SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off – Review

Join SpongeBob SquarePants and friends on an underwater culinary adventure. When Mr. Karats sees potential in the restaurant business down in the Bikini Bottom, who better to run it than SpongeBob himself? SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off is a new cooking game for mobile based on the iconic cartoon – SpongeBob SquarePants!

SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off wastes no time and takes you right into the heart of the cartoon of your childhood dreams. The production is pitch-perfect, nailing all the details that make the original cartoon such a delight. From the playful visual style to the soundtracks that bring back memories, even the dialogs are filled with humor that are true to SpongeBob SquarePants. This alone is enough to give the game a unique edge over other cooking games for mobile, but whether the gameplay itself is noteworthy or not begs another question.

It is evident that SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off derives inspirations from top-grossing hits like Cooking Fever and Cooking Craze. The game mechanics feel familiar and simple, you cook per your customer’s orders and serve them while they are still happy. When compared to those model cooking games mentioned, SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off is much more barebone. The variety of tasks within a level is limited and each venue does not differ much from one another. Although the game has its moments of challenge, it gets very repetitive and tedious quick quickly.

Apart from its main cooking-driven levels, SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off also contains other features. For example, you can purchase and dress up characters in fancy costumes, purchase decorations for the venue, as well as regular events for you to participate and win big rewards. However, none of these is innovative and exciting enough to take the game to another level.

SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off operates on the lives system, in which you are maxed at five hearts and only lose a heart when you lose a level. Considering how easy the game often is, the lack of lives is rarely a source of frustration. As for the in-game currencies, there are gems and coins. These can be purchased in the store and used to purchase upgrades, boosters, costumes, and more. I do not feel that the game is unfairly stingy with its currencies, although the occasional unskippable video ads can be annoying.

SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off successfully adapts its source material, but is less adept at delivering an engaging gameplay.