By Alexa Nogueira | Observer Correspondent
Nintendo’s paintball-style squid sport is back. First released in 2015, the original installment redefined online multiplayer shooters with its child-friendly game play, lore, and colorful world and character designs. The ink had nearly dried on Splatoon when the company revived the well-loved shooter game with the release of Splatoon 2 for the Nintendo Switch.
In Splatoon 2 you play as an Inkling, which is a child that can change from kid to squid as fast as you can say the catchphrase, “Stay fresh!”
You can customize your Inkling with various hairstyles, clothes, and weapons ranging from a simple paint bucket to dual-pistols.
The game offers several different online multiplayer modes where you can choose a weapon and spray enemies and turf with colorful ink. For the lone squid types, there’s also a single-player mode which couples Splatoon 2’s unique gameplay and story.
When playing online, you can choose to participate in Regular Battles, Ranked Battles, League Battles, or a mode new to the series, Salmon Run.
Between Splatoon 2 and its predecessor, not much has changed in Regular Battles. The goal is simple: You and a team of three other Inklings (paired up in the game’s online lobby) battle against another team to cover as much turf as possible in your team’s ink color.
After three minutes, the team who has covered the most turf wins.
Once you reach level 10 in Regular Battles, there are three distinct types of Ranked Battles you can play: Splat Zones, Tower Control, and Rainmaker. Splat Zones is the most reminiscent of the traditional Regular Battle, where your team’s goal is to drench select areas of the map in your ink. To win, you must keep those areas covered.
Tower Control focuses less on the turf war concept, and more on the idea of maintaining control. Your team’s objective is to ride a tower through enemy turf without losing control. The team that successfully rides the tower to the end of enemy turf wins.
Rainmaker is Splatoon 2’s unique twist on capture the flag. Your team must carry a special weapon, the Rainmaker, all the way to the enemy base. The team who succeeds in bringing the Rainmaker to the enemy base wins.
The more Ranked Battles you win, the higher your in-game rank becomes. The ranking range starts at a C- and builds up the game’s current highest rank of S+. Once the middle rank B- is reached, assess to League Battles is permitted. This protective shield mode lasts for two hours and allows you to play in Ranked Battle modes without risking your actual rank.
In the game’s newest online mode, Salmon Run, you work for Mr. Grizz of Grizzco Industries, collecting eggs from Salmonids with a team of three other players. Your only enemies are the Salmonids, and your goal is to fill your egg quota in each of three rounds. Fulfilling your quota will earn you a pay raise, but if you do not collect enough eggs or your team gets wiped out, Mr. Grizz will give you a hefty pay cut.
While Splatoon 2 is renowned for its multiplayer online battles, single-player mode is just as brilliant. In this mode, you are not just a regular Inkling, but Agent 4 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon.
You are recruited by Inkling idol and secret agent Marie, a member of the Squid Sisters pop duo who were featured in the original Splatoon. In single-player mode, your goal is to find the city of Inkopolis’ main power source, the Great Zapfish.
Additionally, you are also searching for Callie, the other Squid Sister who goes missing at the beginning of the game.
In single-player mode you battle through 32 top secret missions, collecting mini Zapfish and inking Octarians, which is a race of octo-humanoids who are the natural enemies of Inklings.
During each mission, you can also collect Sunken Scrolls, which are scattered throughout each level. Each scroll reveals the history of the Inklings and the lore that single-player mode revolves around.
Overall, Splatoon 2 maintains the spirit of the original Splatoon, while upgrading the gameplay experience with the inclusion of new characters, weapons, and battle modes.
Quirky and non-violent, Splatoon 2 remains one of the best takes of the online multiplayer shooter genre to date, with the only drawbacks being a poor online team-pairing system and lack of a chat system among team members during online battles. But, it is apparent Nintendo’s Splatoon 2 has listened to its fan base and learned from the errors of the original Splatoon, earning the game an 8 out of 10.
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