Quick Links

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is the latest game from Purple Lamp Studios and THQ Nordic on Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC and Xbox Series consoles, and follows in the footsteps of the 2020 remake of Battle for Bikini Bottom. The Cosmic Shake has SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs and all the mainstays of Bikini Bottom tossed across realities after a bubble-blowing session gone awry.

Related: SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated Review

Across multiple alternate realities and a Bikini Bottom in disarray, the passionate developers at Purple Lamp have littered the game with subtle, yet lovable references and callbacks to beloved episodes and aspects of this animation juggernaut's two decades of humorous storytelling. Here are just a few of the many references and easter eggs players can find in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake.

Bikini Bottom

thq purple lamp spongebob cosmic shake 3d platformer
  • Right from the start, Squidward Tentacles can be seen painting on a canvas outside his house. Looking at the canvas in question, players will see that Squidward is painting another rendition of his infamous 'Bold and Brash' painting from the season 2 episode 'Artist Unknown'.
  • Behind the Shady Shoals Rest Home, across the street from Sandy's Tree-dome, the Invisible Boatmobile can be found parked up against the building. It is only present in the tutorial segment of the game, and is no longer present after the Cosmic bubble incident wrecks Bikini Bottom and reality at large.
  • A newer addition to the show, Plankton's pet, Spot, can be found next to Spongebob's house in the tutorial section, eating garbage with Gary the Snail. Spot also has an ongoing side quest where players have to track down the hiding spots he's created for himself across the various alternate realities.

Wild West Jellyfish Fields

thq purple lamp spongebob cosmic shake wild west
  • SpongeBob earns his license at Mrs. Puff's Horse Ranch, but is disappointed that it doesn't cover any motorized vehicles. This is in reference to his many failed attempts at securing his boating license from Mrs. Puff's Boating School in the show.

Karate Downtown Bikini Bottom

thq purple lamp spongebob references in cosmic shake
  • In the studio back lot at the beginning of the level, cardboard cutouts of anchovies can be found propped up against the walls. These anchovies were part of Kevin's entourage in the season 2 episode 'I'm Your Biggest Fanatic'.
  • One of the posters seen around the level is an advertisement for Squidward as a director, with a realistic and extremely handsome mugshot of himself in the center of it. This appearance was briefly given to Squidward after having his face bashed in by SpongeBob in the season 5 episode 'The Two Faces of Squidward'.
  • Littering the walls of the film lot and movie sets are posters featuring Master Udon, a karate-themed con artist that tried to swindle SpongeBob in the season 4 episode 'Karate Island', which debuted in 2006.
  • Another 'Karate Island' reference can be seen in Sandy's outfit she wears during her boss fights, itself a reference to Quentin Tarantino's 2003 action film 'Kill Bill'.
  • Prop advertisements for Kelp Shakes can be seen across the film lots and sets of the level. Kelp Shakes were a short-lived fast-food drink that appeared in the season 4 episode 'Best Frenemies' that threatened to drive the Krusty Krab and Chum Bucket out of business, before themselves being closed down due to toxic chemicals being found in their drink offerings.

Related: Best Harry Potter Games, Ranked

Pirate Goo Lagoon

thq purple lamp spongebob cosmic shake 3d platformer references
  • The cannons fired by Captain Prawn fire explosive pies, which litter the beach. These are the same exploding pies sold to Squidward and Mr. Krabs by pirates in the season 2 episode 'Dying For Pie'. These pies were, by one of the pirate's own admission, made in "A bomb factory. They're bombs".
  • Players will have to complete a memory game with a mermaid in order to progress at a certain point, all the while Patrick attempts to flirt with her. Patrick's romantic infatuation with her is a callback to his similar crush on the mermaid Princess Mindy in 2004's The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
  • While hoisting the Flying Dutchman's socks on the main sails of the Slime-occupied pirate ships, players will encounter Fred, another inhabitant of Bikini Bottom and the originator of the long-running "My LEG!" audio queue, which he makes reference to as one of his legs has become a wooden peg-leg.
  • At the end of the level, as the Flying Dutchman assembles his makeshift fleet to reclaim his boat from Captain Prawn, he orders a howl. The howling noise he, SpongeBob, and Patrick let out are the same ones the trio bellowed in the season 2 episode 'Shanghaied'.

Halloween Rock Bottom

thq nordic spongebob cosmic shake halloween
  • At the beginning of the level, there's a vending machine sitting across the road from a bus stand. Walking up to it will play an animation where SpongeBob inspects the machine, a bus pulls up behind him, then speeds away when he turns to look behind him. This is a recreation of the same event that happened several times in a row to SpongeBob while trapped in Rock Bottom in the season 1 episode of the same name.
  • While collecting candy bars to enter into a snail race, SpongeBob will end up knocking on the door of Tom, a recurring background character from the series. He will explode into a rant about his love of chocolate and says he will give SpongeBob a candy bar in exchange for getting his candy shack unstuck. This explosive love of chocolate is a homage to his chocolate-fueled mania in the season 3 episode 'Chocolate With Nuts'.
  • When entering the race, SpongeBob is transformed into a snail. SpongeBob underwent an identical transformation after a medical mishap in the season 1 episode 'I Was A Teenage Gary'.
  • The Monster Theater SpongeBob helps Candy repair and reset depicts a shadow cast of the Has-Slinging-Slasher. The Slasher first appeared as a horror story told to SpongeBob by Squidward in season 2's 'Graveyard Shift'.

Prehistoric Kelp Forest

thq nordic purple lamp platformer spongebob cosmic shake spongegar
  • The caveman appearances of SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward are based on their ancestor's appearances in the surreal time-traveling episode from season 1 'SB-129'.
  • During several sliding portions of the level, SpongeBob will have to avoid vicious Sea Bears, the same kind of animal that mauled Squidward in 'The Camping Episode' from season 3.

Related: Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed Review

SpongeBob Outfits

thq nordic purple lamp spongebob costume store
  • SpongeBob's band outfit that he wears when performing 'Sweet Victory' from the season 2 episode 'Band Geeks'.
  • SpongeBob disguised as Squidward to partake in Opposite Day during a real estate inspection from the titular season 1 episode.
  • SpongeGar, the prehistoric sponge ancestor Squidward encounters in season 1's 'SB-129'.
  • SpongeBob's recurring karate gear, which he first wore in season 1's 'Karate Choppers' and has repeatedly worn in the years since, usually alongside Sandy Cheeks.
  • SpongeBob's Kuddly Krab outfit, which he wore when the Krusty Krab underwent a design overhaul in season 2's 'Bossy Boots'.

Jelly Glove World

SpongeBob SquarePants- The Cosmic Shake entrance to Jelly Glove World
  • The kiddy rollercoaster 'The Mitten' can be found in Glove World, which SpongeBob can ride to unlock a Doubloon. Additionally, a recurring photo appears throughout the level of Patrick hesitantly posing with a photo of the theme park's mascot Glovey Glove. The Mitten, Glovey Glove himself, and the photo with Patrick all appeared in the season 5 episode 'Roller Cowards'.
  • Glove World itself first appeared in season 1's 'Rock Bottom' as SpongeBob and Patrick were heading home after spending the day there.
  • Players will come across the Reefblower tool for the first time in Glove World. The Reefblower first appeared in the season 1 short episode "Reef Blower" in 1999.

There are bound to be plenty more references and callbacks to SpongeBob and Nickelodeon media hidden in the Cosmic Shake, waiting to be discovered by eagle-eyed players and enthusiasts. Make sure to listen to every line and leave no stone unturned, there's no telling what or where more loving secrets may be hiding.

Next: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Review - I Have A Good Feeling About This