Once upon a time, someone who was in love with the SpongeBob SquarePants series (just the first couple of seasons, like the true purist, gatekeeping nerd) once saw his child – also in love with SpongeBob – playing a funny-looking mobile app titled SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off. A typical food serving sim, this was casual-friendly, almost as colourful and pretty on the eyes as the source of its inspiration, and fun, fun, fun. Being a free piece of software meant that everything was held back by the usual annoyances, like waiting times, ads, even more ads, and a resource one needed to grind for hours with the alternative being real money. Like any good – dorky – father, that handsome stud decided to buy the complete Switch version, SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off – Extra Krusty Edition.
For those who haven’t played a food serving sim or haven’t enjoyed how [REDACTED] such jobs are in the real life, here goes: people (in this case some fishy fellows) order food, the cook prepares it (preferably fast), and it is then served – that’s it. The gameplay is appropriately simple for it to be enjoyable for casual gamers, but at the same time needs a bit of skill to be pleasing for those who are more experienced, as one needs to think ahead, be fast and precise, and also make sure not to burn food or throw it in the trash. Note that all this can be a bit perplexing for those who struggle with learning…well, almost all of the buttons – something that mainly applies to the youngest of gamers.
There’s no touch screen option here, which is a big no-no for such a title, not to mention for something released for the hybrid system that is the Switch. Instead, each move is mapped to a specific button. In the first set of levels, for example, where SpongeBob is tasked with making pancakes, B puts the pancake mix on the grill and A puts the fried pancake to a plate. A can then add some pink jelly, while Y uses purple jelly, and so on and so forth. Ready? Use a shoulder button to make the plate “fly” towards the hungry, money-carrying sea creature. Moving between the different parts of the cuisine must also be done with the analogue stick, which makes what is an easy game a bit challenging for those who prefer touch screen controls.
Once players get accustomed to it all and find their flow, it will be hard to avoid playing “just one more round.” It’s not that there is a ton of variety. The menu might get an additional plate or ingredient, but this doesn’t really change things – it’s just that it’s all fun! What makes it more interesting just when repetitiveness starts being felt, is when you finally complete a set of levels (about 50) and move to the next fast-food restaurant in line, which introduces new recipes and flavours, as well as slightly different ways that food must be prepared. Again, nothing too demanding or groundbreaking, but it’s nice that there’s almost always something new to see.
Aside from the expected absence of microtransactions (bar a costume pack DLC) and all the typical free mobile app baggage, what’s new here? Well, for starters the many achievements now give tickets for a Skill Crane, which unlocks costumes, or gives extra money, which in turn are used to upgrade the ingredients, the kitchen appliances, as well as the décor of each restaurant. More importantly, power-ups have been added to this version. SpongeBob, for instance, can use a RoboBob that quickly cooks what customers ask, while Squidward calls forth a school of anchovies which eat whatever he can cook for them – perfect for those moments of panic where the workplace might get a bit too chaotic.
After some time, boredom will inevitably come. That’s alright. This isn’t meant to be played for too long. Ten to twenty levels per day will be more than enough for most. This is also fairly lengthy, with many different restaurants to unlock and play in. Once everything is complete, previous restaurants can be returned to, as after the initial “story” levels, a sort of endless mode is unlocked, which lets you play as many more levels as you want, and also tend to be somewhat harder. Aside from achievements, however, there’s nothing more here other than simply enjoying playing.
What’s great about SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off – Extra Krusty Edition is that it’s as if it came straight from the TV series. Everything looks (and sounds) great, despite this obviously being a simplified, low-budget version of the real thing. From the interior of the restaurants to the main characters and their alternative costumes, as well as the customers themselves, this will be a treat for fans. The small visual novel-style cut-scenes that play every three or so levels can’t hold a candle to the humour that can be found in a real SpongeBob episode, yet young gamers will surely enjoy them. The absence of any voice acting means that parents are obliged to do the voice acting themselves. It’s the rule, people!
What’s not so great? There are many a bug, like the occasional appearance of sprites that shouldn’t be there, as well as (rare) instances of temporary freezes and slowdowns. The worst issue of them all? Completed plates that cannot be served. Stages are tiny in duration, so restarting isn’t that irritating, but it would be great if these flaws had been ironed out for this supposedly complete and repolished version… Which leads to the biggest problem at hand: the price. This simply shouldn’t be as expensive as it usually is, SpongeBob or no SpongeBob on the cover. While it’s a fun experience with an impressive amount of content, its lack of touch screen controls and many bugs make it hard to accept a price tag that’s almost as high as a flawless major release.
