There’s no denying how much of a hit Splatoon was on the Wii U.
It was a new take on the shooter genre with an undeniable Nintendo vibe.
But it also successfully tapped into 90s nostalgia while maintaining a unique identity.
And honestly, it was just plain addictive with its constant updates to the multiplayer
and a surprisingly fun single player campaign.
But can it be done twice?
Has Splatoon 2 changed enough to make it a worthy sequel or is this just a minor upgrade
to get the series on the Switch as fast as possible?
The game is set two years after the original and in that time new tastes and trends have
emerged.
There are new bands, new shop owners, and even a new hub for Squids to spend their time.
And among all this, the Great Zapfish has gone missing yet again.
But it’s not alone as Callie of the Squid Sisters has disappeared too.
And that’s where the single player comes in.
Here you’ll be recruited by Marie to rescue the Zapfish and hopefully discover what happened
to Callie.
The story never really gets any deeper from there, matching the scope of the original.
And that applies to much of the campaign.
It’s about as long as the original and many of the concepts carry over.
There are five hubs in total with invisible kettles acting as the entrances to a stage.
But the hubs have been expanded, making them more fun to explore.
There are ways to earn extra Power Eggs, which are still used to upgrade your weapons, hidden
Sunken Scrolls and Sardinium, a new collectible used in conjunction with the Power Eggs.
Not only that, but there’s a bit of platforming as well as you navigate your way to the stage
entrances.
It keeps things interesting for that first playthrough and then you can easily super
jump back for any return visits.
The campaign itself is much better designed as a way to introduce all the various weapon
types to players before they potential dive into the multiplayer.
On a first playthrough, the Ink Charger might be required and the level accommodates it
through the design.
This leads to a better idea of that weapon’s strengths and weaknesses.
And if you decide to play that level again with a different weapon, the stage will be
slightly changed to make it possible to complete.
In that way, it’s a better experience.
That applies to the level design as well, which is constantly adding new elements to
keep things fresh and change up your tactics.
Some are better than others with the grind rails being a particular highlight as they
lent levels a different feel to what came before.
And the bosses are just as fun as you’d expect with wacky designs and concepts that
just plain work.
With few exceptions, it’s all great stuff.
But it’s also not especially new.
It’s remixed and plays better, but I suspect diehard fans of the original will be hoping
for something a little more.
As much as I enjoyed it all, I still came away with that feeling.
Yet I do think this is better with Marie providing some hilarious quips along the way and even
getting to know Sheldon a little more.
It’s going to be something you’ll want to experience although like the first, it’s
not the main attraction.
The multiplayer is where the addiction really begins.
As soon as Nintendo made the servers live, I jumped into the multiplayer right away.
And I easily slipped back into form.
Like before, only Turf War was available at the start which pits two teams of four against
one another in order to ink more of the stage.
At the end of three minutes, it’s all tallied and a winner is declared which earns that
team more money and experience to raise their Freshness Level.
The losers still earn rewards too, just not as much.
But that Freshness level is the key to success.
Once you reach level 4, you can start shopping at the stores around Inkopolis Square.
Shoes, shirts, and headwear are all available, allowing you to style your Inkling while also
taking advantage of their different bonuses.
Some are the same as the first game with stronger sub-weapons or a shorter respawn time if you’re
splatted, but then there are new ones like allowing you to roll after a Super Jump in
order to avoid enemy ink.
It seems minor, but it really does change up the tactics of the battles this time around.
And that goes for the weapons too.
While most of the weapons themselves are the same, save for the addition of the Splat Dualies,
the sub and special weapons have been changed significantly.
There are a few new subs next to the returning standbys, but every special is different except
for the bomb launchers which send out hordes of the various types of bomb sub weapons.
Each special is useful in a particular situation but none of them feel overpowered.
They aren’t the game changers that they could be in the original game.
And perhaps because of that, specials seem to happen much more often.
It’s a subtle change to the mechanics that becomes more pronounced the more you play.
There’s not really much of a difference when everyone is using the same kit, but once
new tactics are introduced, it does change the feel of it all.
But that doesn’t necessarily make the old kits worthless.
Gaining levels simply allows for more choices when it comes to the available tactics in
terms of the weapon kits.
What you may use for Turf War isn’t necessarily the best idea for the Ranked Battles.
And the Ranked Battles have seen a few minor changes as well.
Splat Zones now has an indicator showing how much of the zone each team has inked while
Tower Control has new checkpoints where the tower temporarily stops leaving a potential
counterattack open for the opposing side.
However, once the checkpoint is passed, it never returns making it easier to come back
if they lose progress.
The Rainmaker weapon was changed as well though I didn’t get the opportunity to try that
mode.
Still, Ranked Battles are about what you’d expect.
There are some other smaller changes to the design of the multiplayer though.
Each mode in Ranked Battle have separate ranks and Crusty Sean sells meals that can increase
how much money or experience you earn in battle.
Tickets for this can be found in the single player or a fee can be paid in order to rake
in the benefits.
And once you have this meal, it stays around until the the battle quota is fulfilled.
Even if takes a few days, every multiplayer match will get this temporary boost until
it’s used up.
Finally, the maps change much more frequently; every two hours instead of four.
With eight maps available in total, at least currently, it’s not hard to play the one
you want.
Plus, they’re all winners.
Only two return from the original Splatoon and both have been updated for the better.
And new maps are just as fun but the Humpback Pump Track is a personal favorite of mine.
But even beyond that, players aren’t dragged back to the main menu every time the maps
change from now on.
Instead, a notification pops up to let you know things have changed and you’re taken
to the Lobby.
It’s incredibly simple to jump back in or even change your equipment to better take
on the new maps.
And because of the way you can put the Switch in Sleep Mode, you actually don’t see the
new hosts, Pearl and Marina, that much.
They only appear for special announcements or when coming back to Splatoon 2 from something
else entirely.
It makes the whole process feel much quicker.
The final new addition to Splatoon is Salmon Run.
It’s only available at certain times, but when it is, up to four players can join together
in order to fight a new Salmonid enemy.
I was only able to play with random people which seems to change up the rules somewhat.
Back when I previewed Salmon Run with Nintendo, we played using the local option where we
could all choose our weapons from the ones available and even the set the difficulty.
With random people, those options are nowhere to be found.
Instead, each person is randomly given one of the four weapons for that round which could
make it tricky if you’re not used to that weapon.
But I kinda liked that idea because it made me try things that I wouldn’t otherwise.
The rest of Salmon Run plays the same with the team working together to splat the Salmonid
and stay alive over the course of 3 rounds.
Each round has a quota of Golden Eggs to collect which can only be obtained by defeating Boss
Salmonid, of which there are eight varieties each with their tactics and challenges.
Every player can only hold one Golden Egg at a time to take back to the collection basket
making teamwork key, especially since, if the Eggs are left alone for too long, the
Salmonid can steal them back.
And once the quota is met, the players still have to survive the round which can be incredibly
tricky.
It doesn’t take long for Salmon Run’s difficulty to ramp up as the the tide can
rise and lower offering more or less territory to battle in.
On one hand, less territory corrals the Salmonid and makes them easy to splat.
On the other it leaves less room to escape when the Bosses start invading.
And that’s the true difficulty of the Salmon Run.
Not only are there tons of normal enemies to fight, but you also have to handle all
the bosses and their varying strategies.
It’s hectic, hard, and a ton of fun.
It’s the type of challenge that makes me want to try again and again.
And the rewards aren’t bad either with money bonuses and even unique equipment that are
already maxed out.
You’re definitely going to want to play this mode though I discovered something interesting
about it.
If you don’t get matched up with enough players, you’ll still be able to play, even
if you’re by yourself.
The quotas get changed to reflect this, but the time is your worst enemy.
I’ve never beaten Salmon Run on my own or with only one other person.
Once you’re splatted, that’s it.
There’s no one there to revive you.
Three is manageable, but four is absolutely the ideal.
But there’s something fun about that kind of challenge as well.
Salmon Run is just an excellent addition to Splatoon.
And the game looks great as well.
The colors and style really pops while the ink in single player has extra touches such
as a glitter-like effect.
It’s unfortunate that it’s not there in multiplayer, but the game still looks fantastic.
The music is good as well.
While the single player tunes never got me quite as pumped as the original game’s,
the multiplayer soundtrack is just as good.
It made me ready for every match and kept everything varied.
There’s no denying that the presentation is top notch.
Splatoon 2 is a truly great game.
It expands and improves upon the original with only a few minor missteps here and there.
But that might be its biggest problem.
Some might not regard these changes as enough for a sequel.
That there’s just too much of the same.
And while that may be fair in some regards, I also found myself not caring.
I love this game too much.
It is a purely fun experience that brings me back again and again and again.
To me, the devil is in the details.
Dig deeper, and you’ll see the changes.
And if you’ve never played Splatoon before, this is the best way to start.
Don’t miss out on it.
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