Splatoon 2 - Nintendo Switch [Digital]

The sequel to the amazing Wii U gem, Splatoon 2 on Switch does everything the first game did, but better, and now with option to keep the fun wherever you are, and even setting up local multiplayer with other friends with multiple Nintendo Switch consoles. The game's main focus is the 4 v 4 online multiplayer of Turf Wars. Although using weapons, the objective isn't killing opponents. Rather splatting ink of your team over the map in greater quantity than enemy team's color. By end of round, the color of ink with greater quantity on the map wins. Splatting enemies grants bonus points only, and sets them back to respawn, making coloring of their area easier. It is a fast and frantic action. Character movements are fast. Played in third person view, this is a game for all ages. No violence or killing. Yet the intricacies of customizing your character with different clothes for style and different stats, as well as choosing different weapons of specific load outs give amazing depth and longevity to the game. Characters can transform into squids when pressing and holding one of the triggers, allowing you to swim fast over your ink, even allowing to climb over inked walls, giving levels diverse movement and vertical traversal. The game also features natural motion controls for aiming like in Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. But that is optional and may be turned off in favor of traditional right stick aiming. Weapons range from sniper rifles, machine guns, to big ink rollers and paint brushes, even color buckets. None of the weapons fire typical bullets, only ink of your team's color. They each have their stats and different grenade secondary fire, as well as a chargeable special attack. Developers confirmed free DLC for one year, like they did and fulfilled with first game. Multiple new maps and weapons will be released, keeping the game new and fun for longer without need to shell out for DLC or season passes. Single player story is also included. Similar to first game but now with different weapons allowed intrinsic to the levels they are featured. The story is fun and levels feature platforming and plenty of weapon action. As well as some incentive for exploration and score chasing for replay. Visuals now run in higher dynamic resolution than first game, along with higher definition textures. This is no 4K piece like other consoles, but ironically will wow more people regardless of their gaming interests due to how sharp and color visuals are. With varied hue that surpasses even Pixar animations. Unfortunately, only one person can play per console. Yet multiple consoles can connect online or locally for 2 to 8 player multiplayer sessions. There are league and ranked multiplayer modes online as well for those more hard core and competitive players, with varying objectives other than the ground coloring. New too for those fans of online coop survival modes (a la Horde), is Salmon Run, where 4 players locally or online work together to survive against waves of enemies and boss fights, raking up points for hard to earn but very rewarding items. I highly recommend this game for fans of the first, as well as to anyone who owns a Nintendo Switch. Or those looking great new online experiences different than yearly released recycled shooters. Original game was official winner for Best Multiplayer game of VGA of year it came out. This sequel is better than original.

I played the first Splatoon on the Wii U and loved it. The feeling quickly died down because I don't have an infinite stamina for playing turf war. I put probably 30 hours into it. With that in mind, when I saw that a 2nd one was coming out, I got really excited - especially when Nintendo announced the mode Salmon Run (it's like a tower-defense game, but you are the one that needs to stay alive). I got Splatoon 2 almost at launch. It plays pretty much identically to the first game. This is a plus because it feels so natural with the motion controls after 15 minutes or so. After playing Breath of the Wild, I had to get used to the right thumb stick not changing the camera vertically at all. It was a quick transition though. The turf war mode is more fun than the first game because they balanced out the specials and weapons better - there's no more invulnerability. Playing online is practically perfect connection-wise. I almost never lose my connection. I did have some problems when I had a friend over with his system and we were using the same wi-fi. One of us got dropped often for a few hours there, but it got better eventually. Salmon Run is a blast. I like PvE modes more than PvP, and so this is a welcome treat. Blasting salmonids is so satisfying. The boss salmonids can be super tough though - especially if there are more than one in an area. The difficulty slowly ramps up to where you're winning about half of the runs, and so it stays challenging. The game looks great and plays great. It's locked at 60 FPS for those who care. On to the bad and picky things. Let's start with the bad: YOU CAN'T PLAY SALMON RUN WHENEVER YOU WANT!!! This is a poor decision. I can sorta see how Nintendo wants it to be "part of the culture of the game" or "realistic for the game," but it's a video game - a video game about kids that turn into squids and shoot ink out of super soakers. That's not even remotely realistic. I didn't buy a game to suffer through "working hours" being a real thing. I hope Nintendo patches this garbage out. The game mode that is actually new and for which I primarily bough the game is only available at certain times. And it isn't like a hours every day, it's more like for three 24-hour periods each week. One more bad: Gaining levels takes forever, and you have to gain levels to unlock all the guns and modes that are available. Sure, unlocking things makes sense. You play the game more, you can use a wider variety of things. But the amount of time it takes to get to level 10 (which unlocks ranked mode) is ridiculous. Getting to level 10 from level 9 takes 17,000 exp. In the first game it was 10,000. Each round gets you 800 if you lose and 1400 if you win. So, with 50% wins, you're looking at an average of 1,100 each round. So only 15-16 games to get from 9 to 10. With each round lasting 3 minutes plus in-between time, you're looking at about 50-55 min. That is just for one level at the early stage of the game. It is similar between levels 6-9 as well. It takes about 6-8 hours just to unlock the ranked mode. Then you have to play that a bunch to unlock league mode. Getting to level 10 doesn't even unlock all of the weapons. They keep unlocking until level 28-30. You're not looking at about an hour per level at that point. It'll be 62,000 exp to get to level 30 from 29. It will take about 3 hours of turf war (58-ish rounds) to gain that one level and finally unlock every weapon. If you like playing the game with the weapons you have, then this really isn't an issue and the ranked modes give more exp, but still. What if I want the weapon that unlocks at level 25? Do I put in 30 hours into the game before I get what I really want out of it? Picky things: You have to watch the two squid stars tell you what the level are every time they change. Ever time I watch it I think: "I, nor anyone I know would stop or start playing this game because of what levels are available. We don't care enough to warrant this interruption. Just let me play the game." Getting voice chat to work over a phone works fine... but the app drains your battery like crazy because the screen has to be on. While the single player has a bit more than the first game, they could have done so much more with it. I don't want to play Splatoon-themed Mario level for every level. Man, I'll even take an escort mission instead of the same platforming over and over. With all of that being said, don't get me wrong. I like this game a ton. That's why I'm giving it 4 stars and recommending it to anyone with a switch. The game is good. I just want it to be great - a game where I don't have to turn a blind eye to some obvious flaws... and I want to play Salmon Run whenever I want.

Most popular games these days are military-type shooters that are completely inappropriate for children. No, I'm not being overly sensitive. I just don't want my children being brainwashed into believing that people killing each other is okay. Fantasy, on the other hand, is much easier to explain to them and makes more sense because it's creative and uses imagination; which is exactly how most, if not all, children are. Anyway, I myself (29) have enjoyed this game a ton and my children have as well. My son is still too young for video games (3 1/2) but, since he watches me play and his big sister play, and he has occasional turns to roam around, it's a colorful visual for him. My daughter (8 1/2) has had a blast leveling up playing online and completing the missions in the campaign. She naturally doesn't enjoy gore and violence and does enjoy colorful, messy fun so this is a good fit for her. As are many Nintendo games. I know how children in elementary schools like to talk about "owning each other" online and other absurdities that they talk about, almost as if they're skipping their young years to jump straight into rude, obnoxious teens. So, since my daughter doesn't know what all their lingo means, she'll at least be able to relate to the teamwork, aiming, strategy, etc. aspects of shooting games (and probably school some of them lol). Nintendo, once again, has done an amazing job with what they put out there and whom it's directed towards. It's fun and challenging enough for experienced gamers and not ridiculously difficult for beginners. The lack of multiplayer (more than 1 player playing on the same console) doesn't take anything away from Splatoon. It lets the player focus and improve gradually while having some good-natured fun. Leave it to other awesome games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, (future) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, (future) Super Mario Party, among others, to satisfy your multiplayer gaming needs. This game and the other content that Nintendo puts out only proves that Nintendo, as a company, and the Nintendo Switch are not full of gimmicks. It's the clear obvious choice for FUN compared to Sony and Microsoft. They're innovative and they're here to stay. All while providing super fun content for all ages.

On the surface, Splatoon 2 looks like a port of Splatoon 1, but it does not take much time with the game to start noticing differences. The first noticeable change is GamePad functionality being moved to screens that get toggled with the X button. While the lack of a persistent minimap during online multiplayer is annoying, the expanded menus in the Inkopolis Square (the main hub area) and Octo Canyon (the single-player hub world) offer quick access to a lot more options than were accessible from the GamePad. The new single-player campaign picks up where Sp1atoon's left off as far as gameplay. Early levels reintroduce old mechanics, but the game quickly moves to introduce new level mechanics and new weapons that were previously only usable in single-player if you bought Splatoon amiibo, or were excluded from the single-player entirely. While boss battles continue to follow the three-phase Nintendo formula, they all feel sufficiently different from Sp1atoon. The standard online multiplayer modes are the same, but the new stages change up the game a fair amount. While some have seen a disappointing increase in un-inkable surfaces, others have incorporated mechanics from Sp1atoon's single-player stages to offer more ways to get around the map. Some of the new stages feel smaller than a lot of Sp1atoon's stages, but they also feel more manageable by four-player teams. The new special weapons are arguably the biggest game-changer in competitive multiplayer, since a lot more of them become more effective when coordinated with team members. The new co-op multiplayer horde mode, Salmon Run, is the biggest unique addition to Spla2n. It puts teams of four players against waves of enemies of varying sizes, with a certain number of items that must be collected from bosses before the wave ends to proceed. Your weapons get randomized every round, which seemed annoying at first, but I grew to appreciate since it ensured the team always had a good balance of offensive and defensive weapons, and made each round feel different since my role on the team would change depending on which weapon I got. My only complaint about Salmon Run is that it is only accessible at certain times (it is the only mode that is ever completely inaccessible). My guess is they did that so people would not all leave competitive multiplayer to play Salmon Run, but it feels like Salmon Run is rarely available during the times I want to play, and I dislike the idea of having to schedule my day around the game's arbitrary schedule. I have not had a chance to try out the local multiplayer or amiibo functionality, so I will not comment on that. The last thing I will bring up is the Nintendo Switch Online app. As a voice chat solution, the advantages over other voice chat apps barely outweigh the downsides. However, SplatNet 2 is a fantastic service. Like the original SplatNet, it still shows you the current stage rotation, as well as some of your stats, but my favorite feature is the ability to buy gear (with in-game coins—there are no microtransactions) from the app. My time in the actual game is rarely spent checking the shops, so I like having the option to browse some in-game items when I am away from my Switch. In summary, if you never played Sp1atoon but were interested, Spla2n keeps the core of made Sp1atoon fun. If, like me, you DID play and enjoy Sp1atoon, Spla2n adds enough new features that I consider it worth purchasing. The only notable downside is the lack of a persistent minimap, but that does not outweigh all the new content.

I never played Splatoon 1 due to not buying a Wii U, but it caught my eye when it came out. So I was excited for Splatoon 2, especially after all the great reviews, and I was not disappointed. Splatoon 2 is a game dripping with classic Nintendo charm, from the bright colors, to the art style that’s aimed at kids but enjoyable by all. The gear styles that you can mix and match and potentially be seen in the main square, encourage for creating the freshest looking squid-kid, while the upgrading system helps keep the stats on the gear from helping you do that. The game itself focuses heavily on the multiplayer aspect, and for the first few hours you will be mostly playing the Turf Wars mode. The way the game is designed makes it so even if you aren’t the best at shooter games, you can still be useful to your team by painting territory, and your type of gameplay, painting vs splatting, can be enhanced by your choice of weapon. The weapons are limited at first but open up the main playstyle options pretty fast in the first few levels, and then you unlock more specialized versions of these weapons. The first few games might feel impossible, but as you get the hang of it and find the weapon that fits you, you’ll quickly start becoming a strong team member. The best thing is with the ~3 minute match times, your losses don’t feel bad, and you don’t feel like you’re making a commitment when you start one up. Being able to get a few matches in on your lunch break is a great feeling that’s hard to find in most multiplayer games. The best thing about the game is the Salmon Run game mode, which is co-op Horde style game mode, 4 players vs waves of enemies and bosses. With randomly assigned weapons, this is a great way to get to practice and try out new weapons, while keeping the challenge level high and the games feeling different. Unfortunately, this mode is not always open which brings us to the main downsides of this game. For a multiplayer focused game in 2017, it’s missing a lot of the features we’re used to. Voice chat is basically not worth the hassle and most people use a third party app, playing a game as a team before you get to the ranked teams level is basically impossible, since it randomly splits up a lobby. Salmon Run is closed randomly for on average half a day at a time. These, and more, are things that every multiplayer game has now days and big developer like Nintendo has no good excuse for executing so poorly. That said, the rest of the game outshines this social dampener, and still gets a 5 star from me.

So I didn't pick this game up on day one, nor did I play the first Splatoon on WiiU because I didn't have one. I thought this was going to be another typical online multiplayer like Call of Duty and Fortnite. But boy was I wrong. This game keeps you going. Although I haven't leveled up to the point where I can play ranked, the objective for most multiplayer games is simple: cover the entire map with as much of YOUR ink as possible, hence the name of the regular game mode: Turf War. Killing your opponents is only necessary when they get in the way of your objective, rather than it being the main one. There isn't a point where the game isn't fun; it's fast-paced goodness. Matchmaking is also a plus, as you can easily get paired up with players pretty quickly. The only downside I would have is the lack of pure voice-chat. It really does suck to have voice-chat relegated to the Nintendo Switch phone app, but hopefully that gets fixed with the upcoming Online service. The single-player campaign, which is basically another con but minor, is ok, but it's basically a tutorial to the multiplayer. If you want more of a challenge, the Octo Expansion DLC just came out if you want to purchase it, but I would recommend doing so after beating the campaign and playing a few multiplayer matches. Overall, for those that haven't gotten Splatoon 2 yet, I would definitely recommend getting it. It's never too late to get it; Nintendo is still supporting the game with frequent updates and monthly Splatfests. Whether you win or lose a game of Turf War, especially when you start out on level 1, you'll feel more rewarded than playing a game of Fortnite or Call of Duty.

Nintendo's Splatoon 2 another masterpiece, BUOYED by the new, "worth the price of the game alone", fantastic, addictive SALMON RUN! I'm a Splatoon addict. Have logged over 700 hours in the original 4 x 4 paint ball-like shooter created by the master-minds of Nintendo. Everything about this game, from the creative concepts of the game-play, to the colorful lol humor of the writing and art-direction, was (is!) perfect. How can they top this? 5 WORDS: Splatoon 2 and SALMON RUN Last night I got my copy of Splatoon 2, jumped right in, frantically played the newly designed turf-war levels, working hard to get myself up to level 10 to be able to play the even more addictive RANKED LEVEL modes. Then, I received a notification on my screen that some dude named GRIZZO wanted to speak to me about some part time work. Hmmmmm. Curiosity set in. This is when I entered Salmon Run, and, 12 hours later, I have played nothing else on Splatoon 2. Why? Because Salmon Run is a pure work of creative and game-play design genius, where 4 random persons online (or 2-4 local players) work together to harvest golden eggs for your new boss Grizzo while being attacked and annihilated by enemies, bosses and the environment around you. And let me tell you, it is wonderful gaming like you have never seen before. Describing it doesnt do it just, though take a look at it from my friends at GamExplain with the attached video (or just get a Switch and by Splatoon 2 pronto). The game starts off on the easier side, however, the more you level up, the more difficult the game becomes. I have leveled up only once in 12 hours, finding it tough to move onto the next level. Though, a sort of fun, just one more time toughness that keeps you coming back again and again. With an all new great single player campaign (that I started playing on Uber rides to and from places I visit; Switch as a portable console, I love you!), new maps, weapons, ranked level upgrades and SALMON RUN, SPLATOON 2, for $59.99, is worth $99.99 in the value it will give you for years, and solidifies my call two years ago as Splatoon being not only game of the decade, but franchise of the decade. Once again, a perfect score: 10/10

This is a shooting style game where even missing your opponents or never getting into a firefight still lets you contribute to your teams victory. For the more casual but competitive gamers, there is the Turf War, where two teams compete to cover the ground with their ink color; while the game does determine a winning team and losing team, you'd have to make an effort to see your record through the mobile app, and even then, it only tracks the last 50 matches played. For the more hardcore competitive gamer, there are ranked battles, which consist of three rotating game modes; here players are assigned letter grades, letting players show off their skill levels and making sure games are more evenly fought by grouping players of similar skill. Lastly, there is the coop mode, Salmon Run; in this, teams of 4 battle against hordes of computer controlled enemies. There is a single player mode, but it serves more as an extended tutorial and training ground for practicing with various weapon types than a full fledged game mode. Once a month, there is a Splatfest, during which time, the only competitive mode is the Turf War; every player chooses a side to decide very important debates like ice cream vs cake, and then they go head to head to support the superiority of ice cream vs the right to have questionable opinions. For a community and multiplayer driven game, Splatoon 2 has some unfortunate design choices/limitations. There is no single console multiplayer; every player must have their own Switch and game. Playing with your friends means you have to host a private lobby, play ranked, or be okay with the potential to be on opposite teams. Voice chatting is limited to a mobile app and is not supported by the game/console itself. Salmon Run is on a schedule which means playing coop with strangers online is not always available, although it can be played locally with friends in the same room. Ultimately, the game is fun, but it has issues that could be deal breakers for some people.