Review: SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide (PS5) – A Decent Platformer, But Not Quite Ship Shape

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Purple Lamp Studios is an experienced game developer, having worked on several licensed games, including multiple SpongeBob titles.

The newest SpongeBob game, Titans of the Tide, is a 3D platformer that, like Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated before it, aims to capitalize on fans’ fond memories of classic SpongeBob games.

Okay, so I just finished playing Titans of the Tide, and honestly, it’s a pretty good time – definitely made by people who love the original cartoon. It’s similar to their last game, The Cosmic Shake, in that it’s just a solid, fun adventure. But, and this is a big ‘but’, it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. It feels a little rough around the edges and relies a bit too much on stuff we’ve seen before. Still enjoyable, though!

The Krusty Krab is having a sale that’s caught the eye of two very important figures: King Neptune and the ghostly Flying Dutchman.

The two characters fight, and during the battle, the second one uses ghostly powers to turn everyone in Bikini Bottom – even SpongeBob – into ghosts, creating chaos everywhere.

Luckily, Patrick Star doesn’t realize what’s happening, and when he arrives at the Krusty Krab, he and SpongeBob find they can switch between being solid and ghostly. This ability is the main focus of the game.

You can switch between playing as SpongeBob and Patrick at any time, and you’ll need to do so because they each have different skills.

Patrick can dig in the sand and lift things that are heavy, and SpongeBob is known for his karate kick and ability to blow bubbles.

Mastering these skills is essential to completing each level, and you’ll often need to quickly switch between characters to overcome challenging platforming sections.

I really like the core concept of this game, and it actually works pretty well! The levels are cleverly built to make you switch between characters all the time, which is really fun. Even the fighting feels connected to this, because some enemies are way easier to beat depending on which character you’re using at the moment.

If you’re looking for a simple and fun 3D platforming game, this one delivers on most fronts.

We first thought the game’s spooky theme might become repetitive, but thankfully the different levels offer a good amount of variety, even though they all share a similar look.

Okay, so our main base in this game is actually built from the Krusty Krab – how cool is that?! It’s not the biggest place to wander around at first, but trust me, as you play, you unlock more and more stuff to see and do inside. It really opens up!

You’ll then explore a variety of familiar and brand-new locations, including the rundown Goldfish Island, the lavish palace of King Neptune, and a wintery take on the classic Jellyfish Fields.

The game feels good to play and really captures the look of the show with its bright, colorful graphics. A huge part of that is having the original voice actors – even for smaller characters – which makes the world feel incredibly authentic.

I really wanted to love this, and the actors are clearly giving it their all! It’s just that the writing doesn’t quite have the same quick wit as the original cartoon. There are definitely some laughs, and a few scenes really work, but sometimes the conversations feel a little awkward and don’t flow as naturally as I’d hoped.

It’s clear the developers are huge fans of the series, and they’ve filled the game with tons of references and jokes that longtime viewers will love. You can really see this dedication in the outfits available for SpongeBob and Patrick, which are pulled from many different episodes.

During gameplay, you can use the coins you collect to buy unlocked costumes. You can also purchase underpants that boost your health and display items to customize your home base.

This SpongeBob game is one of the better ones that’s come out recently, but it still falls a little short of being the very best.

We definitely need to address a few bugs. We had to restart the game once because of a soft-lock that occurred midway through, and there are also some smaller problems, such as slow texture loading.

Also, many feel that Titans of the Tide relies too much on ideas from Battle for Bikini Bottom, a game that came out over twenty years ago.

Honestly, playing this game, some of the stuff just feels really familiar – like it’s borrowed from other games. I appreciate they’re trying to do something fresh, but some of the core ideas just don’t feel as modern as I’d hoped.

However, players will likely enjoy it. The game is another solid SpongeBob platformer, clearly inspired by the most popular ones, and it includes enough new elements to make it worthwhile.

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2025-11-17 19:08