Nintendo’s “one more thing” at its first big Direct show of 2021 was a reveal of Splatoon 3, the latest in the ink-based multiplayer third-person shooter series. While we didn’t get many details, we did get a launch window of 2022.
If the trailer is anything to go by, Splatoon 3 will have a single-player campaign that allows you to customize not only your player character, but a little Salmonid sidekick. The graphics look like they’ve gotten an upgrade since Splatoon 2, with the main character’s squid-locks and outfit looking more detailed than what we’ve seen before.
The game is looking a little Mad Max, with its apocalyptic desert landscape. Up to now, the series has been set in colorful, relatively cheerful cityscapes, but the trailer for this looks much more grim and desolate (though still very colorful). At one point while roaming the wastes, you can see the bottom half of an upended Eiffel Tower sticking out of the dirt. I’d be curious to see if we get an explanation on how that happened.
According to Nintendo, the new city in the game is called Splatsville, also known as the “city of chaos,” and its growth accelerated after Team Chaos won the Final Splatfest in Splatoon 2. It’s in the Splatlands, a new environment where the Inklings and Octolings coexist. The Inklings and the Octolings have been “drawn to this culture like moths to a Bunsen burner” like the little aquatic hipsters they are.
The Turf War gameplay will still be here. From what we can tell, there’s a major change with the addition of bows, which can shoot three ink shots simultaneously, and drones, which will allow players to launch themselves onto their choice spot on the battlefield.
We don’t know anything else about the game other than that it’ll be released some time in 2022.
