REVIEW

Splatoon 2 Review

by Jake Stewart, August 3rd, 2017

Splatoon 2 brings back everything that made the original great while finding some areas to improve and add new life to Nintendo’s newest IP. Splatoon 2 is about as safe as a sequel that Nintendo could’ve made, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This sequel feels like a “deluxe-edition” port of Splatoon with some extra content to help it feel new. If you enjoyed the first Splatoon, chances are you’ll find a lot to like in the sequel.

The vibrant ink-based game-play returns from the original, and feels the same as it did in 2015. Aside from a couple new weapon types, the gameplay is identical to its predecessor. The Splat Duelies is the newest weapon to Splatoon 2, and if your experience is anything like mine has been, you’ll be seeing at least half the players in any given match using the Duelies. Unlike any other weapon, the Duelies give your inkling the ability to dodge-roll. While being a fan of the ink-roller, I find myself going back to use the Duelies for their mobility perk. The ability to roll around enemies and out of danger adds another level of smooth movement in a game that already boasts some of the best movement in a third-person shooter to date.

The combat feels very fluid and exciting, hiding in ink waiting to splat an unsuspecting opponent remains one of the coolest moments in a Switch game thus far. Every weapon has incredible damage but has shortcomings that can be used against it, so no weapon feels overpowered or unbeatable. For example, my preferred weapon is the Splat Roller, it has incredible ink coverage and short range damage. If an opponent is nearby they can be one-shotted easily with the Splat Roller. However, in a mid to long range fight, my opponent will have a major advantage over the Splat Roller. With some clever manoeuvring in the speedy squid form, it is still possible to land a shot on an opponent. This balance causes a generally mixed match of players using short, mid, and long range weapons across both teams.

Splatoon 2 is following the same model of the first one by steadily dropping new content to help expand the lifespan of the game. Luckily, the sequel feels like it is starting off with a lot more day one content. The original built up the full game by the end of the updates but felt pretty empty at launch. Splatoon 2 is a much more padded game at launch, so all of the new maps and weapons coming down the chute are just icing on a very satisfying cake. I have found a lot more memorable levels in the sequel as well. The levels are symmetrical on both sides, meaning that neither team has an advantage due to their spawn, creating a very balanced map system. The design of Moray Towers is my favourite out of the series so far. The battle takes place over multiple skyscrapers, and jumping in squid form across the buildings to sneak up on an opponent is a fantastic feeling.

The most exciting addition the game is the new “horde” type mode; Salmon Run. Salmon Run pits you and three other Inklings against waves of monsters to collect their Golden Eggs for a mysterious employer. The different types of monsters are probably the most exciting part of Salmon Run, while loads of regular enemies are coming for you, a boss will spawn somewhere on the map. These bosses all have different types, with different mechanics and different ways to take down each one of them. From a sniper boss atop a tower of pots, a jet-packing missile-launcher wielding boss, and a boss hiding in ink waiting to eat an unlucky player, these bosses keep the game-play ever changing and surprisingly hectic. I didn’t expect much difficulty from Salmon Run but I’ve left the match as a beaten pulp more times than I’d like to admit.

On the topic of Salmon Run, the most confusing and somewhat frustrating part of this game is the rotation the maps and modes run on. Salmon Run isn’t available 24/7, it has a scheduled time of when you can play the mode. Being the biggest addition to the game, and the primary thing setting the sequel from its predecessor, it is honestly pretty confusing on how this decision came to be. The multiplayer maps rotate on a similar system, yet this feels less cumbersome. Despite some maps being off limits and certain times, the game mode itself is still active.

Along with the Salmon Run issues comes the usual slew of Nintendo’s confusing design choices. Voice chat is restricted to a clunky app that must remain open in order to speak. Turf War with friends requires joining their lobby, crossing your fingers that there will be a spot for you, then hoping that you will actually end up on the same team. These choices do not ruin Splatoon 2 by any means, but having this big of a hindrance to multiplayer gaming in 2017 is somewhat baffling.

On the more positive side, the single player aspect is an absolute blast. I did not play much of the original Splatoon’s multiplayer, and even less of the single player. The single player story and gameplay are very similar to the original but is inviting. The new levels are as fun as ever and I consistently found myself leaving multiplayer to go play more. While the regular levels are fun, I was always looking forward to the boss fights. The boss fights are always creative and capture the feeling of 3D platformer bosses of old. Movement and boss pattern memorization is key in these fights. The bosses always feel very fair, there was never a death to a boss where I blamed the game for poor design. The visuals and the music in the last boss fight alone make it worth playing through the entire single player.

One of the biggest gripes with the original Splatoon was the hardware it, unfortunately, had to be created on. The Wii U tablet never felt like the right kind of controller to be playing a shooter on. It was too long, and the button placement just felt off. Playing with the Switch Joy-Cons feels much better than the Wii U tablet did, creating an overall better experience because of it. The only beneficial feature the Wii U had to offer was the map being displayed on the tablet at all times. Since the Switch doesn’t have a second screen, this feature obviously had to be omitted but can still easily be pulled up with a button press and never feels like a hindrance. The upgrade in hardware has helped a lot with performance as well, as hectic as the game could be at times, I have never experienced a substantial framerate drop. Along with performance, only once out of my many hours with the game have I been booted out of a lobby due to connection issues. With Nintendo’s long standing reputation of bad multiplayer servers, it is a relief that this issue is not present in Splatoon 2.

Ultimately, Splatoon 2 is worth a buy if you’ve played the original, the sequel brings enough to the table to feel refreshing for existing fans. As stated, it feels very much like the original but I never found this to be a negative thing. The original Splatoon’s gameplay was fantastic in its final state, and adding a heaping of new maps, modes, weapons and more is all the sequel really needed. Performance and polish are near perfect, with no framerate drops, rare connection issues, and not a single bug or glitch, there is clearly a lot of work that went into making this game feel right. In terms of the Nintendo Switch lineup, Splatoon 2 is one of the best titles on the console and a must-buy for casual and hardcore Switch owners alike.