Get a look at the first 15 minutes of Splatoon 2

Off the hook

I got my hands on the full version of Splatoon 2, and I’m happy to say that so far, it’s on track to be at least as good as the original. You can watch the first 15 minutes for yourself below.

Yet, as you may have noticed, a lot of this build is locked right now. Since online play isn’t enabled in my current version (it will be later this week) you can’t really interact with the shops, and thus unlock several key features, just like the first. At the moment I can basically mess around in the hub (which includes a DDR-like minigame), scan amiibo for costume bonuses, and play the campaign.

A campaign, mind, that builds upon the foundation of what we’ve already seen. We have a slightly more interesting excuse for being there, but really it’s all about going on an arcadey adventure through semi-linear levels and trying out weapons before you use them online. It even has the same flow — clear several levels in a small hub that you can explore, beat the boss, move to the next one, repeat four more times.

That’s all fine. As I’ve said in the past Nintendo’s level of restraint is commendable, as the stages themselves are never in danger of overstaying their welcome, even if they occasionally repeat concepts. I’m also enjoying the bosses a little more this time around as the team managed to pump up the silliness factor a bit.

Stay tuned for our full Splatoon 2 review next week, which will deal with everything else, including online play and the new Salmon Run horde mode. I’m undecided as a whole, but one thing I do know for sure — the new squid team of Pearl and Marina (which are a minuscule part of the game) aren’t filling Callie and Marie’s shoes!

I hope that’s an upcoming Splatfest showdown for the ages.