A character as iconic as SpongeBob is no stranger to video games. While some of his games have left a good impression on gamers, such as Battle For Bikini Bottom back on gen 6 platforms, most of the games to come out have ranged from just being meh, to decent. SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans Of The Tide may not surpass his gen 6 outings but it is a solid attempt and a fun platformer overall, even if in a couple ways it takes some steps back from the previous SpongeBob game, The Cosmic Shake.

Story

A typical day for the Krusty Krab gets turned upside down after The Flying Dutchman decides to visit and place an order. However after he finally comes up in line, another unexpected guest comes in the form of King Neptune who then proceeds to cut the Dutchman in line. This starts a squabble between the two which results in both the Krusty Krab being nuked by the Dutchman and SpongeBob being turned into a ghost. After meeting up with Patrick however, the two discover that their BFF rings allow them to switch ghost forms with each other. As the squabble between Neptune and the Dutchman escalates, SpongeBob and Patrick have to figure out how to stop the two most powerful beings around before they destroy all of Bikini Bottom.

Pros

I think perhaps the biggest strength of Titans of The Tide is that the game is legitimately funny. It’s premise alone is hilarious in the fact that the Dutchman and Neptune, two characters with godlike powers are causing all sorts of destruction over something so petty as being cut in line at a burger spot. The fact that although their squabble is essentially a 5th grade playground fight to them, the result is apocalyptic levels of destruction being caused as a result is humorous to say the least.

Outside of the premise, the dialogue between SpongeBob and Patrick is also often funny as the characters long time VAs, Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke work off the chemistry the two have had for years. The two being dimwits will remind fans of episodes where their nonsense was at its highest such as survival of the idiots. Patrick being a numbskull who also has random flashes of brilliance is also on display here.

Outside of being a funny game, Titans of the Tide is a competent platformer. It’s not on the level of Mario or Astro Bot or anything but what’s presented here is good and the game’s level design is fun and does well to take advantage of both SpongeBob and Patrick’s different abilities. SpongeBob has some of his abilities from the Cosmic Shake such as his karate kick which functions like the homing attack from the sonic games while Patrick can do things like burrow underground as well as carry heavy items.

A good amount of the platforming will see you switch between the two mid jump and has good stretches mixed in where you play as one of them for a decent amount of time or sees you switching more frequently. Titans of the Tide isn’t a long game if you do decide to just run through it’s 5 worlds but the game has a decent amount of optional side missions to go through as well as challenge races from Larry the lobster.

There’s also a good amount of fan service within the game. There’s a lot of costumes to unlock throughout for both SpongeBob and Patrick as well as various prop items that can be placed around the Flying Patty, the games main hub world. On top of the costumes, the game does often call back to some of the more memorable moments from the show such as quests for the fish that screamed “CHOCOLAAAATE!” among others as well as calling to some of the various memes the show has spawned over the years.

Although Titans of the Tide is certainly a kids game, Purple Lamp did a good job at respecting the older fans of the show as some of the references are from the shows earliest episodes.

Cons

So unfortunately one downgrade from The Cosmic Shake is in its visuals. Titans of the Tide isn’t an ugly game but one of the things that made The Cosmic Shake so enjoyable was how colorful and inventive it’s levels were. It featured some very imaginative takes on the world of SpongeBob and unfortunately that isn’t the same case with Titans of the Tide. Although the later levels have moments when the fight between Neptune and the Dutchman begin warping things, it’s overall kind of dark and bland looking in comparison to the cosmic shake as well as past SpongeBob games overall.

Some of this may stem from Purple Lamp not having as much time however as Titans of the Tide is coming out not even 2 full years after The Cosmic Shake.

The game is also too easy, a problem it somewhat shared with its predecessor. While yes it is a kids game, Battle For Bikini Bottom as well as the game based off the movie were both known to present decent challenges. This may stem from the fact that Titans of the Tide is a very point A to point B platformer while those two were collect-a-thon platformers in the vein of Banjo-Kazooie. Of course this is a kids game and I’m not saying it should reach Crash 4 levels of difficulty or anything but, a little more challenge couldn’t hurt. Even the optional things to collect are pretty easy to get as they’re largely out in the open or you don’t have to travel far off the beaten path.

A more minor complaint is also that while the duo of SpongeBob and Patrick are generally entertaining, occasionally some of the more annoying traits of Patrick in some of the less well received seasons where fans dubbed him “Patrick” does come up, although thankfully this doesn’t happen often.

Final Thoughts

All in all Titans of the Tide is a decent platformer and a game with a funny premise as well as fun dialogue between its two leads. Purple Lamp is clearly working with what they’ve got here and put forth a solid game. If they’re given perhaps a bit more to work with, maybe a truly excellent game can come and it’s definitely something a character as beloved as SpongeBob deserves at some point.

Reviewed on Xbox Series S. A thank you to THQ Nordic for providing a review code.

SpongeBob: Titans of the Tide launches on 18 November 2025 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.