Splatoon Review

[Zera]

Are you tired of gritty team-vs-team online military shooters where you murder people for points, and wish Nintendo brought some COLOR and FRESH ideas into the genre? Wish granted!

Splatoon takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have been driven to extinction by rising sea levels. They're replaced by highly evolved (and somewhat adorable) squids called Inklings, who care about street fashion, hip music, and color-based turf wars above all else. (Come to think of it, Nintendo's made a lot of post-apocalypse games with the Pikmin series, Sin and Punishment 2, and this.)

To say that Splatoon is a third-person shooter is only telling half the story, because Splatoon plays differently with unique mechanics. First, you never get points for killing - er, "splatting" opponents, although it's extremely useful to remove them from the map for several seconds AND kick them back to their base. Instead, you get points for firing at the ground with ink-based weaponry and painting it your color. This turns Splatoon from a standard murder-fest into the most messy and colorful third-person shooter ever made.

Then there are the unique squid and ink mechanics. Simply press and hold the ZL button to transform into a squid. Being a squid is useless on its own, but if you swim in ink of your team's color, you become nearly invisible, move faster, and regenerate health and ink ammo. You can even climb walls and pass through grates in squid form, as long as the ink's there. And your teammates can use it as well. In other words, it's The Best Thing Ever. By contrast, touching the opponent's color will slow you down by about 95%, drain your health insanely fast, and reveal your position on the enemy team's map. So enemy ink is like poisonous electrified lava - don't touch it!

These unique mechanics turn Splatoon into a game that's just as much about controlling terrain as it is about engaging enemies in combat. Do I use my giant paint roller to fill in the spots my teammates missed to strengthen our defensive options? Or do I blaze a trail straight through enemy territory, distracting them so my teammates can expand our ground? Do I ink the walls to open an path behind enemy lines, or do I attempt to defend an area we've already colored? Some of these choices simply don't exist in "standard" shooters, so Splatoon feels as unique as it looks.

And it looks great, with impressive environments and backgrounds. The star of the show is the ink itself, which splats realistically, drips down walls, and makes surfaces look glossy with bump-mapping. All the characters in the game are based on real life sea creatures and exude personality. The music is also quite good, with squid-rock, squid-J-pop, squid-punk, and more. And because all the lyrics are sung by squids, you have no idea what they're saying!

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AwesomeMusic/Splatoon

Although Splatoon is primarily about 4v4 battles, it also has a fun single-player mode where your Inkling battles the Octarian army in linear stages that wouldn't feel out of place in a 3D Mario game. This modes is really fun, but it's a bit short with only five worlds and little replay incentive. Although it won't teach you the finer points of multiplayer strategy, it will at least let you master the controls, which is equally important. Clearing this mode also nets you some above-average gear for multiplayer.

Although you can play Splatoon like a standard twin-stick shooter, the game's default controls use the gyro to aim and the right stick to turn the camera left and right. This feels strange at first, but it's actually quite good once you get used to it (and crank the sensitivity to max). However, the controls never reach the sheer elegance of pointing a Wii Remote at the screen, and that controller is not supported due to the importance of the map on the Gamepad. With that being said, there aren't many options for the Gamepad itself. Want to remap buttons? Want to change the ratio of vertical to horizontal sensitivity? Want to use the gyro AND the right stick to aim? (I do.) Nope. You can invert the right stick controls though. Most shooters have full controller customization, so the lack of it in Splatoon is strange.

It's also a bit disappointing to lose a match when the enemy team has 1/3 more firepower because a teammate dropped out. The game doesn't do anything to balance these matches, though you can still color the ground for battle points and cash, which is nice. And since the matches are only three intense minutes, you never lose much anyway. There's also an interesting ability called Tenacity, which slowly fills your special gauge if your team has fewer members than the opposition. This is for when your team is getting splatted a lot, but it also works if someone drops out. I personally would've made it an inherent ability.

As you play online, you will accrue battle points and in-game cash, which can unlock and purchase new weapons, as well as gear that customizes the appearance of your Inkling. In addition to a specific main ability, each piece of gear can have up to three sub-abilities that are unlocked by getting battle points while wearing that piece of gear. However, these sub-abilities are random (chosen from 13). Once you reach level 20, you can pay in-game cash to "re-roll" the sub-abilities on a piece of gear, but all of them are re-rolled, so it's still random. I'm not fond of this system because it's difficult to give my favorite gear the sub-abilities I want. Most of them are weak, passive buffs that don't change your strategy, but I still dislike that there's no way to fully decouple the fashion and gameplay aspects of Splatoon.

Thankfully, the weapons themselves are extremely varied and fun to use, and you can test them out freely before purchasing them with in-game cash. Each weapon comes with a sub-weapon that consumes a lot of ink, and a special-weapon that can be used after coloring enough turf. There are splattershots, which are balanced and versatile, rollers, which cover a wide area but lack range, and chargers, which can be charged to increase the range and damage of a single strong shot. There are also inkbrushes, sloshers, splatlings, and more, but you can discover those on your own.

One staple of the shooter genre that Splatoon eschews is voice chat. A few folks complained about this, but I don't consider it an issue since all the information you'll ever need is on the Gamepad. The map shows the entire arena, real-time information on the ground's color, the positions of teammates, and even the positions of enemies if you have the right ability. Furthermore, you can tap a teammate on the map to SUPER SQUID JUMP to them and get back into the fray... or killed instantly, since it creates a marker where you'll land (The ability Stealth Jump removes this marker). If I had to choose between this map and traditional voice chat, I would definitely take the map.

I'm not even upset that you can't change weapons in the matchmaking lobby. While I would like to see three maps in rotation every four hours instead of two, the fact that you know what maps you'll battle on ahead of time means you can strategically pick a weapon that's good for both, and not worry about switching it.

While Splatoon's only local multiplayer is a simple 1v1 balloon popping mode, the online play is as fun as any other Nintendo game. I think Splatoon is a lot better than Mario Kart 8, because it relies on strategy and skill more than luck, and has a better single-player mode then Mario Kart 8 or Smash Bros 4. For the most part, matches feel balanced, fair, and lag-free. In addition to playing Turf War in "Regular Battle", you can also enjoy more unique and competitive modes in "Ranked Battle", which include Splatzones (Color all zones to continuously gain points), Tower Control (Ride a central tower to your opponent's base), and Rainmaker (Carry a powerful weapon to the opponent's base). As your rank (hopefully) climbs, you can potentially earn much more battles points and cash than in Turf War - but only if you win.

Apparently, when Splatoon released it earned criticism for only having five multiplayer maps and no private matchmaking, but these issues have been solved by FREE updates. Now the game has 16 maps, dozens and dozens of weapons, god knows how many outfits, the Tower Control and Rainmaker modes, and private matchmaking. So if the game wasn't worth full retail price at launch, it probably is now. All the included maps are large, complex, and unique enough that they will provide tons of entertainment. And remember, these updates are free.

Splatoon has unique mechanics and gameplay, a wonderful presentation, great online multiplayer, and a good single-player mode. If you're on the fence about buying Splatoon, I recommend it. Even if you're not into shooters, you might still enjoy Splatoon since it leans on the more strategic side of things, and I really like the unique mechanics.

8/10 (Great! )

CGR Undertow's review of Splatoon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6_S5t83Y4Q

Edited March 22, 2016 by Zera

[NinjaMonkey]

I really wish you'd stop going on about Bangai-O Spirits in your reviews. It's getting really annoying.

[animeapple]

what does bangai-O spirits have to do with splatoon... i dont see why you keep bringing it up in the review... okay we get it you like the game... but if it isnt the same genre as splatoon... then DONT BRING IT UP... they arent comparable...

[Jave]

Actually, delete this post. I'm not getting into this argument.

Edited January 6, 2016 by Jave

[Ema Skye]

One thing I'd like to address is with gear rolls. While they are still random, you can influence what you get with the gear's brand. Each brand (with the exceptions of Amiibo, Famitsu, SQUID GIRL, KOG and Cuttlegear) has a 5x more likely chance to roll a specific ability and a 0.5x likely chance to roll a specific ability. The abilities impacted by each gear are documented elsewhere. You normally have just under an 8% chance of getting a specific ability per roll, and so boosting it with a specific brand bumps it up to 40%. Still not great odds though.

I also think it's important to mention the diminishing returns system for abilities. With the random gear rolls, it makes it less of a big deal over getting three of the same ability since the benefit of having that third ability over two is very small. There's also a cap for most abilities where they stop providing any benefit, and so trying to load yourself up with full damage up abilities stops doing anything after the first four (I think it's four, the cap is different for every ability).

[Elieson]

a 1v1 mode no one plays

Splatoon has a fun single-player mode where your Inkling battles the Octarian army in linear stages that wouldn't feel out of place in a 3D Mario game. Unfortunately, this mode is a bit short with only five worlds, and very little replay value.

you MUST replay stages if you want to fully upgrade your character

With that being said, there aren't many options for the Gamepad itself. Want to remap buttons? Want to change the ratio of vertical to horizontal sensitivity? Want to use the gyro AND the right stick to aim? (I do.) No, no, and no. Most shooters have a great deal of controller customization, so the lack of it in Splatoon is disappointing.

It's also disappointing to lose a match when the enemy team has 1/3 more firepower because a teammate dropped out. The game doesn't do anything to balance these matches

I'm not a big fan of how the game handles the gear you use to customize the appearance of your Inkling. In addition to a specific main ability that can NEVER be changed, each piece of gear can have up to three sub-abilities that are unlocked by "leveling up" that piece of gear. However, these sub-abilities are RANDOM (chosen from 13), making it extremely time consuming to get gear that looks AND performs how you want it to. When you reach level 20, you can pay lots of cash to "re-roll" the sub-abilities on a piece of gear, but ALL of them are re-rolled, so the same problem remains. Why have this fashion aspect, and this gameplay aspect, and make it so I can't fully enjoy both?

(In fact, why do I keep unlocking weapons that I can't afford because they cost so much? Why do they even cost money at all if I have to unlock them? In fact, why does ANYTHING have to be purchased? Why can't everything just be available from the start, and have no barriers between me and fun?

While Splatoon doesn't have much to offer in terms of local multiplayer

8/10 (Great! )

Let's look at the game in a vacuum and stop comparing it to whatever Bangai Os [had to google it] for a minute.

All the above complaints, you listed as justified complaints. All these are only worth a -2 in your 10 point scale? Just checking, because you have given a lot of reason for a casual who hasn't picked up the game yet (like me) to stay the fuck away from it.

You've carefully and concisely stated that:

• 1P mode is fine and all to play but not to 100%
• Online multiplayer has a bad mode and a limited mode of "4v4 paint the world". Sounds great and all, except that unless you've left out details, there are only two ways to play the game online
• Controller button remapping is impossible, so if you've spent years playing shooters in a certain way, too bad you play how Nintendo wants you to play or you don't play at all
• Once again, a shooter game is incapable of balancing a team if a disadvantage occurs
• Character customization sounds like a chore, since you randomly get visual or tactical benefits added to your squid and lack control to make your own character, your own character, without incredible time and monetary investment
• Straight path unlockables don't exist, since you need to invest some form of monetary investment to get what you want in terms of visual and tactical preferences. I can't just play the game for a while, reach Lv.2 and unlock the RetroBlaster, I gotta play, earn $ based on my performance, and then get what it is I want to use and feel more comfortable using
  • I'm assuming that you can get Campaign-mode gear before you can unlock it in Multiplayer; if so, that's an unfair tease
• What local multiplayer? I need to compete with potential internet lag any time I want to play with friends? If I'm wrong here, that's how you made it sound

Honestly, reading this review has convinced me to not buy this game. It sounds like I need to constantly shell out $ and time to play a game that I would have to hope is fun online, with a bunch of people at once, battling struggling internet connections on WiiU's cruddy wireless internet (Ethernet conversion cable costs more $ but hey it's available?). I guess it'd be fun for a while and burn time if #PaintTheWorld is fun but I applaud the effort for a shooter not being grungy and psuedo-realistic. A fresh coat of paint doesn't change the fact that I'm reading a review for a game that is still fundamentally flawed in a way that is only fun on the surface level of "trying to build your character", "Pick your weapon but nothing else without headaches" and "limited methods of play".

*Edit*

Do you read lots of reviews that often compare one franchise to another?

Edited January 6, 2016 by Elieson

[Original Alear]

Just want to clarify something - zera used the word "cash" and elie used the $ symbol when discussing the game. Beyond the game's purchase price, do you have to pay additional money for any other content? DLC, pay to play, etc? Not sure if you guys are using these terms as euphemisms for in-game currency.

[Elieson]

Beats me; I haven't played the game and reading his review leaves these things open to interpretation.

[Zera]

@NinjaMonkey and animeapple: I compared Splatoon to Bangai-O Spirits because Spirits is perfect and Splatoon is not. Simple as that.

@Elieson: Thank you for your feedback! I do think some parts of the review felt a bit "unbalanced", so I've edited it for increased clarity and better reflection of the experience.

@Sane Young Dog Man: This game does NOT cost money beyond the initial purchase. All weapons and gear are bought with in game cash, which is simply referred to as "cash". All the DLC thus far is FREE.

[Jave]

You can customize the appearance of your Inkling with a variety of fashionable gear, but I wish it were handled a bit differently. In addition to a specific main ability that can NEVER be changed, each piece of gear can have up to three sub-abilities that are unlocked by "leveling up" that piece of gear. However, these sub-abilities are RANDOM (chosen from 13). When you reach level 20, you can pay cash to "re-roll" the sub-abilities on a piece of gear, but ALL of them are re-rolled, so it's still random. I don't like this system, because it's very difficult to make a character who looks and plays exactly how I want. Most of the sub-abilities are just passive buffs that don't change your strategy, but it still irritates me on principal. Why have this fashion aspect, and this gameplay aspect, and make it so I can't completely enjoy both at the same time?

On the bolded, you don't have to pay cash to re-roll or add slots to your gear. Instead you can use Super Sea Snails which are items you obtain by participating in Splatfests (which I'm positive is something you haven't done yet). If you have Super Snails, you will always use those to pay instead (you won't even be given a choice) since Snails serve no purpose other than paying Spyke to add slots to your gear or re-roll your skills.

[animeapple]

I compared Splatoon to Bangai-O Spirits because Spirits is perfect and Splatoon is not. Simple as that.

okay... keep your nostalgia goggles on

the game has two major flaws to it... and did you forget?

1: lack of ease in for new players... the game is very hard... newer players to the genre will get extremely frustrated with the difficulty

2: lack of a story mode, there is pretty much no narrative to the game at all...

please dont ever say a game is perfect... when it isnt... there are no games out there that are perfect...

video games are made by humans... humans are flawed... so their creations are also flawed... there is always a problem they miss when making the game

edit: i have a friend who was completely turned off by the genre that Bangai-O Spirits is because it was the first game he ever played from the genre... and right now Spirits is his most hated game of all time.... there are people who hate this game...

Edited January 6, 2016 by animeapple

[Elieson]

humans are flawed...

Speak for yourself!

[eclipse]

This review has told me the following:

1. I don't think I want to get this game because the controls sound really awkward.

2. The reviewer expects my views of what's good and not to be aligned with his, and if I think Bangai O is trash, then this review loses some of its merit.

3. The game's greatest selling points are free DLC and its color/concept - it sure as hell isn't the controls or its in-game unlock system (which sounds like it requires grinding/playing online).

[animeapple]

Speak for yourself!

lol, speak for myself...? i know i am flawed... and so are you...

[Zera]

okay... keep your nostalgia goggles on

the game has two major flaws to it... and did you forget?

1: lack of ease in for new players... the game is very hard... newer players to the genre will get extremely frustrated with the difficulty

2: lack of a story mode, there is pretty much no narrative to the game at all...

1. There are easy levels, and the game is designed so you learn via experimentation. And there's a 17 stage tutorial, just in case. If you STILL can't grasp it, nothing can be done. This is not a design flaw. Also, Bangai-O is it's own genre, since there's nothing like it.

2. A game does not need a story. See Chess, Go, Blokus... there are lots of great games that don't have a story. This is not a design flaw. If anything Bangai-O Spirits is fun because it isn't constrained by a narrative. One stage might take place in the sky, and the next in space, and there's no need to explain this sudden change of location.

This review has told me the following:

1. I don't think I want to get this game because the controls sound really awkward.

2. The reviewer expects my views of what's good and not to be aligned with his, and if I think Bangai O is trash, then this review loses some of its merit.

3. The game's greatest selling points are free DLC and its color/concept - it sure as hell isn't the controls or its in-game unlock system (which sounds like it requires grinding/playing online).

1. No, the controls are actually fine. You just can't customize them.

2. If you don't like Bangai-O Spirits, just remove the red part of the review.

3. Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros 4 also have unlock systems and grinding...

Edited January 6, 2016 by Zera

[Refa]

I still think there's a disconnect between your review scores and your actual content.

lol, speak for myself...? i know i am flawed... and so are you...

Yeah, but I'm literally perfect. As a flawed being, you have no place judging perfection (as a matter of fact, that's probably one of your flaws).

[eclipse]

1. No, the controls are actually fine. You just can't customize them.

2. If you don't like Bangai-O Spirits, just remove the red part of the review.

3. Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros 4 also have unlock systems and grinding...

1. Non-customizable controls is a huge problem for me, because I adjust as I see fit, and the only series that I've played that I can use the default controls on is the Tales series. Just about everything else needs a tweak or two, and I don't want to buy this game only to find out that I hate the control scheme.

2. That still doesn't help. By inserting your own opinions in there, you're telling the audience that you expect them to have some of your perspective. Not having customizable controls as a criticism is fine - that's Splatoon's fault. Not being like Bangai O is a completely different can of worms. If you're going to review a game, do so on its own merits.

3. I don't have Mario Kart 8, and my grinding for Smash Brothers has been pretty minimal (since Falco is really easy to unlock). After that, it was Home Run Challenge all the way, and anything else that I did was done because I wanted to, not to unlock something better.

[Shin]

Don't worry, I'm perfect enough to make up for everyone else! Only my bro's as perfect as me!

I'd agree that there's a disparity between the score give and the content of the review. I'd recommend removing any "red sections" in further reviews, they come across as fairly opinionated and not particularly amusing. In fact, they kinda put a damper on the review!

I give your review a 6/10, rent before reading. It summarises the key points of the game you're discussing fairly well but struggles with maintaining a balanced view.

Edited January 6, 2016 by Shin

[Elieson]

1. There are easy levels, and the game is designed so you learn via experimentation. And there's a 17 stage tutorial, just in case. If you STILL can't grasp it, nothing can be done. This is not a design flaw. Also, Bangai-O is it's own genre, since there's nothing like it.

2. A game does not need a story. See Chess, Go, Blokus... there are lots of great games that don't have a story. This is not a design flaw. If anything Bangai-O Spirits is fun because it isn't constrained by a narrative. One stage might take place in the sky, and the next in space, and there's no need to explain this sudden change of location.

1. No, the controls are actually fine. You just can't customize them.

2. If you don't like Bangai-O Spirits, just remove the red part of the review.

3. Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros 4 also have unlock systems and grinding...

If this is true for Splatoon, that's cool

When's the last time you played Blokus and became emotionally invested/attached to your piece, thus desiring to improve it because it related to you in some way? The lack of narrative means I have 0 reason to become invested, much like Math homework.

Can I invert my joystick?

What if I haven't played Bangai-OS before. Are you suggesting I play it instead of Splatoon? Sounds to me like you are.

Smash Bros 4 has many methods of unlocking stuff. Play online->unlock characters. Play offline->unlock characters. Play any offline game mode->unlock movesets. The moveset method of unlocking is atrocious though.

MK8, I can't speak for.

[Zera]

When's the last time you played Blokus and became emotionally invested/attached to your piece, thus desiring to improve it because it related to you in some way? The lack of narrative means I have 0 reason to become invested, much like Math homework.

Can I invert my joystick?

What if I haven't played Bangai-OS before. Are you suggesting I play it instead of Splatoon? Sounds to me like you are.

Smash Bros 4 has many methods of unlocking stuff. Play online->unlock characters. Play offline->unlock characters. Play any offline game mode->unlock movesets. The moveset method of unlocking is atrocious though.

MK8, I can't speak for.

When's the last time you played chess, and became emotionally attached to it? Perhaps if your Queen died, and your Bishop tried to cover her... Oh wait! I got it!

THIS... is what you need to see. So yes, Bangai-O does at least have a ludonarrative.

Yes, you can invert your right stick, horizontally and vertically.

Yes, you should definitely play Bangai-O Spirits first... probably.

I NEVER unlocked everything in Smash Bros 4. Do I really have to play every single-player mode with all 50 characters? At least in Splatoon, you unlock stuff just by playing the multiplayer as you normally would. I think Mario Kart 8 does unlocks the best... except the Gold Kart.

[Elieson]

When's the last time you played chess, and became emotionally attached to it? Perhaps if your Queen died, and your Bishop tried to cover her... Oh wait! I got it!

THIS... is what you need to see. So yes, Bangai-O does at least have a ludonarrative.

>I'll...check this out later. This does look curious, even if it does sound like typical irritating Gaijin Goomba

Yes, you can invert your right stick, horizontally and vertically.

>K at least there's this.

Yes, you should definitely play Bangai-O Spirits first... probably.

>this point hurts your review, please understand

I NEVER unlocked everything in Smash Bros 4. Do I really have to play every single-player mode with all 50 characters? At least in Splatoon, you unlock stuff just by playing the multiplayer as you normally would. I think Mario Kart 8 does unlocks the best... except the Gold Kart.

>no. In Smash, there are like, 5 ways to unlock any 1 particular thing. The exception to this is characters and a few stages; as there are even more ways to unlock them. Wanna unlock Lucina? Play online, or play solo, or play smash mode, or beat one mode as marth, or do combinations of them for a while.

[Zera]

To unlock EVERYTHING in Smash 4, every mode must be cleared with every character. Character trophies and alternate trophies appear from Classic and All-Star mode respectively. That's two modes that must each be cleared with everyone. Then there's the challenges, like "win Smash Run with all characters". And then there's the fact that getting custom moves is completely random. If unlocking everything in Smash 4 isn't tedious, then nothing is. In Splatoon, ALL items can be bought directly with in-game cash.

[Elieson]

Who says you need to unlock everything though (i guess some people do that though).

My concern is, I want my squid to have A, B, J, R and V. That's all I want. It doesn't sound like I can just go and get A, B, J, R and V, without rolling through potentials C, D, F, K, M, N and Z at the expense of time and in-game currency first. If I need to grow my squid to Level 12 or w/e, that's fine. Linear progression gives me a measurable goal. Call of Duty gives you this even. According to you and others, Splatoon doesn't.

Also like I said, it's atrocious to unlock custom moves and trophies, but I'm not discussing them in Smash. Splatoon being "better" is a relative term. My right shoe could be better than my left shoe because it only has 4 instead of 5 holes.

[Zera]

Shin, why don't you re-review my review now that I've edited it?

[eclipse]

That's much better. Still won't buy it, but that's not the review's fault, that's Splatoon's fault. I've seen it played by other people, and even though it's a nice, colorful game, I don't think I have the stomach* to play through multiplayer to get everything I want.

* My other issue with FPS is that I get physically ill if I play for upwards of half an hour.

Edited January 6, 2016 by eclipse