is a 2017 third-person shooter game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the second entry in the Splatoon series as the direct sequel to Splatoon (2015). As with the previous installment, Splatoon 2 consists of online multiplayer game modes alongside a single-player campaign, all featuring combat based around ink-firing weapons. An expansion pack for the single-player mode titled Octo Expansion was subsequently released as downloadable content (DLC) on June 16, 2018.
The game's development began shortly following the culmination of Splatoon's free content updates in October 2015. Its team sought to develop a worthy sequel to Splatoon, including new weapons and gameplay alterations to set itself apart from its predecessor. Splatoon 2 is set approximately two years after Splatoon, a decision made to enhance the fictional world's realism.
Splatoon 2 was released on July 21, 2017. It received generally positive reviews, with critics commending its improved graphics and refinement of returning gameplay elements from its predecessor, though its online matchmaking and Nintendo Switch Online-restricted voice chat garnered criticism. , Splatoon 2 has sold over 13.6 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling Switch games. A sequel, Splatoon 3, was released on the Nintendo Switch on September 9, 2022.
Gameplay
Like the previous game, Splatoon 2 is a third-person shooter with a focus on online multiplayer in which players control humanoid cephalopods, known as Inklings and Octolings, and use colored ink as ammunition to paint the surrounding area. Inklings and Octolings can morph between a distinctly humanoid form, during which they can walk and shoot ink using an assortment of weapons, and a cepholopodic form where they can quickly swim through, and hide within, ink of their own color and replenish their ink supply.
In online matches, players are equipped with a "main weapon", their primary armament that allows them to spread ink. Each main weapon is assigned a loadout of one "sub weapon" and one "special weapon". Sub weapons are secondary munitions that require ink to dispense; they usually come in the form of defensive structures or offensive projectiles. Special weapons are powerful armaments that must be individually charged by inking the surroundings. Cosmetic gear can be augmented with abilities such as being able to swim faster within their ink and increasing ink ammunition capacity.
There are a total of nine classes of main weapons, seven of which return from Splatoon. Such returnees are Shooters, which are akin to automatic rifles; Blasters, a subclass of Shooters which fire in large bursts of ink; Rollers, which focus mainly on painting turf; Brushes, a subclass of Rollers that specialize in high surface mobility; Chargers, which are akin to sniper rifles; Sloshers, buckets of ink that specialize in close-range combat; and Splatlings, which are akin to Gatling guns. Splatoon 2 introduces two additional classes in the form of Dualies, dual-wielded weapons that allow the player to perform dodge rolls; and Brellas, shotgun-like weapons based on umbrellas that enable defensive maneuvers with folding shields.
Modes
Competitive Splatoon 2 sees the return of Turf War and Ranked Battles from its predecessor. The game adds League Battles as a tournament-structured version of Ranked Battles. In Turf War, players are divided into two teams of four as they compete to spread more of their colored ink across a battle arena after three minutes.
Once players achieve level 10, they are granted access to Ranked Battles, alternative modes focusing on objective-based gameplay whose availability rotates throughout the day. Ranked modes regularly last five minutes, plus overtime if specific conditions are met. Splatoon 2 features four distinct Ranked modes, being Tower Control, Rainmaker, Splat Zones, and Clam Blitz, the latter being wholly new to Splatoon 2. Tower Control tasks players with guiding a mobile tower to a designated goal in the opposing team's base, clearing mandated checkpoints along the way. Rainmaker has teams carry a large weapon to the opposing team's base. Splat Zones plays similarly to king of the hill in that teams must exert control over a designated region of the map by covering it in ink for a specific duration. Clam Blitz tasks teams with collecting clams to hurl them into designated goals in the opposition's base to deplete a points counter. Collecting ten clams generates a Power Clam, which is used to puncture the opposing goal and allow for the depositing of clams. Whichever team brings the opposition's points counter to zero, or depletes it the furthest, wins.
Salmon Run Salmon Run is a co-op player versus environment mode first introduced in Splatoon 2. Salmon Run is available only on certain days at Grizzco. Players are placed into a team of four and tasked to defeat hordes of hostile salmon enemies, named Salmonids, and deposit Golden Eggs to meet a designated quota for a particular "wave", of which there are three total. Golden Eggs are acquired by splatting large Boss Salmonid enemies that each have distinct attack patterns and weaknesses. Successfully completing matches advances the player's rank in Grizzco, with the mode's difficulty increasing in tandem. Being splatted by a Salmonid results in the player being incapacitated until a teammate manually revives them. The match ends prematurely if all four team members are splatted at once.
Single-player campaign The game features a single-player campaign called Octo Canyon, in which the player rescues captured Zapfish across various levels while fighting off evil Octarians. Unlike the previous game's single-player campaign which had a pre-determined weapon set, the player can now earn various weapons, some of which are required when playing levels for the first time. In addition to Sunken Scrolls that unlock artwork and in-game lore, players can collect Power Orbs to upgrade their Hero Mode weapons, and tickets that can be exchanged for temporary reward boosts in multiplayer battles, such as increased experience to level up quicker or more in-game currency. Using a single weapon to beat all of the Hero Mode levels grants the player a Hero Weapon Replica (identical to the campaign weapon) to use in multiplayer matches. Players can also play multiplayer online through an internet connection or play locally, although local play requires multiple consoles and copies of the game. The game also features LAN support with an adapter accessory for local private tournaments. The game supports amiibo figures, which allow players to store their character's custom look and unlock additional content. Free post-release updates and events are ongoing.
Splatfests Once per month until July 2019, a "Splatfest" event was held in which players could choose one of two teams, usually based on common debates such as heroes versus villains and pancakes versus waffles. In addition, there were two collaborations during these Splatfests: Nickelodeon's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Splatfest themes were usually announced two weeks in advance, and players were given the ability to choose their team in the game's lobby. Themes were usually region-specific and happen at different times of the month. The only mode available in a Splatfest was Turf War, but players could choose between normal and pro modes. Winning battles awarded 'clout' to the winning team, and at the end of the Splatfest, the winning side was decided by evaluating popularity and clout earned in both battle modes. All players who participate earn rare rewards, but players on the winning team receive a slightly higher cut. In July 2019, Nintendo announced that the final regular Splatfest would be held that month. Bonus rematches of previous Splatfests were held in May 2020, August 2020, and October 2020. A Splatfest celebrating the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. was held in January 2021.
Setting The Splatoon series occurs on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth set some millennia following the extinction of humanity and subsequent rapid evolution of marine life. Splatoon 2 takes place two years after the events of Splatoon in and around Inkopolis Square. Like its predecessor, Splatoon 2 includes a single-player story campaign that follows the theft of Inkopolis' primary power source, the Great Zapfish, at the hands of the Octarian army. Another event is the contemporaneous disappearance of Callie, one half of the celebrity musical duo the Squid Sisters, which the player character is also tasked with investigating.
Splatoon 2's DLC expansion pack Octo Expansion occurs roughly around the same time as Octo Canyon. It is set in a subterranean train station named the Deepsea Metro, where an amnesiac Octoling falls into. At the direction of a talking telephone and with the assistance of Cap'n Cuttlefish, the player's guide from Splatoon who has also become trapped, Agent 8 seeks to ascend to the surface by clearing various testing facilities across the Metro to collect four objects known as "thangs". Completing the expansion's story awards players the ability to become an Octoling during multiplayer matches.
Plot Octo Canyon takes place approximately two years after the final Splatfest of Splatoon, in which the pop idol Marie defeated her cousin and fellow Squid Sister, Callie. Having drifted apart in the months following the event, Marie worries that Callie was negatively affected by the result. After leaving Inkopolis to see her parents, Marie returns home to discover that the Great Zapfish that powers the city has gone missing, as has Callie. Cap'n Cuttlefish, the captain of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, and his understudy Agent 3 have traveled elsewhere. Fearing that the Octarians are once more involved, Marie assumes her role as Agent 2 of the Squidbeak Splatoon and recruits an Inkling, in lieu of Cuttlefish, from Inkopolis Square, the player character, to become Agent 4 and investigate.
With assistance from Marie and weapons expert Sheldon, Agent 4 makes their way through Octo Canyon fighting the Octarians and recovering several stolen Zapfish, including ones powering the Octarians' machines. They discover that Callie herself has sided with the Octarians after being brainwashed by their leader, DJ Octavio, who is once again using the Great Zapfish to power his DJ stage, the Octobot King. Marie arrives with Sheldon and frees Callie from her mind control, allowing them to help Agent 4 defeat Octavio. With the Great Zapfish safely returned to Inkopolis and DJ Octavio defeated, the Squid Sisters happily reunite and resume their music career together.
Development The initial conceptualization of Splatoon 2 began during Splatoon's series of free content updates. Production began in full around October 2015 when these updates concluded. During this period, Splatoon's development team, including producer Hisashi Nogami, considered creating an upgraded version of the Wii U game as opposed to a direct follow-up. Nogami explained in an interview with Famitsu that they went against this in favor of creating a "legitimate sequel" that would reinvent Splatoon's mechanics in response to the game's positive reception among fans. To this end, the team included new main and special weapons, alongside additional gameplay configurations, mechanically different from those of Splatoon. For instance, the Dualie class and its dodge-roll ability was formulated to give players wholly unique gameplay experiences. Other gameplay alterations include giving Rollers a verical attack to improve its viability in long-range combat and the reworking of the previous game's Super Jump to accommodate the Switch's lack of a secondary GamePad.