SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide

So, a Merman, a Ghost Pirate, and a Sponge walk into a Krusty Krab…

Titans of the Tide is a direct follow-up to The Cosmic Shake, both developed by Purple Lamp Studios. In fact, The Cosmic Shake is even referenced midway through the game when SpongeBob and Patrick run into Kassandra, who makes an offhand joke about the past game. And these types of throwbacks are not the only reference to the previous adventure, as Titans of the Tide, apart from also being able to play as SpongeBob’s best friend, Patrick, this new adventure relies on pretty much every gameplay mechanic The Cosmic Shake offered, making it feel less like a sequel and more like a continuation of the same game.

The Cosmic Shake was a great example of what Purple Lamp Studios is capable of when making a fully new SpongeBob adventure, given it was a step above Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated. However, Titans of the Tide feels exactly like The Cosmic Shake in nearly every regard, and yet, it is a far better example of how to adapt the licence due to its strong focus on its story and a wildly better camera perspective for its platforming and combat. It rarely does new things, but it has refined what worked and feels like we're truly playing a 3D SpongeBob movie. 

The biggest difference between The Cosmic Shake and Titans of the Tide is how it uses the story to move around its five locations instead of trying to weave a story around its gameplay. This was an issue with The Cosmic Shake, as it felt like a series of random locations that would occasionally push the story forward. Here, it almost feels like gameplay segments were placed in between scenes of an actual SpongeBob SquarePants movie, but in a good way. 

As the Krusty Krab is having a promotion, the Flying Dutchman attempts to cut the line and get preferential treatment, but to no avail. However, when King Neptune appears, Mr Krabs himself shows him to the front of the line, angering the Dutchman, and this causes a scene that puts the whole story in motion. While The Cosmic Shake only allowed you to control SpongeBob, Titans of the Tide also allows you to play as Patrick as well. And as he makes his way to the Krusty Krab, after the aforementioned scenario has occurred, he discovers that SpongeBob has been turned into a ghost. 

Even the fact that Patrick is terrified of ghosts is pushed aside when SpongeBob and Patrick discover that their Best Friends Forever rings allow them to transfer their new ghostly powers to one another. This causes the gameplay to be a constant switching of characters, which is handled extremely well, and feels naturally enjoyable when you need to swap characters as you platform, slide, and jump across multiple environments. This mechanic is used well and allows Titans of the Tide to differ from The Cosmic Shake in a big way. 

Titans of the Tide also makes some smart choices when it comes to its overall experience. There is now a focus on just one currency now instead of also collecting the jelly dots, which had a series of very repetitive dialogue lines almost every time you came into contact with them. The camera is infinitely better and allows more of the screen to take in a wider area. This also benefits combat greatly, as you now have a much better view of what is around you. And while the swinging mechanic is gone, it is replaced with Patrick’s own methods of moving around. 

And yet, on the other side of the coin, Titans of the Tide borrows far too much at times. Platforming is still split up with the same sliding levels, the same running atop a large boulder, to the same trampolines, surfboard, spikes, and other hazards found in The Cosmic Shake. Whether it was budgetary reasons or development time, a great number of assets from The Cosmic Shake return here, making the game feel less new and original when you're seeing the same things from game to game.

Switching between SpongeBob and Patrick constantly remains fun. SpongeBob has his same bucket of moves from The Cosmic Shake, including his Kah-Rah-Tay kick, whereas Patrick can magically pull items towards him, which leads into the platforming. Where platforming and exploration excel here in Titans of the Tide is that you'll often swap between ghostly objects and solid ones, causing the swap between those to progress the way forward. Combine that with switches affected by SpongeBob’s bubbles, and you have a vast assortment of mechanics to trigger, switch, jump, and pull, as you platform around. It can seem like a lot, especially when you can also burrow into the ground as Patrick to avoid wind gusts, but it all feels seamless and more engaging than The Cosmic Shake.

Titans of the Tide's best qualities are its focus on playing to its story and the switch mechanics performed by the dynamic duo. The original voices are back, and while a few lines are repeated far too often, the narrative really places the pair in scenarios that bring out the best in the voice cast. Titans of Tide certainly feels like it is borrowing from The Cosmic Shake at almost every step, but it does refine some of those rough edges into one of the best SpongeBob games out there.

Developer -Purple Lamp Studios. Publisher - THQ Nordic. Released - November 18th, 2025. Available On - Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Windows. Rated - (E-10) Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence. Platform Reviewed - PlayStation 5. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.