If for some reason you still haven’t played Splatoon , you need to tick that up to the top of your priority list immediately. Last weekend the community participated in the final Splatfest, and when it was all said and done I found that I was really bummed about the whole thing being over. Servers are still live, of course, and there may yet be a few updates coming down the line,. The game is very much alive, but since the game came out last May I feel like it’s been one big parade of celebration and novelty. That final Splatfest marked the end of an era, and now Splatoon fans are left wondering what’s next.
It’s incredible to me how quickly Splatoon endeared itself to players. How has something this fun, this colorful, and this fresh not been done before? How rare it is to play a game that can’t be directly compared to another game as at least somewhat derivative, but Splatoon is one of those games. Everything from the music to the shooting and movement mechanics feels like something “other than.” And the strangest thing of all? Splatoon feels like a return to something.
Splatoon exudes a sense of identity and belonging that absolutely baffles me. The characters, the clothing brands, the weapons, the environments… they all seem like they’ve been there for a very long time. There are customs in place, mannerisms, cultural norms, and a unique language with unique slang. Inkopolis, though ridiculously named, seems like a real city center. When the train arrives at the plaza and speeds off again, I’ve caught myself wondering where it’s going and when I might get to go there too.
It baffles me because none of these things seem like they should go together, but they do. Why and how to these kids turn into squids? Why is a crustacean selling me shoes, and why does a fat cat get to judge the turf wars? On paper this all sounds like jumbled nonsense,like a half-baked game pitch that never quite got developed all the way, but for some reason I never questioned any of it. Everything feels so coherent that I’ve even caught myself telling a friend that the game does some incredible world-building. It doesn’t, really. Aside from some random scraps of lore you collect throughout the campaign, you’re not really given much of an origin story at all, or told why the Octolings and Squids are at war with each other.
Perhaps that’s all being saved for the sequel. You better believe that “Spla2n ” will be happening on the NX, and you bet your ass I’ll be there day-one. I’ll always take a look at a new Mario game, and Zelda and Smash Bros are wonderful, but Splatoon is the most exciting modern Nintendo IP in my opinion. No other series has the potential to show off everything that will make the NX great like Splatoon does. In the sequel we could see a game that looks incredible, runs smooth as butter, builds upon a deeply-loved game world, and takes advantage of new and robust online features. Splatoon is the only game on the Wii U that really made me crave a fully functional friends list and party system with voice chat.
I’m so glad Splatoon was a success. I love that Nintendo has proven that it can still deliver insanely good, new IPs out of nowhere and surprise everyone. It’s original, it looks great, it’s hip, and (most importantly) it’s fun. Have I mention that yet? The game is hella fun, and you won’t have to feel bad playing it in front of your kids or family for hours because Nintendo, in true Nintendo fashion, figured out how to make an extremely competitive shooter work in a totally nonviolent way. If you haven’t played Splatoon , go play it now. You missed out on the Splatfests, but you don’t have to miss out on the most original shooter of this gaming generation.