SpongeBob SquarePants: Krusty Cook-Off

Nintendo and Nickelodeon's friendship is bigger every year. Also Universal was cleared of charges. The end.

Ah, licensed games… Though in more recent history they haven’t been quite as much of a scourge as in generations past they have a tendency to either be a surprise, making terrific use of the property, or what feels like a thin coat of familiarity to slap on an otherwise lacking experience. Unfortunately, as quirky and silly as SpongeBob may be, Krusty Cook-Off doesn’t put a very good foot forward on multiple levels, making for a pretty overpriced but underwhelming experience. Very clearly showing its mobile roots with different in-game currencies to earn, a shop for cosmetics, and general mechanics from the free-to-play space, that this isn’t even a budget game is already tough to swallow. Throw in that there’s no voice to make more than cosmetic use of the license and that the cooking management gameplay skews on the simplistic side, with many competitors already on the system that are more engaging and fun, and this title is half-baked at best. ****/2021/05/mini-reviews-may-7th-edition-nintendo.html