After the recent Nintendo Direct focused on Splatoon 2, I couldn’t wait to play it.
It just looked so fun, and I needed to try it out for myself.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long as Nintendo supplied us with a review code
at the beginning of the weekend.
And since then, I’ve been playing it as much as I can which really still isn’t enough.
That’s because the servers won’t go online for a few more days so even though I can explore
Inkopolis Square, there’s not much I can do in it.
But that does leave the new single player campaign available, and I wanted to offer
my early thoughts on it before I dove into the online multiplayer.
Now I’m not going to be getting into spoilers and I can’t talk about anything beyond the
third boss, but right off the bat, Splatoon 2 just controls beautifully.
I may have had trouble adjusting to using the Pro Controller during the Testfire, but
I took to the controls immediately this time around.
It’s as simple as ever to target what you want and splat away.
And if you’re familiar at all with the original Splatoon’s campaign, you’ll be immediately
at home here.
Each world contains a number of invisible kettles that must be inked to be unlocked
as levels so you can then rescue the captured Zapfish.
But there are few new tricks to the process.
The worlds, while not huge, contain a bit more that’s worth exploring.
There are balloons to pop in order to get a few extra Power Eggs and each world has
its own Sunken Scroll and Sardinium to find, just like every level.
The Sunken Scrolls offer up a bit of lore to help flesh out the world of the Inklings,
but they’re more concerned with covering what happened in the two years since the original
than providing new details of the past.
The Sardinium is a new step required to power up your weapons.
Not only do you need the right amount of Power Eggs but this collectible as well.
Working in tandem, they can be used to increase your Ink tank, unlock more sub weapons, or
make them more powerful as we said.
And the range of weapons available in the single player is much greater.
Eventually Sheldon from Ammo Knights will appear and ask you to use a particular weapon
and the stages are designed in such a way to help you better learn that weapon.
Ostensibly, the campaign is meant to prepare players for the online and I felt like it
does a much better job of that in Splatoon 2.
They can be replayed and cleared with every weapon in the game, but I like that they force
you to try out these weapons.
I did feel like I got a little better with the Splat Charger when usually I’m awful
with it.
Whether this newfound confidence actually transfers to the multiplayer is left to be
seen, but I like that each weapon type gets the spotlight for at least a little bit.
The levels themselves are linear but well-crafted, always introducing a new element or enemy
to change things up before mixing and matching to increase the challenge.
The new grind rails, bouncy mats, and boost pads all feel like natural extensions of the
gameplay and made certain stages that much more exciting.
And of course, the bosses are as great as ever, really showing the creativity of Splatoon
2.
I was always hyped to take on a new one, but I don’t want to give too much about them
away before the review.
But rest easy, they definitely have some standouts.
Really, the only part that feels like a noteworthy downgrade is the music.
At least what I heard in the single player.
The new tunes feel lower key this time around, losing the bombacity of the original.
They’re not all bad and are certainly fine songs on their own, but something about them
felt lesser.
There’s still a lot for me to see in Splatoon 2 though.
I may have finished the campaign, but the real star of the show is still waiting.
Still, based on these first impressions, fans of Splatoon and newcomers alike have little
to worry about when it comes to Splatoon 2.
I just can’t wait to try the multiplayer and see how it compares.
But you can find out our full thoughts when our review of Splatoon 2 goes live on July
18th.
Thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe to GameXplain for more on Splatoon and other
things gaming.