Splatoon 2 Octo Canyon preview: The squids are alright
We’ve been tentacle-deep in ink the past few days checking out Splatoon 2’s campaign mode, and we’ve brought back a report from the Squidbeak Splatoon.
Though primarily a multiplayer game, Splatoon 2’s campaign mode has held some interest for awhile now due to the mysterious nature of the Sunken Scrolls from the first game, and Nintendo’s shameless teasing of lore surrounding Callie and Marie. As before, if you’re looking for an in-depth or emotional storyline, go elsewhere. Splatoon 2 is first and foremost about inking turf and using your full arsenal of squid abilities, and your adventures in Octo Canyon will reflect that.
The campaign mode of the first Splatoon disappointed some due to its brevity and the fact that other weapons besides the basic gun were gated behind amiibo purchases. Nintendo fixed exactly half of this. Octo Canyon will still only take you on a short tour of levels that won’t take you long to complete, but the primary difference is that Sheldon will drop in on a regular basis and offer you a new weapon to try on a specific stage. Clear the stage with the required weapon, and you can go back and clear it with others later as an additional challenge.
The advantage to this model is that certain stages are designed with particular weapons in mind, and are tailored to give you a taste of the weapon’s full capabilities under ideal conditions. For example, the dualies are a short range, high fire rate pair of guns that give the squid the ability to dodge roll while firing. Expect lots of close-up enemy encounters, as well as plenty of rails you can ride and shoot from as you sail around the course. The charge shot level, meanwhile, places its enemies farther away and gives the player shootable grappling hooks to assist movement.
All this results in less of a story mode and more a tour of the various weapon types you’ll see in Splatoon 2’s multiplayer mode, a tour that I was grateful for. In the first game, I tended to stick to one or two weapon types and found myself frustrated when I stepped outside my comfort zone, but the campaign gave me both confidence and competence (we’ll see how that holds in an actual battle, though).
It does help that a few weapons have received improvements, such as the charge shot’s ability to hold a charge for a short time while moving and the roller’s new vertical swing. There are even a few boss fights designed specifically for certain weapons, forcing the player to learn their capabilities under tense conditions. Wanna get good at the roller? Have a samurai duel with a giant octopod on a unicycle which has a bigger roller than you. You’ll get good at the roller.
Unfortunately, I do mean “less of a story mode” as I said above, because while I didn’t necessarily expect Moby Dick, somehow the plot was even less substantial than in the first game. Prepare for puns, and perhaps far too many bad ones. It’s still fun enough to drive you through the levels, but it’s clear that the actual gunplay is the emphasis and what the game intends to continue being good at. Here, it succeeds. Beyond just experimenting with the new weapons, Splatoon 2’s Octo Canyon includes a myriad of obstacles and environmental toys to play with.
You can now cruise in kid form along rails, shooting as you go. Enormous moving platforms join familiar sights such as ink-absorbing sponges and poppable ink balloons to aid your movement forward, while giant ink cleaners seek to impede it. With a few hiccupy exceptions where the platform design impeded progress rather than encouraged it, each level was a blast to play. My worry is that these set pieces won’t make an appearance anywhere in multiplayer in a sad repeat of the first game–but we’ll see. I may be proven wrong.
Splatoon 2’s campaign mode’s goal seemed to be to both prepare and excite me for multiplayer, and it succeeded at both of those tasks. I fell in love with several new weapons and can’t wait to test them in actual conditions against other people, and the glimpses I’ve seen of some new stages have me ready to get inking. Though there are hidden secrets and bonuses for returning to levels, I’m not sure the campaign sufficiently motivates to merit a return when there are Turf Wars to win, but perhaps an inkling of extra lore will entice some secret finders.
It’s worth noting here too that I also got to experience the initial character customization options and tutorial before reaching Inkopolis Square, and while still not what I’d describe “robust,” the addition of a wider variety of skin tones and eye colors is welcome. You can also now pick your pants (including a skirt with leggings for lady squids), and hairstyle, all changeable at any time via the menu. It’s a little thing, but a wider variety of appearances gives Inkopolis a much more varied and fashion-conscious appearance as it fills with friends.
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Splatoon 2 launches on July 21st, but we’ll have our review of the game up before then detailing our experiences in multiplayer mode once the servers go online. Don’t forget to join us, and players all over, for the Splatfest next Saturday, July 15th from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. ET via free download that will let you experience the game’s Turf War for four hours, duking it out between Team Ice Cream and Team Cake. #TeamIceCream #TeamMarina all the way, squids.
A copy of this game was provided to App Trigger for the purpose of this preview. Click here to learn more about our Review Policy.