Splatoon is weeeeird, man.
You play as a kid, who can turn into a squid, that uses ink as as both a weapon and a means
of transportation.
And the entire thing is wrapped in an over-the-top visual style and ‘tude straight from the
90s.
Oh, and I did mention you can turn into a squid, right?!
Yep, it’s pretty weird.
I mean, why would you want to turn into a squid anyway?
Well, as it turns out, for quite a few reasons!
It allows you to pass through grates, climb up walls, and move twice as fast as normal--
but only--and this is important--when swimming through ink of your own color.
And that’s the catch--because you can only lay down that ink while in kid form.
It’s a really interesting mechanic that’s easy to get into, but takes some time to master,
as you constantly have to decide when to go on the offensive as the kid, or switch to
the more vulnerable squid for increased agility.
And not only is it an interesting mechanic, but it’s a fun one too.
I mean, the mere act of just moving around is a blast--and how often can you say that
about a game?
In fact, the controls in general are fantastic, with the optional motion-controls making fast
and precise targeting feel second-nature with gentle movements of the Gamepad.
Heck, I often found myself falling into a zen-like state where I would pop in and out
of the ink, laying down trails and effortlessly swimming through them, only to pop out, splat
an enemy, before sinking back in and zipping off elsewhere.
It really does feel great.
And it’s the interplay between the two forms that’s the basis for pretty much everything
in the game, and leads to all kinds of interesting strategies in the multiplayer mode.
Such as say, throwing down an ink path to give teammate a head-start.
Or say, when encountering an enemy, you can try and spray some ink behind them to cut
off their escape route before going in for the kill.
Or you can even play more stealthy if you want and hide in plain-sight by turning into
a squid and remaining motion-less in your own ink.
Splatoon really makes you think about strategy in a way like no shooter has before, as the
terrain is effectively changing with every blast of ink.
And it’s this fundamental battle over territory that forms the basis of the two multiplayer
modes in the game:
Now Turf War is the only one that you can play from the start, as it’s the simpler
of the two.
Here you have 3-minutes to cover as much of the arena in your team’s ink as possible,
while trying to stop the opposing team from doing the same thing
Now 3-minutes may not sound like much--and it isn’t, which lends each battle an incredibly
fast pace.
And either team’s momentum can change entirely at the drop of a hat--I’ve had entire matches
turn around completely within the final 15-20-seconds.
And even when those 3-minutes are up, there’s still the suspense of finding out who the
ultimate winner is, as Judd the cat tallies up the final scores.
I found Turf Wars to be incredibly addictive.
I can’t count how many times I said to myself “just one more round” before finally turning
it off an hour later.
The other multiplayer mode is Splat Zones--which is basically Splatoon’s take on King of
the Hill.
In this mode, your team battles for control of either 1 or 2 marked zones on the map by--what
else--spraying them with ink.
Once you’ve taken control of all zones, your team’s timer will begin counting down
from 100--and if it reaches 0, you win.
But, if the team manages to steal control of them, your team be hit with a time-penalty.
Now when compared to Turf War, this mode is pretty intense.
It’s not only generally much longer than Turf War, but demands a lot more skill and
coordination.
Because unlike Turf War, everyone is being funneled to the same points on the map,making
for frequent enemy encounters, and basically ensures that control of the zones will switch
throughout the match.
And it’s probably for this reason that this mode is restricted to only those who reach
level 10 or higher, as it really does require a full understanding of the game’s mechanics
and weapon-sets.
And speaking of weapons, it’s in this mode where the differences in weapon-types becomes
really important.
For instance, I didn’t find the sniper-like Ink Charger to be that useful for Turf War,
but it can be a huge help in Splat Zones, allowing a teammate to protect the zone by
picking off opponents from a safe distance.
So while you might be able to get by with an entire team of Rollers in Turf War, that
probably won’t be the case in Splat Zones.
But it’s this extra level of depth that makes Splat Zones feel so rewarding--or crushing,
depending on your perspective.
You really have to work for those victories, and a team that works well together will definitely
have the edge here, whereas that’s far less important for the more lone-wolf nature of
Turf War.
And I dug it
Now while multiplayer may be the primary focus of Splatoon, the game also features a single-player
campaign that not only acts as a great tutorial for preparing you for battles online, but
can also stand on its own as a solid 5-6 hour adventure--or even longer if you actively
seek out the collectibles.
And I had almost as much of a blast with the game’s story mode as I did the multiplayer.
It introducing new concepts in nearly every level, including a ton of elements that you
won’t find outside if it--such as the ink-rails that allow you to zip from place to place,
or the epic boss fights, which are some of the best I’ve played in recent memory, with
each making full use of Splatoon’s unique mechanics.
Take this guy for example, which you can only bring to a halt by spraying a puddle of ink
large enough that he gets stuck in.
My only real complaint is I did find them all to be a bit on the easy side--with the
exception of the final boss battle, which is all kinds of amazing by the way.
And speaking of which, the game’s overall presentation is also fantastic, with bright
colorful levels that only grow more colorful as you spray them with ink.
And the developers did a fantastic job of making that ink feel like a real substance,
such as how it spreads believably, or reflects the light if you catch it at the right angle.
And if you dive in, even the music becomes muffled, as if it’s too thick to hear through.
And speaking of the music--both the single-player and the multiplayer feature their own unique
selection of songs that I found to be incredibly catchy.
I just wish there were more of them, especially in the single-player where it felt like they
were repeated just a little too often, taking away some of the uniqueness of each mission.
So I realize I’ve been mostly showering the game with praise, but I do have a few
complaints--and they almost all lie with the game’s online interface.
Such as how it’s incredibly annoying that you have to exit the current lobby in order
to switch weapons or gear, making it almost impossible to hop back in with the same group
of friends.
Then there’s the fact that you’ll be seeing a LOT of the Squid Sisters--specifically,
every time you turn on the game and even then, every few hours as they update you on the
current selection of maps available for multiplayer.
It’s cute at first, but they quickly wear out their welcome as they effectively tell
you nothing of importance and repeat the same lines ad nauseam.
Yes, I get it, you’re on Team Bird!
There really should be a skip option.
Now besides those complaints, there are a couple of issues I’ve heard brought up repeatedly
that’s worth addressing.
One is the lack of maps--because yes, there are only 5 in the game currently---though
there are more on the way in the form of free updates.
And yes, that is a pretty small amount compared to many shooters.
But Splatoon isn’t your typical shooter--and as such, I didn’t find the lack of maps
to be a problem at all given how fresh every match felt to be, whether it be in Turf War
or Splat Zones.
What I’m saying is the core gameplay is so unique, it really overshadows the lack
of map diversity
Finally, there’s of course the infamous lack of voice chat.
And I’ll be the first to admit it’d be a nice option to have.
But with that said, I personally didn’t really miss its absence.
Again, let me stress it would be a good option to have--but it didn’t hamper my enjoyment
of either mode at all.
So to wrap things up.
I loved Splatoon.
It’s a breath of fresh air in a pretty crowded.
I found the single-player to be fun, if a bit short, while the multiplayer is straight-up
the most fun I’ve had on the Wii U. And the online worked flawlessly.
I experienced lag only a handful of times out of hundreds of matches, and it almost
always ran at a rock-solid 60 frames per second.
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