Welcome to our review of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game, a game where I openly wonder if it was really something we needed? This is a kids game after all and even the great minds at Outright Games may not be able to save it.
Create hilarious mayhem in the open world of Bikini Bottom. Patrick fans, your time has come – and Bikini Bottom is your open-world playground! So become the Star of the show, put your silliest ideas into action, and enjoy the physics-based chaos that unfolds all around you. Take things and push them somewhere else. Physics!
From The Krusty Krab to Glove World, the SpongeBob universe is yours to goof off in. Skydive with just a parasol (or nothing at all), search for buried treasure in the Dump, or release the rage in Mrs. Puff’s Rage Room. Use almost any item you can find, from the reef blower to a can of paint, to change the world into Patrick’s dream playground. Unlock classic Patrick outfits with your crazy stunts and collectibles.
Take on challenges only Patrick would attempt, set up by your best friends like SpongeBob, Sandy Cheeks, Mr. Krabs, and … Plankton. Or do absolutely nothing, for longer than anyone else can possibly manage – it’s your world to be as Patrick as possible. Get silly with SpongeBob, Squidward, Sandy, and more. So step inside one of Bikini Bottom’s most enigmatic minds, forget all the rules, and have the most hilariously unpredictable experience you can imagine!
Before we continue, let me say something about my love for Outright games, the masters of making games for the youngest among us. From My Little Pony to the Paw Patrol games, they really know their stuff and are truly the very best at what they do. Earlier on, when I said even OG could not save this game, it is not about the technical prowess or the playing fun, I just openly wonder if Spongebob should have had a game like this and with this audience in mind.
Yes, I am sure that little kids would love that feeling of the happy life in the sea, burping and just all out having simple chores to finish, but that might be its biggest caveat. In my humble opinion, this game is ideally suited for kids but not covering the Spongebob intended audience age group, which is between 6 and 11. I feel like at 11, they may have outgrown this genre and it is mostly oriented at kids between 6 and 8, but with other (not uncoincidentally) Outright games out there, this might be the odd duck out.
Game technically, this runs perfectly, but is it a strong enough title with the contents of very basic chores to really keep kids hooked? That being my entire point, there are so many other games out there that may be more interesting, on the younger side, you got your paw patrols, … And on the older side, we got all that Lego goodness and for many young players out there, the early steps into gaming classics like Fortnite, Minecraft, … It may be the perfect game in a missed out upon age group or just not be that good after all.
In conclusion, everything said and done, I do think I should grade this game as it is, which is a fun endeavour under the sea and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game does not disappoint in itself. It might just have a very specific age group to tackle on its own.
