Platform: Wii U
Release: May 2015
Players: 1 (2 player local)
Splatoon is the Wii U's ultimate pick-up-and-play package. Almost always, for the better. But at times, to a fault.
What's at the core of Splatoon – diving in and out of ink, splattering opponents and taking objectives in the name of your paint color – still excites me today as it did when the game was first unveiled. I don't think a community like Squidboards nor the critical acclaim this game has received would be possible without what Splatoon is truly about.
Splatoon works because the game provides cool tools to work with, a large amount of interactivity with the surrounding world, and a memorable style that compliments the game's rambunctious nature.
Every session of Splatoon is frantically fiery. Players zoom around the map, dipping and diving past obstacles to get the upper hand on an enemy squid. Paint splatters here and there, explosions of color rocking the asphalt. Splatoon constantly wants you in the action, giving you excellent movement options, a super-jump to get right into the heat of battle, and close-quarters maps that build toward hectic skirmishes.
From a clean floor to enemy squids, there's paint to be spread, and lots of it. Laying paint down is just as much a means to make the map your playground as it is a power struggle with the other team. If you can muster a mastery of your weapon or your alternate squid form, you may just make it out alive.
Splatoon is designed to get the fun going immediately and consistently.
Inkpolis – the game's central hub of lobbies and shops – is condensed further with Gamepad touch functionality. Buying new weapons or gear, or even getting into matchmaking, is as simple as a few finger taps. The campaign missions supplement Splatoon's team-oriented multiplayer experience. Everything works in conjunction with one another to create a seamless adventure of gaining new skills, weapons, gear, and more.
This immersion carries over into the arena. A vibrant array of weapons, separated into three unique classes (“Shooter” for rifles, machine guns, blasters, etc.; “Charger” for snipers and other long-range weapons; and “Roller” for, well, paint rollers) compliment the game's growing selection of stages, from the narrow Walleye Warehouse and Arowana Mall to the turbulent terrain of Blackbelly Skatepark and the Kelp Dome.
Matches are designed to start and end quickly, which makes for an addictive experience when it's so easy to rack up a lot of games played in a single session. Time limits are low, maps are compact, and super-jumps reduce the time spent traveling from spawn. Gun fights are tense and fast-paced thanks to efficient weapons and tight movement controls. A one-on-one duel is just as heart-pounding as a multi-man melee because of your ability to turn into a squid.
By holding down a trigger, squid mode increases your movement speed while making you harder to hit, since you dip down literally into the paint at your feet. You can then pop back up at any time, even out of a jump, allowing for a spectrum of options from long escape routes to out-strafing and out-spacing your opponent with small, quick movements.
Working intelligent paint spread into your game gives you even more options. Enemy paint will slow you down and even damage you, stifling your offensive and defensive options. Keeping an eye on your paint spread affords you the knowledge of where you'll be most effective in battle, while spreading paint preemptively and even during a fight creates more opportunities to deal damage while shutting down your opponent's options simultaneously.
Players can get creative with how they approach spreading paint and dealing with the enemy team. When painted, walls become hiding spots for surprise attacks and more surface area for complex strafing. Charger weapons and rollers can create long paths of paint for rapid ambushes and access ways to the center of the map. Even a team full of rollers can be devastating with smart play.
It's an inspiring world to play in. Splatoon's learning curve is soft, not steep. Techniques and proper execution are accessible for new players and rewarding for experienced ones. There's never a moment to be concerned if you feel inexperienced or simply want to paint the ground. Experience-based matchmaking and the single-player campaign will help you smooth out the rough edges in your play. And just laying down paint is still contributing to your team's victory, just as long as you spread a lot of it!
Splatoon's multiplayer suite is built around a four-on-four, online-only team arena shooter. Before entering matchmaking, which can only be done individually, players equip weapons and baked with special traits and abilities baked in. Each weapon load-out features a main weapon of the three aforementioned classes; a sub-weapon – from explosives like paint bombs to utilities like radar; and a special weapon that packs a ton of punch, spreads a lot of paint, or can save your skin in a sticky situation.
Your separate pieces of apparel have unique ability slots sewn in. As you level up, these pieces of gear level up as well, gaining perks that change your character's stats and abilities. Perks can be stacked across your outfit with diminishing returns, although getting the exact perk load-out you want can be difficult considering perks gained by level-up are random.
Currently available are two modes of play – Regular Battle and Ranked Battle. Regular Battle features a points-based level system. Players rise from Level 1 to Level 20 by accruing points with every game they play, even losses. In Regular Battle, you play “Turf War,” an objective-based spin on classic team deathmatch. Teams battle for territory control by laying down their team's paint. The team with the most paint on the ground when the clock runs out wins.
On the other hand, Ranked Battle is a different kind of arena. Turf War is replaced with “Splat Zones,” a King of the Hill-style mode that requires a concentrated effort to spread paint in certain areas, controlling the hill longer than the enemy team before time runs out. The experience-based matchmaking is swapped out, too. In its place, a ranking system based on wins and losses, with players rising from C- to A+ if they're up to the challenge.
Both Turf War and Splat Zones are played across the game's entire selection of maps, which rotate in pairs every four hours. Close-quarters is a running theme throughout most of the maps, and even the larger maps still provide ample corridors and tight passageways to make for tense engagements. Though they all vary in shape and size, no map is without diverse topography and several tiers of platforms and heights to traverse.
Frequent content updates have followed the launch of the game last month, offering free additions to weapon and map selection as long as you have an Internet connection. Further updates will bring new gametypes as well, like the Capture-the-Flag/Neutral Bomb gametype Rainmaker and Tower Control (which not only feels a lot like Team Fortress 2's Payload gametype but was just slated for release tomorrow).
And still on the horizon is the August content update, which promises custom games for matches with friends without the need for matchmaking. In today's version of Splatoon, you can join a friend's matchmaking game if space becomes available, but with the August update you'll be able to join matchmaking as a full team of four.
This isn't to say you should wait for the August update, just to be sure. The game already has a lot to offer both for fair-weather and dedicated players alike. The August update is a cherry on top of the cake, but better – more like an extra dessert on the house when the cake you just devoured didn't satisfy you.
Yet, the limitations of being a pick-up-and-play kind of game slowly bob to the surface as you put more time into Splatoon. It's almost as if the game is concerned with making a great first impression than a great lasting impression. Minor issues like being unable to switch load-outs in matchmaking, having to go all the way back out of the lobby, to dual analog controls not being 1:1, grow into frustrating itches that sap away the otherwise smooth, unhindered experience.
At times, the simplicity of the user interface and controls is puzzling. Without voice options, the ways to facilitate proper communications with other teammates is far from direct. It's almost impossible to convey to random teammates to pay attention to their map, hold a certain position, team-fire a specific opponent, watch out for a certain player or area, etc.
The developers clearly want the game to feel alive and, dare I say it, constantly fresh. The parade of power-ups, weapons, and maps available as DLC show that Splatoon is not only a full product, but one that's constantly being added to. Yet, we know this can't last forever. Even the next major update for the game arrives in August – beyond that, we know little about the direction the game will take.
There's a missed opportunity here. Social features like clans, automated tournaments, private messaging or voice chat with friends, a ladder/ranking system, a private game browser, spectator mode, local-area network (LAN) play, etc. These are all features proven by leagues of other video games in the past to increase and help flourish the longevity of a game. I can see the game really coming reaching its full potential if features like these were added in a future update or in the inevitable sequel.
Here's when I'd normally wrap up the review summarizing and concluding what I've already gone through. Instead, this part of the review will wrap things up with a special section I call the “After 30.”
The following comments are selected thoughts provided by Squidboards users. I asked users to give their thoughts on the game after a month with the game.
For members of the site, this was an opportunity to chime in on one of their favorite games. And for those of you that may be new to Squidboards, this is an opportunity to hear more about Splatoon right from members of the game's largest online community.
The Squidboards After 30
"As someone who does not like shooters, I have to say, Splatoon has done what other shooters have failed to do: Make me like it. Not just like it, LOVE it. I wasn't too sure about it when I heard it was a shooter.. But then I played one Testfire session, and I was hooked! Splatoon is incredibly fun and addictive, and just plain beautiful despite it's cartoonish appearance."
- @Ashlee
"The online features are good, wih lag rarely occurring. The story mode dies out too soon but it is overall enjoyable. Content updates keep the game fresh while waiting for the August update."
- @[EJ]_Locke
"I could easily go through the extensive singleplayer, huge selection of weapons, amazing soundtrack, and constant stream of new content... But I'll sum it up in two words:
It's fun.
Take that, Call of HaloField: Modern Rehash: Product Placement DLC Expansion Pack Edition."
- @Burritoburger
"The slow updates are interesting too. While I can't say I like them a ton, it's obviously a way to keep people from burning out on the game too soon. I got to level 20 and then slowed down a ton because there wasn't much left to do, but the updates mean I'll be able to pop back in and have fun with new stuff, and that's actually pretty great. "
- @Kiri
"Regardless of the circumstances, each round will still have the same fundamentals that make Splatoon so great: fluid movement, a clearly outlined and fun objective, a charming atmosphere, and dank memes. At the same time, however, gameplay with Splatoon is rarely stale because so much can happen within the boundaries of these fundamentals: turf war games can be won within the last 30 seconds, splat zone matches can be determined by a single person's placement decision, the list goes on and on. Achieving this balance is really what all game developers strive for and Nintendo's most recent effort has certainly been very effective in this regard."
- @AKA
"The online plays really smooth for me, and it's so much fun to play with and against other players around the world who enjoy this game as much as I do! Each weapon feels unique in their own way, and they really diversify the play styles you take with you into the Turf Wars. The free updates also keep the game alive, so there's lots to come back to. The main problem I have with the game comes down to the lack of content available in 1V1 mode - there's only 5 stages and 8 weapons - not as much variety like in Regular battles. It gets a little stale there with so little stages and weapons, but it's still fun competition between me and the other player."
- @Strider_Bond00J
"I think that Splatoon is an amazing first try at an online third person shooter. You might question it at first, but after playing it for about a month or so, everything collides together into the overall experience very well. STAAAY FRESH!"
- @Tamis
