Splatoon 2
Splatoon 2 is a 2017 third-person shooter game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was released on July 21, 2017 and is a direct sequel to Splatoon, which includes a new story-driven single-player mode and various online multiplayer modes. An expansion pack for the single-player mode titled was subsequently released as downloadable content in June 2018.
As of March 2020, Splatoon 2 had sold over 10.13 million copies worldwide, selling twice as much as its predecessor, and making it one of the best-selling Switch games.
Gameplay
Like its predecessor, Splatoon 2 is a third-person shooter in which players control characters, known as Inklings and Octolings, and use colored ink as ammunition. Ink is also used to cover the ground, or any paintable surface, in order to swim or refill their ink tanks. Inklings and Octolings can morph between humanoid, or kid form, where they switch from walking and shooting, into squid form where they can quickly swim through ink of their own color, and replenish their ink supply, as well as return to full health.The sequel adds new standard, sub and special weapons, including dual-wield pistols called Dualies that allow the player to perform dodge rolls, shotgun-like weapons called Brellas that enable defensive maneuvers with folding shields, and jetpacks known as Inkjets. Like the previous game, it features the standard Turf War mode for Regular Battles, in which two four-player teams have three minutes to cover the most turf with their color of ink. Splatoon 2 also maintains the first game's rotation of Splat Zones, Tower Control and Rainmaker for Ranked Battles, unlocked at level ten, while also adding a new Clam Blitz mode. League Battles allow players to form teams with friends playing the same modes as in Ranked Battles. A new mode, Salmon Run, allows up to four players to team up cooperatively to tackle waves of enemies called Salmonids and collect Boss Salmonids' eggs.
Once per month until July 2019, a "Splatfest" event was held in which players could choose one of two teams, usually based on common debates such as heroes versus villains and pancakes versus waffles. In addition, there were two collaborations during these Splatfests: Nickelodeon's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Splatfest themes were usually announced one week in advance, and players were given the ability to choose their team in the game's lobby. Themes were usually region-specific and happen at different times of the month. Splatfest battles were Turf Wars only, but players could choose between normal and pro modes. Winning battles awarded 'clout' to the winning team, and at the end of the Splatfest, the winning side was decided by evaluating popularity and clout earned in both battle modes. All players who participate earn rare rewards, but players who chose the winning team receive a slightly higher cut. In July 2019, Nintendo announced that the final Splatfest would be held. Splatfest was halted for 11 months until in May 2020 when a Splatfest was held; it is likely the actual final Splatfest.
The game features a single-player campaign called Hero Mode, in which the player rescues captured Zapfish across various levels while fighting off evil Octarians. Unlike the previous game's single-player campaign which had a pre-determined weapon set, the player can now earn various weapons, some of which are required when playing levels for the first time. In addition to Sunken Scrolls that unlock artwork and in-game lore, players can collect Sardinium to upgrade their Hero Mode weapons, and tickets that can be exchanged for temporary reward boosts in multiplayer battles, such as increased experience or in-game money. Using a single weapon to beat all of the Hero Mode levels grants the player a Hero Weapon Replica to use in multiplayer matches. In the Octo Expansion DLC, players play as an Octoling in a new single-player campaign featuring eighty missions in which the player teams up with Inkopolis veteran Cap’n Cuttlefish, as well as the fictional in-game pop band known as Off The Hook, which consists of the characters Pearl and Marina, to collect assorted items called “Thangs”, as well as defeat enemies along the way. Players can also play multiplayer online through an internet connection or play locally, although local play requires multiple consoles and copies of the game. The game also features LAN support with an adapter accessory for local private tournaments. The game supports amiibo figures, which allow players to store their character's custom look and unlock additional content. Free post-release updates and events are ongoing.
Plot
Splatoon 2 takes place approximately two years after the final Splatfest event of the first game, in which the pop idol Marie defeated her cousin and fellow Squid Sister, Callie. After having drifted apart in the months following the event, Marie worries that Callie was negatively affected by the result. After leaving Inkopolis to see her parents, Marie returns home to discover that the Great Zapfish that powers the city has gone missing again, as has Callie. Fearing that the evil Octarians are once more involved, Marie again takes up her role as Agent 2 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon and recruits an Inkling from Inkopolis Square, the player character, to become Agent 4 and investigate.With assistance from Marie and weapons expert Sheldon, Agent 4 makes their way through Octo Canyon fighting Octarians and recovering several stolen Zapfish, including ones powering the Octarians' war machines, such as the Octo Oven, the Octo Samurai and the Octo Shower. They discover that Callie herself has sided with the Octarians after being brainwashed by their leader, DJ Octavio, who has escaped his imprisonment after his defeat in the first game and once more is using the Great Zapfish to power his new DJ stage, the Octobot King II. Marie arrives with Sheldon and frees Callie from her mind control, and together they help Agent 4 defeat Octavio once more. With the Great Zapfish safely returned to Inkopolis, the Squid Sisters happily reunite and resume their musical career.
''Octo Expansion''
Players take control of an amnesiac, unconscious Octoling who is found by the character Cap'n Cuttlefish. Cuttlefish was seeking out Agent 3, the protagonist of Splatoon, and decides to help the Octoling after hearing them humming the Squid Sisters' song. Cuttlefish and Agent 8 are trapped in a subway-like testing facility called the Deepsea Metro, where a talking telephone identifies the player-character as Subject 10,008, prompting Cuttlefish to give them the title Agent 8. The Telephone informs them that in order to reach "the promised land", they must traverse through the Metro to collect four objects known as "thangs". Agent 8 is given assistance via radio by Pearl and Marina of the pop band Off the Hook. As Agent 8 clears tests in the underground facility, they obtain small items called Mem Cakes that serve as physical manifestations of their lost memories. After completing several test chambers and collecting all four thangs, which combine into a large blender, the Telephone attempts to kill Agent 8 and Cuttlefish by tricking them into getting into it. However, they are rescued by Agent 3, who is promptly knocked unconscious in the process. Agent 8 then climbs through the depths of the facility towards the surface, via a hole that Agent 3 left in the ceiling, while Cuttlefish stays behind to keep watch over Agent 3. As they reach the exit, Agent 8 is confronted by Agent 3, who has been brainwashed by the Telephone. Agent 8 defeats them, freeing them from their mind control.After reaching the surface, the trio is retrieved by Pearl and Marina, but the facility itself begins to rise from the ocean, revealing itself to be an enormous statue of a human, which shocks everyone due to humans having been extinct for several millennia. From within the statue, the mangled but still functional Telephone introduces itself as Commander Tartar, an AI built by a human scientist prior to mankind's extinction who was programmed to pass the knowledge of humanity on to the next sentient race that emerged after the world flooded. While initially believing Inklings and Octarians to be this sentient race, Tartar was disgusted with both their societies and instead reprogrammed itself with a new objective: to destroy all sentient life and create a new apex species from a genetic ooze made from the finest test subjects. As it prepares to fire an enormous solar-powered cannon from the mouth of the statue and destroy Inkopolis, Marina creates a plan to stop it from charging by covering the statue in ink. The plan is successful, and Pearl uses a voice-powered Killer Wail weapon to finally destroy both it and Tartar. With the threat averted, the group returns to Inkopolis Square, where Agent 8 joins society with both the Inklings and their fellow Octolings that had already arrived.
Release
A limited-time global multiplayer demo for the game, known as the "Splatoon 2 Global Testfire", was released in March 2017. A special edition of Nintendo Treehouse Live was streamed during the first session, in which members of the Nintendo Treehouse participated in the demo. Similarly to the demo of the original game, it was only available to play for a specific time period, across six one-hour play sessions in one weekend. Another demo session demonstrating the game's Splatfest events was held on July 15, 2017.The game was released worldwide on July 21, 2017. In Japan and Europe, neon-green and neon-pink Joy-Con controllers and Splatoon-themed Pro Controllers were released alongside the game. A game card-free version, which features a download code inside a game case instead of a game card, was also released in Japan, as well as a Switch hardware bundle including a download code for the game. A similar bundle was released in the United States as a Walmart exclusive.
New Amiibo figures of new Inkling Girl, Boy and Squid designs from Splatoon 2 were released alongside the game. These figures, alongside previous Splatoon figures, unlock exclusive in-game clothing and music tracks and allow the player to save a loadout of weapons and clothing to the figure so they can be readily accessed at any time. Characters with these saved load-outs can be posed alongside the player for taking screenshots. Amiibo figures of Pearl and Marina from Off the Hook were released on July 13, 2018, and feature similar functionality to those already released, while a final trio of figures of Octoling Girl, Boy and Octopus designs were released in Japan and Europe on November 9, 2018, and in North America on December 7, 2018.
Like the previous game, Splatoon 2 was continually updated post-release with free content. From launch, at least one new weapon was added to the game almost every week, while new stages and game modes were added at irregular intervals. In late April 2018, this changed to having a large group of weapons added every month instead, with new stages continuing to be added until October 2018. While these regular updates were originally due to continue for around a year after the game's launch, with monthly regional Splatfest events being held for around two years, the regular updates were later extended to last until the end of 2018. The game's content update in December 2018 was announced as the final one, albeit with balancing patches and Splatfest events due to continue into Summer 2019, but it was later revealed that more smaller updates would release until July 2019.
Promotion
Prior to Splatoon 2s reveal, clips of the game were featured in the announcement trailer for the Nintendo Switch. Its unanticipated appearance led to speculation by the media and public over whether or not the footage shown was that from a port of Splatoon or a sequel. It was also presented in the trailer in a way that promoted the game as an eSport, following investments by Nintendo in Splatoon eSport tournaments in late 2016.Splatoon 2 was officially unveiled to the public during the Nintendo Switch reveal presentation held in Tokyo on January 13, 2017, where it was announced for release in Q2/Q3 2017. The reveal was accompanied by a trailer featuring the game's new maps and weapons, and an on-stage appearance of producer Hisashi Nogami in-character as a scientist from the Squid Research Lab, a fictional scientific group from the game, which appeared in various promotional material for the original Splatoon.
Similarly to the first game, Splatoon 2 features Splatfest events that include crossovers with other brands, both from other Nintendo properties such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and third-party franchises including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, McDonald's, Uniqlo, Nike, Sanrio, Meiji, and Pocky.
Other media
A manga series based on the game and illustrated by Sankichi Hinodeya began serialization in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic magazine in May 2017. It was published in North America by Viz Media in late 2017. A motion comic adaptation of the manga was announced in July 2017 and released on YouTube the following month.Splatune 2, a two-disc official soundtrack featuring music from the game by Toru Minegishi, Ryo Nagamatsu, and Shiho Fujii, was published by Enterbrain in Japan on November 29, 2017, debuting at number eight on Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart. A second soundtrack album, Octotune, was released in Japan on July 18, 2018. This album features tracks added in the game's Octo Expansion DLC and other post-release updates, as well as a recording of the game's first live concert. It peaked at number five on the Hot Albums chart.
Similarly to the first game, a series of real-life virtual concerts featuring the game's signature band Off the Hook have been performed in various locations. Their first concert was held at Tokaigi 2018 in Japan on February 10, 2018, a second was performed at Polymanga in Switzerland on March 31, 2018, a third concert which featured a new song, "Nasty Majesty" from Splatoon 2s Octo Expansion, was performed at NicoNico Chokaigi in Japan on April 28, 2018, a fourth concert was performed at Tokaigi Game Party 2019 in Japan on January 26, 2019, which featured more songs from the Octo Expansion, and was the first concert to only feature Pearl and Marina, and a two day concert featuring both the Squid Sisters and Off The Hook was performed at Nintendo Live 2019 on October 13-14, 2019, which featured performances based on previous concerts.
''Octo Expansion''
Development of Octo Expansion began during Splatoon 2 series of free updates. Octolings had been considered to be made playable in Splatoon 2, but this was initially rejected for as they felt it would be jarring for Octolings to show up in a non-antagonistic role without explanation. Producer Hisashi Nogami wanted to create the expansion in part to allow players to explore deeper into the series' world. The setting of a subway station was chosen as a desire to have a darker setting to contrast the series' otherwise "bright and colorful" world. It was designed to have an older, dated aesthetic, featuring characters who speak in outdated slang. He wanted to represent the setting by having different creatures than the world of Splatoon and Splatoon 2 based on creatures who live on the ocean floor. He also wanted to represent the different setting by putting players in control of an Octoling for the first time in the series to show the difference between the Octoling's and Inkling's culture. It was also designed to give players more details on Pearl and Marina.The levels were designed to have as much variety as possible and featured cut content from the base Splatoon 2 release. 150 levels were designed for the game, which was later pared down to 80. The final level was depicted in a 30-page manga that art director Seita Inoue created to serve as a reference for direction. The idea behind the final boss was an idea that director Yusuke Amano had wanted to do since the first Splatoon game. The developers added the CQ Point system as a way to create tension and give players more choice in how they play the game. It also served as a check-and-balance system for the "trial-and-error gameplay."
Octo Expansion was announced in a Nintendo Direct broadcast on March 8, 2018. Released on June 13, 2018, the expansion provides a new single-player mode with eighty missions starring an Octoling known as Agent 8, who attempts to escape from a cavernous subway system without their memories. For the first time, Octolings are playable in online matches if the expansion's levels are beaten. The expansion was made available to pre-order shortly after its announcement, with exclusive in-game clothing items available for doing so. A new amiibo set featuring the Octoling Girl, Boy, and Octopus was released on December 7, 2018.
Reception
Splatoon 2 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Critics stated that Splatoon 2 retained what was great about the original game while adding new features to keep the game fresh. Nintendo Life praised the improved single-player campaign. Destructoid and Game Informer criticised the accessibility within the game's multiplayer modes—weapons couldn't be changed between matches at that time, no split-screen play, and the Salmon Run mode is only playable online at certain times—but praised the new weapons and gameplay. The Verge blamed the lack of a built-in voice chat feature and ease of viewing the map for taking away from the multiplayer experience, yet still calling the game an improvement over the original. GameSpot cited Splatoon 2 as "a fresh take on the already unique shooter" but pointed out that using a mobile app for voice communication made multiplayer more complicated than it needed to be. Game Revolution and GamesRadar both praised the colorful artstyle and depth of the multiplayer combat. IGN gave the game a score of 8.3/10—higher than the initial score of the original game but lower than its re-review—praising the "addicting" Salmon Run mode and improved graphics, while making similar complaints about the game's matchmaking system. Electronic Gaming Monthly and Nintendo World Report both stated that the game felt "more like Splatoon 1.5" than a true sequel to the original, but nonetheless complimented the game's new additions.Eurogamer ranked the game 17th on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017", while Polygon ranked it 43rd on their list of the 50 best games of 2017. The Verge named Splatoon 2 as one of their 15 Best Games of 2017. The game was nominated for "Best Switch Game" in both Destructoids Game of the Year Awards 2017 and IGN's Best of 2017 Awards, the latter of which also nominated it for "Best Shooter" and "Best Multiplayer".