Splatoon 2 Splatfest: Better than the Testfire?

Better Luck Next Time Team Cake

If you remember back when the testfire happened, I felt that the game was far too similar to Splatoon 1. Now having played almost the whole four hours of the Splatfest last night, Splatoon 2 looks much more impressive than before. The game still feels too much like the original, don’t get me wrong. However, Splatoon 2 is a ton of fun, and does have some cool additions that the Testfire didn’t show off.

Playing in a squad was actually possible, opposed to
the Wii U Original

Perhaps the biggest quality of life change was the ability to actually squad up for the Splatfest, something you couldn’t do in Splatoon 1. Set up a lot like Squad Battles in Splatoon 1, you were able to swap weapons between rounds. The latter part is especially great. Hopefully that is a change we’ll see carry over to Turf War and other solo queue modes in the game. Combined with the very quick lobbies, I was able to get into games with friends very quickly. Once we were in the game, it was off to the races.

Ink rails were a great feature in single-player and I'm glad
to see them featured in multiplayer as well

The maps felt kind of hit or miss unfortunately. To be honest, I don’t even remember the names of the stages during the first rotation. They just were pretty basic. However, during the second rotation, I really enjoyed both maps. Moray Towers, returning from Splatoon 1, was modified to include ink rails. This gave the stage much more mobility and flanking options which fixed a big problem from its Splatoon 1 version. The battle felt much more dynamic, and the middle area allowed for more shootouts due to its expanded size. The real star of the show was the wacky Humpback Pump Track stage, which was essentially built around a racetrack. The floor constantly changed elevation by sloping up and down creating many planes to fight on. It also had a great visual identity. This stage really stood out.

The Plaza looks fantastic; even more detailed than
the Wii U one

Splatoon 2 does have some features that set it apart from Splatoon 1. The first greeted me right away. There is a much deeper level of customization than there was in Splatoon 1. From things such as skin color to hairstyle, there was a lot more to choose from. The plaza also has undergone some construction to fully realize it. The inklings milling around now are much more expressive, with some interacting with various parts of the plaza. For example, I ran into an inkling taking selfies at a cafe table next to a food truck. That food truck turned out to be quite interesting, as it sells food that gives temporary multiplayer buffs, with things such as double XP or coins for a limited time. This really kills two birds with one stone; the late game of Splatoon 1 was marred by painfully slow level ups and an absolute excess of coins. This food truck seemingly solves those issues in a smart way.

And really, that’s that. Splatoon 2 feels like a refinement of the original. A high gloss revision that is delivering the kind of well rounded Splatoon experience that the first game was in the end, only from now from the beginning. This game is addressing all the issues from the Wii U title, but isn’t doing much to evolve the formula, which is unfortunate. This feels a lot like an expansion of the series, but not really a progression of it. Regardless, I’m quite excited for launch and can’t wait to dive into the full game next Friday.