Splatoon 2
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: July 21, 2017

Splatoon 2 is an action-packed game that reminds me of the combination of paintball and an arcade shooter. I should mention that I never had the chance to play the first Splatoon. So this review is not in comparison to the original, but more so as someone new to the franchise. Since the Wii U had such poor sales, I am sure that there are several people in this same position.

While the game was a little slow to start, it did a great job introducing the controls. The reason that I say the start was slow is that I was not looking forward to the story and really only wanted to play online. However, I quickly learned that it was not an easy start to online play. 

Players start with a base gun and gear and no way of purchasing anything new until you reach level 4. Normally I would not have a problem with this, but it felt like the game took a while for me to increase levels. As I finally got online, I ran into teams with levels far greater than my own. This continued as I played through Splatoon 3. starting out it was if I could never find a team who was not greatly out leveled. 

As I began to progress through the story, I became more familiar with the controls and with the different weapons. The story mode, while interesting, can be a little tedious at times. The early levels pass quickly, acting as tutorial levels. In this, you are taught how to climb walls, jump longer distances, hiding from enemies, and more. Later levels required more brain power as you have to decide how to go about getting around enemies. 

As an owner of the Nintendo Switch, we are all looking for great software. While Splatoon 2 is a lot of fun, it just doesn’t seem friendly to new players like myself. This makes me question if I really should spend my time playing it. This is definitely not a title you should play for the story component. While it is nice it exists, I started playing exclusively online and quit going through the story. 

While Splatoon 2 is a solid game that fills a void on the Nintendo Switch, I do question if it is worth the full retail price of $59.99. If you can get it on sale, I would high recommend it.