To be honest, I've never properly watched"SpongeBob SquarePants." Not because I have any prejudice against the cartoon or that strange yellow sea creature, but simply due to lack of opportunity—I'm not sure if it was due to the era or region, but the TV stations in my hometown never aired it.
However, this doesn't mean I'm completely unfamiliar with SpongeBob. Influenced by the modern internet, this dish sponge with a creepy smile and his neurotic friends often appear in my daily life.—For example, they frequently appear in my social media feeds with various bizarre expressions, usually used to mock the idiots or ridiculous situations around me... both vivid and somewhat comedic.
If you ask me, these social media posts are probably the best reflection of urbanites' mental state. Office workers are inevitably under high pressure, but often, the resentment in your heart is hard to express in simple words. At times like these, those meme images, worn out from overuse yet carrying life's ups and downs, become the perfect mouthpiece.
So, even if I haven't watched the cartoon, I often associateSpongeBob's "magical performance" is linked to "expressive freedom." There's a saying, "silence speaks louder than words," and sometimes it truly has that charm, making people feel they can break free from boring constraints and become pure "fun-seekers."
But what I didn't expect was that one day, I'd see these weirdos in an open-world sailing adventure game that was still hot off the press after launch.
Just last month, the editorial team collectively became obsessed with a new game called "Sea of Forgotten." I even wrote an article specifically about it, acknowledging "Sea of Forgotten"'s excellence in various aspects"unique and unconventional." But at that time, what surprised me most wasn't the game's highly realistic sailing experience or its rich content, but the excessive aura of "freedom" it radiated throughout. Who would have thought that JOKER Studio, as a direct subsidiary under NetEase Games, could possess such immense creative freedom.
Like I said before: "Sea of Forgotten" is absolutely the most"free" and also the most "crazy" domestic game, not only in gameplay but also in setting and presentation.
Don't believe me? Just look at the entire free-to-play game market and see how others operate—Whether it's dark post-apocalyptic settings, deep-seated grievances, or fate-heavy narratives flying everywhere, in the end, the gameplay remains largely similar. If you brought someone who doesn't play games, they probably couldn't tell one from another.
But "Sea of Forgotten" is unique. Everythinggj in the game aligns with itsJust like the "puppet" style, it carries a certain unrestrained "artist," or rather, "psycho" vibe. Its story is "neurotic"—a crew of sailors who drop dead at the slightest provocation, tirelessly searching for lost memories; its game design is "sick"—in a single main city, it grants all NPCs completely independent behavior patterns, while stringing Everythinggj together with a plethora of different mini-games; and its characters are even more "crazy"—what more is there to say? Just look at that girl who turns the tavern upside down the moment she appears. Where else can you find such a chaotic, attention-seeking heroine?
It is precisely thisfoundation of "not taking itself seriously" and "doing whatever comes to mind" grants "Sea of Forgotten" an incredible "privilege"—it can be placed alongside anything, serious or not, without bearing any psychological pressure, nor fearing accusations of "forcing content where none exists." This was also recorded in the first major version update of "Sea of Forgotten."
And so, this gave rise to one of the most"psycho"-laden crossover stories in video game history: just as the puppet captain played by the player returns to Autopia Port, ready to begin the next leg of their journey, something strange suddenly appears on the beach. Four weird creatures have washed ashore, and you and your enthusiastic, chaos-loving first mate decide to find out exactly what happened...
You see, this kind of storyline would feel awkward in any other game, but in "Sea of Forgotten," it feels natural. So natural that even theEven the NPCs comment that these four weirdos are "nothing special"—since everyone here is a sailor or crew member who deals with sea creatures daily, they're long used to seeing strange things.
In fact, the collaboration between "Sea of Forgotten" and "SpongeBob SquarePants" was finalized even before the game launched. After all, their vibes match perfectly—it's a god-tier game paired with a god-tier animation.
Looking at "Sea of Forgotten"'s side, their attitude toward this collaboration was also very clear—Although none of us are working on some high-brow masterpiece, we still can't slack off on things done with care. Thus, players saw familiar yet slightly different versions of SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward.
Interestingly enough, SpongeBob and the others in this event don't simply reuse their familiar, standard appearances. Instead, based on the"equal art style" rule, they all turned into "puppets." Blending in with the crazy sailors of Autopia, they didn't seem out of place at all. However, I still want to ask one question... Is "Puppet SpongeBob" considered a sponge or a puppet?
Well, we can put that question aside for now. Actually, this timethis "neurotic" collaboration indeed has plenty to discuss.
First, there's the story—Although the SpongeBob characters can't join the battles or appear in the gacha pool, the game still crafted a story that captures the essence of both franchises. This story can be roughly summarized as: the group opens a Krusty Krab branch in Autopia to earn enough money to build a ship back to Bikini Bottom.
And this story provides a brand-new set of mini-game mechanics for the event:"Running the Krusty Krab," "Fanatic Wind Instruments," "Jellyfish Party," and a new collection-based gameplay mode called "Finding Pencil People."
As mentioned earlier, the game design of "Sea of Forgotten" is"sick," because it attempts to account for every "useless" detail in the game, trying to emphasize the world's believability through a myriad of "additional gameplay features." This leads to a very strange phenomenon in the game—clearly, I'm playing a large-scale RPG featuring sea monsters and treasure, yet somehow I find myself constantly drinking octopus juice in bars, playing cards on the streets, or even helping parrots practice singing?
BecauseJOKER Studio indeed spent time polishing these mini-games. None of the gameplay mechanics feel hastily made, something you'd ignore after claiming the gacha rewards. Sometimes, after returning from a voyage, I can't help but indulge in a couple of rounds of cards.
The mini-games in this crossover story follow the same pattern. Although their mechanics aren't particularly fresh, they remain strangely addictive, especially Squidward's"Fanatic Wind Instruments." To be honest, the gameplay is quite simple: just press the left mouse button at the right timing, and Squidward on screen will play what he considers to be "art."
But interestingly, no matter how accurately you press, what he plays always carries a hint of"weird flavor." It's basically like this: first listen—what garbage is this blowing? Second listen—well, being off-key isn't entirely unacceptable. Third listen—oh my, it's kinda getting addictive.
There's a theory that if a few notes in a song are off-key, you can call it"out of tune," but if an entire song is off-key, you might as well call it a "remix." I think Squidward's situation definitely falls into the latter category, fitting perfectly with his "artist" persona in the original work.
And if you think just having new mini-games isn't enough to fit "Sea of Forgotten"'s"neurotic" vibe, then you're clearly on the same wavelength as JOKER Studio. I suggest applying for their event planning team immediately.
Because mini-games certainly aren't the most"crazy" elements. Washed ashore in Autopia along with these four clowns were four theme skins that looked instantly "intelligence-lowering." Among them, the chaotic Es corresponds to SpongeBob, the perpetually gloomy Molly corresponds to Squidward, the Iron-Fisted Commander corresponds to Mr. Krabs, and the newly implemented character in this update—Gale in his Rambo Band lead singer form—corresponds to Patrick Star. His implementation not only brings new chaotic energy to the story of "Sea of Forgotten" but also further deepens the combat within the game.
Honestly, when this guy first appeared in the storyline, I never imagined he couldbecome so "crazy."
Even more outrageous is that this collaboration added a brand-new skin to our beloved ship"Jellyfish Catcher," which not only changes the sails to yellow sponge material but also prints SpongeBob's smile, containing a thousand unspoken words, on the main sail... The question is, using a sponge for a sail—are you serious?
I reckon only "Sea of Forgotten" could come up with such an unreliable idea—and actually pull it off.
It's safe to say that this "SpongeBob" crossover, both in terms of content volume and how it treats the original characters, fully meets the standards expected from "Sea of Forgotten"the quality required for its "first major update after launch," proving that JOKER Studio's "freedom" is truly ingrained in their bones. I dare not imagine what else might appear in the game in the future if they can collaborate with "SpongeBob" so effortlessly.
And the data doesn't lie. After this version update, the revenue of "Sea of Forgotten" once reached its peak since launch, showing signs of attempting a comeback through this opportunity.
Therefore, I have every reason to believe that, following this momentum, it can replicate the success of "Identity V" from years past. After all, true"Freedom" should be just like this: not changing because others tell you to, but believing in something and sticking with it no matter what.