With only two weeks away until launch, Nintendo held a special Splatoon 2 Nintendo Direct to go over the game and show off both old and new information.
First, they recapped a lot of information to bring new players up to speed. Inkopolis Square was shown off in beautiful detail, and we got to see a lot of the shops where we’ll be able to by the gear to outfit your Inkling with. Speaking of which, customization will be even more diverse than the original game. Including being able to pick your hair and shorts.
Weapons had a big focus early on, and new weapons and sub-weapons such as the Clash blaster, Flingza Roller, Goo Tuber, Dapple Duelies, Auto Bomb, and Toxic Mist were shown off.. The Special Weapons also got some new weapons, Tenta Missiles, Ink Jet, Sting Ray, Splashdown, Ink Storm, Bomb Launcher, Ink Armor, and the Baller were all revealed, and there is a lot of mix and matching possible with these new weapons and abilities.
Old and new maps will be featured in Splatoon 2, including classics like Mooray Towers and Port Mackeral, and new ones like Sturgeon Shipyard and Starfish Stage. These will go along with returning modes Turf War and Ranked Battle via Rainmaker, Tower Control, and Splat Zones. But this time though, you’ll have a separate Rank for each mode in Ranked Battle.
League Battle was shown off for the first time as well. This will be play as a short burst form of Ranked Battle, but with a cool twist. You can play in 2v2 battles for the first time. These battles will only be available for 2 hours, and your score will determine the medal you get when time is up.
More Gear Abilities have also been added, and special abilities such as Thermal Ink, Object Shredder, Respawn Punisher, Drop Roller, and more can be gotten via the returning Murch.
Splatoon 2’s Salmon Run was also shown off. Apparently, the mode will only be available at certain times during the day. Also, some of the rewards you can get via Salmon Run are exclusive to that mode.
Splatnet 2 was also unveiled. This app will connect with Nintendo Switch Online and allow you to get detailed information about your time in the game, the opponents you have played, upcoming stages and mode times, and more. Also through this app you can set up private match, and even set up voice chat with your teammates when you battle.
A few new stores were shown off too. Crusty Sean will give you special food that will give you some special abilities in battle, so be sure to check out what he’s offering.
The Shoal is the place to go when you want to partake in local multiplayer battles! This includes being able to pick and choose whatever mode you want to battle in, and even being able to set up LAN parties if you want.
Squid Beats 2 is a music beats mini-game found on an arcade machine in Inkopolis Square. So if you’re looking for a way to break the cycle of splatting, go try that out.
New weapons types will be coming via free content updates. Including the Splat Brella and Bubble Blower.
Speaking of content updates, there will be one year of free content updates, and two years worth of Splatfests for you to partake in. The first of which will be on 7/15! That’s right, it’ll be here BEFORE the game launches. A demo will be available in the Nintendo eShop for you to download, and then you can enter the game on 7/15 from 3-7pm PST and pick either Ice Cream or Cupcakes as the team you want to support!
Finally, Pearl and Marina have been unveiled as the new “Squid Sisters” and will welcome you when you enter the game just like Callie and Marie did in the original game. Mind you, these two are very different personality wise.
Overall, it was a very informative Nintendo Direct, and while a lot of old things were shown, some new things were as well. It’ll be enough to keep us happy for sure when Splatoon 2 launches July 21st.
