The Splatoon 2 Direct provided an excellent look at what we can expect from the game’s
release on July 21st.
There’s plenty of new weapons, new Gear, and new stages, four of which we got a quick
look at during the Direct.
Two that will be in the game right away, and two that will be added thanks to a future
update.
But what can we expect from these stages?
Well, let’s power up the old Analysis Machine to see what secrets and hidden details it
can find.
The first is a new arena called the Sturgeon Shipyard and the main draw of it is the different
floors and levels that lead deeper into the center.
A fence divides the actual stage from the surrounding shipyard in the background and
there appears to be four floors of differing heights with grates spread throughout in order
to drop through.
In the very center is a bridge, similar to the one found in The Reef but rather than
something solid underneath, there seems to be another grate.
So you could find protection from an attack above but escaping someone down there in Squid
form is much trickier.
On the right side is a sponge block like we see in the single player, but it’s never
used in this scene.
and of course, there are plenty of jellyfish all around apparently working at the shipyard.
This seems likely since they’re all wearing the same red hat.
But as the camera pans to the left, we finally see one of the spawn points.
Looking at the surrounding area, we wonder if it’s possible to ink along the left wall.
There doesn’t seem to be any kind of barrier, at least not right next to it.
Instead, there’s metal flooring that leads around the central area, at least for a little
while.
We are given one more angle of Sturgeon Shipyard, but it doesn’t reveal that much else about
the stage except that some of the platforms will rise and fall.
It again emphasizes the different heights that can be fought from here.
Otherwise, we wonder if this could be located near Port Mackerel.
After all, they are dealing with similar containers.
Speaking of Port Mackerel, it’s returning as a stage just like Moray Towers though it’s
receiving a bit of a redesign.
The angle we’re provided is slightly ahead of one of the spawn points allowing us a good
view of the central arena.
And rather than the containers being arranged in such a way that creates plenty of corridors
to fight in, they’ve been rearranged to eliminate many of those halls.
Even the ones near the spawn point were removed and replaced with a sponge block.
Now while the center has seen a lot of changes, the upper areas near the spawn looks mostly
the same.
However, based on the arrangement of the containers below, there looks to be more of push to fight
on top of them.
Many have rails to block Inklings from simply inking their way to the top, but a different
angle shows that the sponges could be used to reach the upper areas and ink from above.
We also see that the sponge leaves a square of ink behind when hit with the opposite color
meaning that extra inking needs to be done to claim that turf.
Not everything has been changed though as we can still see the vehicle from the original
Splatoon moving back and forth, just as it always had.
And there are still corridors to fight along in this central area.
Even just this rearrangement of objects has changed the possible strategies of Port Mackerel.
There are still two stages left though it could be a while until they actually make
it into Splatoon 2.
The first takes place on a docked ship.
We can see one of the spawn points, from which quite a few directions can be taken.
It looks like you can jump behind to immediately access some deeper areas on the ship to ink
while going forward leads to both a ramp going down and a grate going toward the mast.
Teams will likely spread out very quickly.
On the right side we can see a jellyfish working on a life raft which is off limits and just
beyond it is a large incline that Inklings using the back path can take to enter the
center area.
But more curious are the two walkways leading to the shore which seems like a resort café.
Could these be part of the map as well?
The bridges would become massive battlegrounds in order to reach land and ink as much of
it as possible.
But we can’t really see the limits of that section.
So is it even accessible at all?
After all, there’s a jellyfish and its child on one of the walkways and they could never
be interacted with before.
But then again, there doesn’t appear to be anything blocking access to the walkways
from the ship.
So how big is this map?
And what’s this location based on?
It’s not a marina since this is the only dock, and there’s no beach.
Instead, there’s just a café and then a bunch of large coastal buildings.
While we can see the basics, the specifics are still very much a mystery.
The other update map is located beneath a bridge that trains pass over.
The stage itself has water at the edges and even in some of the central locations while
a construction vehicle can be seen in the background.
We’re not sure of the purpose of this place, but we can see residue from the water on the
side of some of the structures.
Are they simply aesthetics or could it indicate that the water rises or falls during the course
of a match?
We can’t say conclusively, but otherwise the stage’s focus seems to be on large open
areas and ramps.
One spawn point can be seen on the left side but the other one is nowhere to be found.
Perhaps it’s on the other side of the bridge?
Or maybe it’s just being blocked from view at the moment.
But like the other stages, there are plenty of jellyfish around too.
Two are watching from above with another just above them while a fourth one can be spotted
watching from across the water.
This could indicate that the water level doesn’t actually change during the match since it
would be washed away too.
We’re also intrigued by where this bridge is located.
Unlike many of the other stages, this one isn’t a hotbed of activity.
There’s no hip thing to do, there’s no large buildings around, it’s just in what
appears to be the suburbs.
We can see smaller buildings to the left with mountains in the distance.
Could this be the train that’s taken to go to the hometown of Callie and Marie, Calamari
County?
And how far away from Inkopolis could some of these new stages take place?
There’s still a lot to learn, but Splatoon 2 is shaping up to be an excellent sequel.
We can’t wait to try it for ourselves, and it’s not much longer until that happens.
But was there anything that you spotted about these maps?
Let us know in the comments and be sure to subscribe to GameXplain for more on Splatoon
and other things gaming.