Titans of the Tide is Purple Lamp’s third SpongeBob game, following Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated and The Cosmic Shake. The recent SpongeBob games have been a mix of remakes and original adventures, and the studio seems to have a much better feel for the series now.
The main hook here is that you play as both SpongeBob and Patrick. One takes physical form while the other becomes a ghost, with the two connected through matching BFF rings (Best Friends Forever). Their interactions feel like something straight out of the show, and the shared ghost mechanic gives the game its own identity compared to Purple Lamp’s earlier efforts.
The story kicks off at the Krusty Krab, where King Neptune cuts in front of the Flying Dutchman because he desperately wants a Krabby Patty. The two end up fighting, and things quickly spiral out of control across Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob and Patrick have to clean up the mess and save the town. The story follows an episodic structure, with each chapter taking you to a different location.
Titans of the Tide launched on PC and consoles last year, including Switch 2, but the original Switch version took almost another year to arrive. I wanted to find out if buying the Switch 1 version would get you a free upgrade to Switch 2. I expected there might be one, but I couldn’t find any indication of it, nor could I find an official statement confirming or ruling it out. Some games offer free upgrades, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here for now. The two versions also have quite a few differences, which might explain why they’re treated separately. I’d recommend checking the eShop listing before buying.
Technically, Titans of the Tide is a demanding game. Its visuals are quite advanced, and I thought it looked beautiful on PC, with a proper cartoon style that fits SpongeBob perfectly. I also tried the Switch 2 version, though performance wasn’t particularly impressive at launch, from what I remember.
The original Switch version makes some pretty noticeable sacrifices to both visuals and performance. The graphics take a substantial hit, which is understandable given the hardware. What bothers me more is how the game handles animation. There’s one caveat here: I played the Switch version on Switch 2 through backward compatibility, so the results might differ from running it on the original hardware. In my testing, the game ran at 30 FPS, but enemies, NPCs and other objects still animated at a much lower frame rate.
The problem becomes obvious in the very first boss fight. The boss moves painfully slowly, and its animations look downright buggy. It struggles to keep up with you and barely manages to land any attacks. This continues throughout the entire fight, making what should be a proper boss encounter far too easy.
I can accept a downgrade in visual quality, especially on older hardware. But when animation issues start affecting the actual gameplay and difficulty, that’s a much bigger problem. It’s the main reason I came away disappointed with the Switch 1 version.
Having played Titans of the Tide on PC and Switch 2, I’d say it’s Purple Lamp’s best SpongeBob game so far. I enjoyed it considerably more than Rehydrated and The Cosmic Shake, from the story to the gameplay. The developers seem to understand the franchise much better now, and that comes through in the experience.
Unfortunately, the Switch 1 version asks you to make too many compromises. I wouldn’t call it unplayable, but the visual downgrade and animation problems are difficult to overlook. The lack of a confirmed free upgrade makes things more frustrating, too, since there’s no clear way to move to the Switch 2 version without potentially buying it again.
If the original Switch is your only option, there’s still a good game here, and it may be worth playing despite its technical problems. If you have access to a PC, Switch 2 or another console, though, I’d recommend playing it there instead. The Switch 1 version simply doesn’t do the game justice, particularly when its technical limitations start affecting the gameplay itself.
Game Information
- Game Title: SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide
- Price: $39.99
- Publisher: THQ Nordic
- Developer: Purple Lamp Studios
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (Reviewed)
- Review Code: Provided by the publisher
