Hooked again
(This
review contains minor spoilers!)
Splatoon
came as a huge surprise to me. While I initially wrote the game off as
Nintendo’s two cents into the shooter genre, upon playing it I immediately fell
in love with the concept. Instead of focusing on killstreaks and the like, instead
using your weapon to paint as much area as possible was genius, and the
continued support of the game throughout the year kept me coming back for more.
So with the inevitable sequel finally
arriving to store shelves, was Nintendo able to recreate the magic of the
original Wii U classic on the Switch? Short answer, absolutely. Splatoon 2 is everything you loved about
the predecessor and then some, albeit with a few confusing design decisions added
in that leave you scratching your head.
The core mechanics that made the
original work so well are still in place for Splatoon 2. The delightful undersea-themed city Inkopolis is still
the setting, with many new and familiar faces running the various lobby
features. The new idol squids who introduce what maps are live upon booting up
the game, Pearl and Marina, are just as full of personality as their
predecessors in Callie and Marie (who’ve been moved to a much larger role in
the single-player campaign). Everything feels vibrant and alive, leaving you
with a feeling that this would be one game world you wouldn’t mind living in.
The presentation is just delightful in
all aspects. Splatoon 2 is extremely
vibrant and colourful, filled with bright greens, yellows, purples and more.
The graphical jump from Wii U to Switch definitely shows, as now the ink shines
and sparkles under the sun. I honestly can’t wait until the next Splatfest to
see how everything looks at night again. The game’s soundtrack is just as fun
as the original as well, albeit improved in every way. Those weird and
out-of-place heavy metal tracks that played during multiplayer matches
sometimes in the first game are no more, replaced by a much more consistent
soundtrack that matches the underwater theme with the grungy and modernized
look the series is known for, representing the characters of the game extremely
well.
The multiplayer modes are exactly the
same ones from the original copied and pasted into the new game. Turf War is
the most popular and accessible of the lot, in which you must paint as much of
the map in your team’s assigned colour while at the same time fighting off an
opposing colour team. If you played the first game it works almost exactly the
same way here, and is just as fun as it always was.
Ranked Mode also makes a return,
boasting the same trio of modes from the original game: Splat Zones, where you
try to keep control of a single area, Tower Control, where you must escort a
payload to the other side of the map, and Rainmaker, which is similar to Tower
Control except you must carry a huge weapon with you to the other side instead
of a tower. While these modes aren’t nearly as fun as Turf War (Splat Zones
especially was never fun in the first place) they’re fun distractions if you’re
looking for a different way to play.
One frustration I have is that despite
all the complaints with it in the first game and the clearly much stronger
hardware of the Switch when compared to the Wii U, the two stages per rotation
limit is still in place. Each mode will only run two of the game’s (at the time
of writing) eight maps at a time, making it grow a little annoying once you’ve
played on Moray Towers four times over the course of half an hour. Thankfully
this system isn’t nearly as bad as it was in the original game as now the maps
and modes rotate every two hours instead of every four, but it honestly makes
it hard to play multiplayer in more than an hour at a time as the same two maps
repeatedly start to grow boring after a while.
If you’re looking for something new,
the game has you covered. The latest inclusion to the game is Salmon Run, a
horde mode style concept where you and three other players take on an armada of
piranha-looking fish monsters, trying to harvest eggs from them while at the
same time keeping yourself and your teammates alive. A huge variety of boss
monsters also show up to ruin your day, including a flying menace that shoots a
storm of missiles, a shark that preys upon unsuspecting inklings by stalking
them from beneath the surface of the ink, and the snake from Disneyland’s
Fantasmic.
Seriously, tell me I’m not the only
one who sees the resemblance?
The bosses must be defeated to harvest
the rare golden eggs that they carry. Once you make it to the end of three waves
without your entire team wiping at any point and if you’ve managed to match or
beat your assigned quota of golden eggs, you’ll be rewarded with prizes such as
tickets you can use to add an extra buff you can use in multiplayer or
exclusive gear you can’t find anywhere else. Trust me when I say though that
this mode is hard. You can be dealing
with up to three bosses at a time, and if your team is uncoordinated things
will go bad real fast. Despite this, Salmon Run is an awesome addition and one
that I keep going back to for more.
Actually, that’s what I want to say,
but this is where the most confusing and frustrating addition to Splatoon 2 comes into play: Salmon Run
is only available for a 12-hour period every other day. Why!? This mode is
awesome, but for whatever reason Nintendo has it closed off for a good chunk of
time. There’s literally no reason why this would be a good idea. Instead it
limits the mode to those who can get to their Switches while it’s up. If you’re
out at work or busy the day it’s up, too bad. You’ve gotta wait a day before it
goes up again.
Lastly, just like its predecessor Splatoon 2 features a singleplayer
campaign. Thankfully Nintendo seems to have taken the lessons learned from the
first one to heart, as this time around instead of feeling like an extended
tutorial with a cool final boss, Splatoon
2’s Octo Canyon mode is a
short-but-sweet adventure with a lot of awesome moments that are sure to bring
a smile to the faces of longtime fans. Each level sees you using a different
weapon in the game’s arsenal, from the tanklike Paint Rollers to the sniper
rifle Splat Chargers. You’re up against the evil Octarians as you jump, shoot
and swim your way through various galleries until you find the end of the
level. Some levels switch things up with fun variations on Turf War modes or
levels almost entirely filled with rail grinding. It’s a very nice little mode
that can be beaten in just a few hours, with a final boss and ending that makes
the first game’s look paltry by comparison.
It’s no surprise that I adored Splatoon 2. While to some it might feel
too similar to its predecessor, I feel that the approach Nintendo took with it
is just what it needed. If you loved the original, this game will be right up
your alley. Nearly everything is either just as good or better than it was on
the Wii U, and the new Salmon Run mode and promises of content updates and
events being planned for up to two years is very exciting. I do hope that the
weird time limit placed on Salmon Run is removed in a future patch though.
There’s no reason to have it. I think it’s safe to say that these kids and
squids won’t be leaving anytime soon.
FINAL SCORE
9/10
Amazing
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