Genre: 3rd-Person Shooter
Players: 1-8
Playtime: 25 hours (Includes clearing 103% of the single-player campaign, reaching Level 10 in online multiplayer playing various turf wars and ranked modes, reaching Go-Getter rank in Salmon Run mode, and participating in two Splatfests...curse you Mayo)
The original Splatoon for Nintendo Wii-U turned out to be a surprise hit as a new IP from the Big N, breathing new life into what was an otherwise predictable genre of shooter games. So it's no surprise here that they quickly want to carry over this popularity to a larger audience with their new and successfully growing platform that is the Nintendo Switch. As the name suggests, Splatoon 2 is intended to be more than just a pretty port / remake. But does it quite deliver enough to warrant being called a sequel? Let's ink up the turf and dive into the pros and cons to find out if this game has what it takes to stay fresh.
Controls / Gameplay
Much like its predecessor, Splatoon 2 features very fluid controls (pun intended) that meld so seamlessly into its gameplay mechanics. At its core, players can shoot ink, use sub weapons, use a special power once powered up, and turn into squid form to dive into their colored ink. While this may sound simple at a glance, it's the many ways in which these simple mechanics work together in various ways that this game truly shines. Players will shoot ink to expand their turf, dive into squid form to move across the stage faster while recharging their ink supplies, and then continue their assault. Spray ink on the walls to create new vertical paths. Remain motionless while submerged in squid form for a stealth attack on unsuspecting opponents. These mechanics feed into one another so well that creates a very immersive experience.
Once you become accustomed to your squid skills, the fun then becomes trying out new weapons and their various combinations of sub weapons and special powers. Each weapon offers a unique range of mobility, tactics, and use. Fortunately, players can become better acquainted with such this time in the single-player campaign, of which features many levels specially designed to highlight their effectiveness. In fact, every level can be played with any weapon as it will adapt as needed to accommodate use of the weapon, which can be pretty neat to try some of the weapons in various scenarios. This variety of customization and experimentation keeps the gameplay loop fresh and interesting to dive into over and over again.
One last interesting bit of change worth noting is how every special power has had any invulnerability removed. Instead, they are now team-focused buffs or powerful weapons that leave the player exposed, which then requires careful consideration of when to use or teammates to help cover your back. It's a great adjustment that puts extra emphasis on teamwork and adds a bit of extra complexity to the gameplay.
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| Using the Curling Bomb sub weapon to push a path forward. |
Once you become accustomed to your squid skills, the fun then becomes trying out new weapons and their various combinations of sub weapons and special powers. Each weapon offers a unique range of mobility, tactics, and use. Fortunately, players can become better acquainted with such this time in the single-player campaign, of which features many levels specially designed to highlight their effectiveness. In fact, every level can be played with any weapon as it will adapt as needed to accommodate use of the weapon, which can be pretty neat to try some of the weapons in various scenarios. This variety of customization and experimentation keeps the gameplay loop fresh and interesting to dive into over and over again.
One last interesting bit of change worth noting is how every special power has had any invulnerability removed. Instead, they are now team-focused buffs or powerful weapons that leave the player exposed, which then requires careful consideration of when to use or teammates to help cover your back. It's a great adjustment that puts extra emphasis on teamwork and adds a bit of extra complexity to the gameplay.
Salmon Run
The best and most notably new feature to Splatoon 2 is the new Salmon Run mode. This mode pits four squid kids together as they cooperate to fight off waves of devious salmon and their various boss forms to collect their eggs for the suspicious corporation of Grizzco. Each game is divided into three waves of increasing difficulty and variety, in which each player is randomly assigned one of four weapons selected for that day. There are a great variety of bosses to be found, from those that stand tall from afar sniping down players, to those that stealthily slide through the ink in attempts to gobble up unsuspecting inklings. And as players move up in the ranks, the variety of enemies and scenarios becomes even greater. The stage will expand and shrink with each wave as the tide rises and lowers. A heavy fog will roll in bringing visibility considerably down. Hordes of glowing salmon will suddenly rush the surface to target a sparkling player. The intensity and variety this mode offers is incredibly addicting, and feels like the perfect fit for a cooperative, team-focused experience. |
| Behold the horrifying salmon (left)...or are the real monsters those who wipe them out to harvest their eggs?? |
Some may be put off that this mode is only available online during certain time frames of the week. However, I find it has that certain Animal Crossing-like charm that makes it feel more like a living, real part of the world. And it adds all the more incentive to play it when it's available.
Art Direction / Animation
The original Splatoon marked the beginning of a bold a fresh new art direction for Nintendo, with bold use of colors a greater attention to detail with fashion. And Splatoon 2 is no exception. In fact, the colors seem to pop even more than they did before. The beginning character select screen has more personality and life as the squid kids jump and pose for your selection. The plaza has more energy and buzz with the many glowing advertisements and various animations of the lounging squids. The styles are as fresh as ever, making for an addictive need to compulsively check the new stock every day. And the ink, so gloriously and colorfully shoots and splashes on every surface, glistening in such gooey and 90's Nickelodeon fashion. How this is achieved without any sort of frame hiccup is truly an impressive feat.Community / Longevity
One of the strange and endearing elements of Splatoon is the community it has formed, in which this game gives the tools for it express its quirky selves. Much like the Miiverse before it, players can still write and draw little doodles to be displayed in the plaza as players walk up to one another. One may never understand why Splatoon players are so obsessed over Spongebob, Knack 2, or furries, but I love it all the same. And nothing quite brings a community together more than the occasional Splatfest. Every so often, players will have to pick sides in a heated debate of what is better, such as Ice Cream vs Cake, or Mayo vs Ketchup. With sides picked, players will then face off in turf wars for one day to determine a winner and answer to these debates. The conversations that are fueled by such are often just as hilarious to witness and be a part of. The Splatfests also offer a unique and custom stage, specially designed and only playable for that one particular Splatfest.
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| Cake and Ice Cream lovers joining together for a Splatfest celebration, proudly displaying their ridiculous images / memes. |
Speaking of unique stages, there is a different selection of stages to be found in turf wars, ranked battles, and league battles which rotate every few hours. Couple this with the availability / rotation of Salmon Run, Splatfests, and fashion stock, Splatoon 2 is designed to offer a new surprise each and every time you hop in. And as you slowly level up and move up the ranks, more fashion choices and weapons will become available to you. The longevity and replay value this game offers is really quite tremendous.
Dark Undertones
While the world of Splatoon may seem like a colorful and happy utopia, there is more than meets the eye for those willing to dig deeper. The squids live in a society which is built on consumerism and self indulgence. They steal Salmon eggs for a shady corporation and refuse to share any power source with a crippling race of Octarians. They are obsessed with ridiculous memes, celebrities, social media, and competition. It's actually scarily accurate commentary on today's society, which I commend this game for having the gall to incorporate in such a creative way.
Online / Matchmaking
It's a shame after the surprisingly good online functionality that came from the recent ARMS that Splatoon 2 has really dropped the ball here. Players are unable to switch weapons or clothes while waiting for a match to begin. In fact, players aren't even able to cancel and exit waiting for a match, even if the wait seems to be stuck as the countdown timer stopped ticking untold minutes ago. It's impossible to join friends online for Splatfests unless you have a full team of four. Joining friends for matches online in general is difficult and unclear. Disconnects are an often occurrence for Salmon Run mode, made all the more frustrating as each disconnect will actually lower your experience and/or rank. Getting a direct LAN connection to the Switch dock seemed to improve the stability of the connections, but did not all together stop the disconnects. So I can't be certain if this is a problem with the Switch hardware or the game, or a degree of both. |
| Want to switch weapons, outfits, or head back to the lobby? NOPE. But at least you can enjoy remixing the background music with button inputs. |
If these disappointing online faults weren't enough, the matchmaking in the game can also often be a temperamental affair. When playing standard turf wars or joining in for Splatfests, you'll be matched together with players of all skill levels. So it can be incredibly frustrating despite your best efforts when you get dominated by an opposing team because you had teammates who could not hold their own weight. Even worse is when you have teammates drop out and then matches quickly become one-sided. Considering this is a sequel to a game that shared these same problems originally, it's a shame such wasn't fixed and may have even worsened to what is such an important component to the game.
Voicechat
While you do have button inputs to quickly communicate basic commands to your teammates (invaluable in Salmon Run), the lack of inherent voice chat in the game is but another disappointing online omission. Nintendo's solution to such is the Switch Online app for smartphones, but this is far worse than other social applications you could instead use. In order to keep the voice chat active on this app, you can never exit the application, even just to check messages, nor can the phone ever fall asleep. And the headsets required to have in-game audio and simultaneous chat functionality are currently just a jumble of wires connecting to a clunky (though stylish squid-like) adapter. Perhaps this can be addressed as Nintendo continues to flesh out its online plan for 2018, but until then, the only feature you'll use this app for is to check out the available outfits of the day for Splatoon 2.
For previous fans and newcomers alike, Splatoon 2 offers another solid offering of ink splashing delight. I would hesitate to call it a sequel though, but rather a continuation of this squidy world onto new horizons. It starts now with a much healthier selection of weapons, stages, modes, and more. It comes with another enjoyable single-player campaign, with greater level variety (but perhaps with less surprises than the original). And unfortunately, it comes with more lack of online functionality. But with an already happy and hearty community, and a consistent dose of surprises, there is plenty to still be enjoyed here while we wait for those fixes and more content to come.
If you have any questions or thoughts about this game, please feel free to comment and discuss below. Thanks. And happy gaming!
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