New SpongeBob video game where Patrick is the star was made by Philly company

Patrick, the silly sea star from the Nickelodeon hit SpongeBob SquarePants, is slated to get his own video game in October and a Philadelphia-based studio is behind it.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game comes at the heels of the cartoon’s 25th anniversary. Unlike other games, Patrick is the star — no pun intended— and is designed as a sandbox adventure, which means players can roam the world of Bikini Bottom freely and goof around, causing things to explode or get blasted off in the space.

There is a mission and way to win the game, said PHL Collective founder Nick Madonna, but he didn’t reveal additional details, not wanting to spoil the story or overarching goal.

What he could say is players are given a “ton of tools” to explore Bikini Bottom. There are exploding pies and paint tubes, as well as an assortment of challenges from SpongeBob, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs, who are brought to life by the actors who voiced them on television.

Fans can also expect a game with several Easter eggs from the show that is very “goofy and funny and streamable.”

Paramount Game Studios, which owns the SpongeBob license, let the studio run with its imagination, said Madonna. The game encourages people to share clips of their play or stream their play on platforms like YouTube.

“I think that’s gonna be really special because your experience playing the game might be different than someone else’s, but if you’re watching someone play and you’re like, oh my God, I didn’t know I could do that, like you’re gonna go run to the TV, pop the game in and try it yourself,” he said.

Madonna said the studio has worked with a lot of licensed title games since its founding in 2013, including DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos, DC League of Super-Pets, and the Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem.

Still, the Patrick game stands out in the team’s repertoire because many of the people who worked on it have an intimate relationship with the show.

“A majority of the team are in their 30s, so they did grow up with SpongeBob being on television and being at the forefront of culture,” said Madonna.

Even Madonna, who is 41, is also a fan despite having been older when the show debuted, calling it “weird and fun” and full of “staying power.”

“I think when you’ve been around that long you just kind of seep your way into people’s brains, and everyone kind of loves it,” he said.

The game is scheduled for an Oct. 4 release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.