Splatoon 2 is one of the most anticipated Nintendo Switch games to date. Ever since it was announced and I had a chance to get some hands-on time all the way back in January, I was hooked.
Fast forward to the Splatoon 2 Nintendo Direct , the more information and gameplay that was shown, the more hyped I became. When I finally got my review code for the sequel to the beloved Wii U title, I couldn’t wait to dive in.
While the online servers wasn’t ready during the review period, the Inkopolis and single-player campaign were ready to go and so was I.
To start, Inkopolis is a great little space, but without the online servers, there is nothing to do. But you can see that this will be an area where players will spend a lot of time.
As for the single-player campaign, there's a lot going on even when it doesn't seem like there is. Each “world” is different in how you move around and they provide some neat puzzles to find invisible kettles to enter each stage.
There are also different colored balloons hovering around that allows for players to gather power eggs that can power up weapons, unlock subweapons and increase your ink tank. You'll definitely want to do some upgrades to make fighting the Octolings a lot easier. I recommend unlocking the subweapons first as they give your Inkling a lot more options in battle.
Each stage has power eggs, Sardinians and Sunken Scrolls to help with your weapon upgrades and gives more replayability.
Speaking of weapons, the best part of the single player mode in Splatoon 2 was the way it handles what weapons you can use. You start with your hero shooter and as you make your way through each stage, Sheldon will give you a new weapon. Splatoon 2 has a lot more weapons than the first and certain stages will force you to use a different weapon than you may be accustomed to.
Normally, these stages are specifically designed for your new weapon and acts as a perfect tutorial for it. Splatoon players usually gravitate towards one weapon and master it, but the sequel gives players a lot of time with each, and by the end, I’m way more confident with them after going through the single player mode. That’s not to say I’ll be any good when it actually comes to online battles, though. Baby steps.
And then we have the bosses. They are just as fun as the original and, again, your first run throughs will have Sheldon choose your weapon and they are specifically designed to handle that boss.
These bosses will test how well you’ve mastered that particular weapon and it gets really nerve wracking at times.
The Splatoon 2 single-player campaign is an awesome way to tell more stories of the world of Splatoon while teaching both returning and new players the ins and outs of the game and it really has me excited to jump into some online battling.
Splatoon 2 will release for Nintendo Switch on July 21.
