Splatoon 2[1] is another of Nintendo’s[2] big game releases for the Nintendo Switch[3]. It’s the successor to Splatoon, which was released for the Wii U[4] two years ago. Splatoon 2 is a primarily a third-person shooter that takes place in a fictional world where Inklings are the dominant species.
These Inklings have guns that shoot paint, bombs that spread paint when they explode, and they can transform into squids and swim through paint. As you can tell, paint is an element core to the game's traversal - you keep shooting and run out of colour, then you just need to transform into a squid and keep swimming around it to refill. A few seconds later you can return to shooting, splatting, and firing bombs. This is the basic gameplay mechanic across all modes. Splatoon 2 retains Nintendo’s signature art style that makes even a shooting game appear kid-friendly. Even though you’ll be throwing paint bombs and shooting, the game never feels violent.
Splatoon 2 on Nintendo Switch: Everything Else You Need to Know[5]
Splatoon 2 supports motion controls and traditional controls, but the initial tutorial makes you use the motion controls to aim and look around. We found this quite disorienting and weren’t comfortable using motion controls at all. We tried this on both the Nintendo Pro Controller and the Joy-Con controller, and didn’t like it on either of them.
Advanced Splatoon 2 players will realise that motion controls allow them to do things such as a 180-degree turn much faster. This can be a game-changer during multiplayer games with high-ranked players. However, the game’s tutorial doesn’t show the advantage of motion controls. Instead it forces you to learn the basics and...