GOOBERS! (ROCK!) Are ya ready for a deep dive into the world of SpongeBob SquarePants? The SpongeBob YouTube channel is THE PLACE for all fan-favorite SpongeBob moments! We’re serving up everything from legendary scenes to remixes of classic songs to deep dives into Bikini Bottom lore. Be sure to check back every week for Music Mondays, Wumbo Wednesdays, and Flashback Fridays! Subscribe now at https://www.youtube.com/SpongeBobOfficial!
Shop SpongeBob!: https://www.spongebobshop.com
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From PowerUp!:
Hands-on with SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated – I’m Ready!
SpongeBob SquarePants is one of those very odd, Nickelodeon cartoons that is far more adult than it appears on the surface. Like Ren & Stimpy, Rocko’s Modern Life and even Rugrats, there’s a hell of a lot more going on in SpongeBob than meets the eye. That’s why, 21 years after the cartoon debuted and 17 years after this game was first released, a gaggle of gamers are desperate to get their hands on the remake.
I was a bit too old and a bit too “cool” for SpongeBob when it was at its zenith, but I’ve seen enough of it to get the appeal. However, because I wasn’t a fan, I never played the original SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom so I have no frame of reference.
That being said, like the Destroy All Humans! Remake, SpongeBob Rehydrated is an impressive update and reworking of an old-school platformer.
SpongeBob Rehydrated
In my hands-on with SpongeBob Rehydrated, I was able to play through the Jellyfish Fields level, which is one of the earliest in the game. Here, SpongeBob needs to collect Royal Jelly from the King Jellyfish in order to heal Squidward’s jellyfish stings.
There are also tonnes of robots around, thanks to Plankton and his nefarious ways.
SpongeBob Rehydrated is a real flashback to platformers of old. Think back to the golden age of Banjo-Kazooie and then a little past that, to when every licensed game was a platformer of some sort or another. Thankfully, SpongeBob Rehydrated seems to have had a solid base to build off of as it actually feels quite good to play.
SpongeBob has a basic selection of abilities; jump, double jump, ground pound, attack and high jump.
Using these to get around Bikini Bottom feels great and is both intuitive and easy. It might be my historic knowledge of platformers, but playing SpongeBob Rehydrated was second nature, even though I’d never played the original.
As I made my way around the level I found underpants (health), Golden Spatulas and the weird, shiny objects SpongeBob and his pals use for money. Smacking jellyfish and robots gave me plenty of cash and made getting around the level a lot easier.
However, this is not now, nor was it then, a groundbreaking platforming game. It’s a decent one, but it doesn’t do anything to really break apart from the pack. That’s ok though. Sometimes you just want to sit, play a game without having to think too much and have a good time.
SpongeBob Rehydrated looks to be one of those games.
In the original game, you could play as Patrick and Sandy as well as SpongeBob, but this demo only featured SpongeBob. It’s hard to say how they’ll play, but given how good it feels to control SpongeBob, I’m certain the others will follow suit.
Aside from the gameplay, visually, SpongeBob Rehydrated is a real treat. It’s so bright and so colourful that at first, I thought the colour settings on the monitor I was using were busted. Such is the drab, brown nature of modern games.
Being based on a whacky, bright cartoon, it makes sense for SpongeBob Rehydrated to explode with colour and explode it does. It’s easily one of the brightest, most colourful games in recent memory. That’s the beauty with basing something on a cartoon and not the real-world. After playing, I went back and checked out the original and it looks drab by comparison.
I’m sure back in the day it was a colourful game, but now, it might as well be in black and white.
SpongeBob Rehydrated is definitely a game for those who loved the original or love the cartoon. General gamers probably won’t see it for what it is, but they’re not the intended audience. I can imagine fans of the original game lost their minds when this was announced and they’ll appreciate everything on offer here.
It’s an old school platformer, wrapped up in an incredible visual package with some tweaks and updates to the controls to make sure it plays well enough that today’s gamers won’t be turned off.
There’s no release date as yet, but it is scheduled to be released in 2020.
SpongeBob Rehydrated is coming to PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One.
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From DualShockers:
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated Has Me Thirsty for More
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is shaping up to be a fun remake despite some noticeable flaws.
If you told me 10 years ago that in 2020 there would be a remake of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom I wouldn’t have believed you, but it exists. Not only does it exist, but it is also very good. However, I wouldn’t call it a remake, but I also wouldn’t call it a remaster. It is in this weird middle ground where it is kind of a bit of both.
The game was rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal Engine 4. With the updated visuals, it gives Rehydrated a more modern look but is also reminiscent of the original. The bright colors of Jellyfish Fields are vivid and beautiful. All the dialogue used is from the original in 2003 and remastered for Rehydrated, which is the one big factor that I think hurts the game. With remaking all the cutscenes and gameplay but not the voiceover, it is immediately noticeable where lines don’t fully translate well when characters are speaking or even yelling when running away from angry jellyfish.
A relative criticism I hear about modern games from time to time is “it plays like an *insert older console name* game.” SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated definitely fits under that category. It feels like a PlayStation 2 era title just like the original, but to me, that doesn’t really matter in my opinion. Is it a fun game? Does it accomplish what it tries to do well? Those are the questions I look for in a game, and I think SpongeBob does both of those things exceedingly well. It’s a remake based on a Nickelodeon IP. I’m not expecting it to break barriers; I’m expecting to have a fun time like I did years ago.
Traveling through Jellyfish Fields, catching jellyfish and bashing robots is a simplistic joy. As a 3D platformer, it is still one of my favorites across the genre not only because of the design, but because of how true it is to the SpongeBob brand. Fighting King Jellyfish from the show is a great example of that. It is a nostalgia trip in more ways than one and also a legitimate challenge to face.
Anyone that knows me can tell you that I’m a major SpongeBob fan and at the reasonable age of 26, Rehydrated is just the complete package for a SpongeBob game. What I played is just a small taste of the big world of Bikini Bottom to explore while interacting with characters that you likely grew up with during your childhood. But it’s also a fun charismatic platformer that anyone can enjoy whether you are a fan of SpongeBob or not. For those looking forward to its release, just be aware of what you’re getting into and keep your expectations in check.
From what I’ve played, Rehydrated is a solid remake of a great platformer. With THQ Nordic bringing a pleasant yet unexpected title back in a new light, I’m hoping that with its potential success we can see a sequel or even revivals of other Nickelodeon titles in the future (please, at least give us Rocket Power: Beach Bandits).
SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is coming to PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, and is set to release sometime in 2020.
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More Nick: Nickelodeon Announces Voice Cast for 'Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years', First-Ever 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Spinoff!
Originally published: Sunday, March 01, 2020.
Sources: Nintendo Enthusiast, Nintendo Everything; H/T: ntower; Additional source: Google Translate, My Nintendo News, GameZone.
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