Splatoon 2
Like its predecessor, Splatoon 2 is a third-person shooter in which players control characters known as Inklings, and later Octolings, and use colored ink to attack opponents and clear goals. Inklings and Octolings can morph between humanoid form, during which they can fire ink with their weapons, and squid form (or in the case of Octolings, an octopus form) which allows them to swim through ink of their own color to move quickly and replenish ink.
The sequel adds new standard, sub and special weapons, including dual-wield pistols called Dualies that allow the player to perform dodge rolls, and jetpacks known as Inkjets. Like the previous game, it features the standard Turf War mode in Regular Battles, and a rotation of Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker, and the new Clam Blitz modes for Ranked Battles, which are now ranked individually. League Battles allow players to form teams with friends. A new mode, Salmon Run, allows up to four players to team up cooperatively to tackle waves of enemies called the Salmonids.
Once per month, a Splatfest occurs, during which players choose a side in a debate and decide the winner through battling. Splatfest topics are usually announced one week in advance, after which point players can choose their team in the game’s lobby. Topics are usually region-specific and happen at different times of the month, as not all topics make sense in all regions. Splatfest battles are Turf War only and winning battles awards ‘clout’ to the winning team. At the end of the Splatfest, the winning side is decided by evaluating popularity and clout earned in battle. All players who participate earn rare rewards, but players who chose the winning team receive a slightly higher cut.
Splatoon 2 Review
While the huge pink ‘2’ might have you thinking this is a fully fledged sequel, there’s an awful lot that carries over from the original game. The main hub area is near enough identical, barring graphical upgrades. There are 10 multiplayer maps at present, but some of these are also from the original game. There are new weapons, but in terms of basic mechanics, a lot remains the same.
There wasn’t an awful lot wrong with the original Splatoon, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But the fact that this has been pitched as a sequel means there can be a feeling of being left short-changed. Had this been a ‘Splatoon Ultimate Ink-dition’, then it’d get the same treatment as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It isn’t until you dive into the game’s modes that you realise there’s more than meets the eye.
What compliments the weaponry is the more reserved pace of matches. While other shooters dare you to blink and miss all of the action, the movement speed of Splatoon is positively glacial by comparison – but that’s a good thing. With the focus on coating the floor in your team’s colour rather than wiping out the opposing team, this more considered speed serves to a great benefit of the experience. It’s immediately rewarding and satisfying, swapping the intense focus on K/D ratios for the job of an interior decorator gone mad.
There’s a lot to love in Nintendo’s second iteration of its quirky shooter, especially the way Splatoon 2 emphasizes splatting the ground just as much as it does inking your opponents. The new additions to its single-player campaign and multiplayer modes are a step in the right direction, but it still has some work to do to make joining online games and voice chat less of a hassle. Still, with an addicting new Salmon Run co-op mode and the promise of free updates like the ones that helped the original Splatoon come into its own, I expect Splatoon 2 to keep me hooked.
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