Splatoon 3, we tried the Nintendo Switch splatter one step away from release
Splatoon 3
The last quarter of 2022 promises to be a decent boon for anyone who owns a Switch: Nintendo has a myriad of level exclusives on the way and the most impressive thing is their ability to cover various genres: ranging from technical action with Bayonetta 3, to turn-based strategy with Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. Even among blockbusters supported by enormous intellectual properties, however (the new Pokémon arrives shortly, to say) there is a rather fresh name that has managed to carve out a considerable space among fans, probably also because today it represents one of the series of the most original and curated competitive titles in circulation. We are obviously talking about Splatoon, whose third chapter arrives on September 9th, and that we were able to try just before the start of Gamescom thanks to a pleasant event in Milan.The test was quite substantial: a 'hour and a half of gameplay spread between three modes, which allowed us to test in more detail a triptych of missions from the main story, the cooperative Salmon Run and some challenges in Mollusca Melee. Not enough to reveal who knows what secret, true, but it was still very nice to have direct impressions of the new weapons and get an idea of the general level of the title. So here's our trial of Splatoon 3, just before the review arrives.
New ways to ink
Splatoon 3: eliminating enemies isn't always the answer here. With certain weapons, focusing on the covered area and the use of specials is fundamental. Team that wins does not change and it would be objectively rather crazy to modify a winning system like that of Splatoon in a sensitive way. After all, we are talking about a game that represents one of the few competitive variations of the online shooter formula, so upsetting such a successful system in the third chapter would plausibly cause more discontent than anything else.That said, Splatoon 3 seems to boast some marginal tweaks to its bases and there is no shortage of new features: as regards the movement options, for example, it is now possible to perform a sudden rotation in the form of sepia and during the movement is also invulnerable, so this is a potentially very useful maneuver for those with excellent defensive timing; even in the middle of the vertical charge there seems to be a window of invulnerability, however, perhaps wanting to offer a little more technicality while traveling.
The most interesting news are, however, two new weapons, which we have had way to test for a while during the games: the Wiper and the Calamarchi, respectively a wiper full of paint and a bow capable of firing three bullets at a time. Starting from the blade wiper, we must indeed specify that we were slightly surprised, because it turned out to be a very different weapon from how we had imagined it: we are not talking about another very effective variant of the short distance brushes, but a capable tool to fire fast, medium-range, fairly accurate and high-damage bullets that are particularly dangerous when loading the shot (doing so allows you to fire a vertical attack that goes further). function ready (fn) {if (document.readyState! = 'loading') {fn ()} else {document.addEventListener ('DOMContentLoaded', fn)}} ready (function () {window.addEventListener ('message', function (event) {let target_origin = 'https://aff.netaddiction.it'; if (event.origin! == target_origin) return; if (typeof event.data == "object" && event.data.hasOwnProperty ( "type") && event.data.type == "embaff") {let embed_id = event.data.embed_id; if (embed_id == '1101') {document.querySelector ('#_ aff_embed_1101'). setAttribute ('height ', event.data.embed_size);}}}, false);}) In short, it is a weapon more positioning and precision than you think - also because it has a sort of additional snap - it covers relatively little area with the paint and the feature that makes it really dangerous if it attacks like a daredevil is its devastating special: an enor me hammer capable of covering entire areas of paint and erasing anyone in the immediate vicinity from existence. For the record, we are not "criticizing" it, it is just a bit far from our idea of a kill-oriented offensive weapon, however we do not doubt that there will be players able to maximize its efficiency.
Splatoon 3 : the new minigame seems interesting, but we could not test it properly Il Calamarchi, then, it seemed to us an even more technical and interesting weapon. It fires three cone shots normally, but its attack can be adjusted in various ways and, if loaded, it can even explode with a slight delay when it hits walls (as well as becoming a more accurate single shot). That wasn't enough, the bow changes trajectory if used in jumping and strikes vertical blows capable of doing great damage that take too vehement opponents by surprise. We believe it will be a devastating weapon in the hands of the most experienced players.
The improvements are too many to list them all, from the already confirmed ability to modify the primary skills of the equipment, to the return of the star system (Now you can exceed three stars for equipment, but doing so only gives you a bonus to experience, it seems), to a general balance of passive abilities and special powers.
Speaking of the new specials, we liked them to death: the aforementioned hammer is a blast, but we were also very impressed by the very intelligent sonar (which finds and hits opponents in the area, splatting them if you don't jump) its waves three times) and by the hilarious Motosqualo that charges at the speed of light and explodes in a riot of paint in the area where it ends its run. Only criticism? The return of the missiles Tenta. One of the most hated specials and not exactly a design masterpiece, given the tendency to be abused by many players. However, we have not had the opportunity to use it enough to understand if there have been any tweaks that could improve it, so it is too early to bandage your head (and certainly not a single irritating special is enough to ruin an entire game)
Dangerous Salmon
Splatoon 3: The Blade Wiper is a more technical weapon than expected: don't underestimate it The rest of the test focused on the other primary modes. The main campaign, in particular, seems to follow a formula rather similar to what is predictable: to all intents and purposes it is a great tutorial progressively more and more complex, calculated to teach how to use weapons and skills properly and structured around very well thought out levels full of environmental puzzles. We have tried only three, yet we were surprised by their extreme diversification; they range from paintings full of enemies where reacting quickly is essential, to maps designed to be simple series of puzzles to be solved with intelligence. The average level of the missions seems high and we expect a lot of entertainment from the mode.We were surprised by the Salmon Run far beyond expectations. This elaborate horde mode, to be faced in co-op, proved to be much more challenging than expected and the extreme variety of enemies was able to put us in difficulty already at 10% of the challenge level. Between huge and very aggressive dolphins, armored towers, opponents able to cover the ground in floating paint, and a mass of other threats, we are faced with a co-op that requires coordination and a minimum of preparation, not to be faced in the carlona, as we have, unworthily, we did by underestimating the challenge and overestimating the team harmony.
Splatoon 3: modifiable primary skills means freer customization Too bad we didn't have time to test the other online modes properly, but it was still nice to see how it is now possible to face online matches with a party of friends (alleluja) starting from the "Branco" (option that also contains a training area for testing weapons and equipment). It is not yet clear whether it is possible to add knowledge directly without going through friend codes, however an option that allows you to find games by setting specific hashtags has been confirmed in the past, so it could be a useful way to quickly bypass this lack.
Little to say about the technical and artistic sector as usual; on the other hand, the game is always colorful and a pleasure to see in motion. In short, predictably our test of Splatoon 3 was a blast and the beauty is that there are still many things to analyze, from the extra modes of the online, to the new Splatfests, to the value of the maps at launch (they should be a dozen arenas). ), passing through the new card minigame, Splattanza, and customization. The quality is clearly high, to really find out how much, however, we refer you to the future review of the game.
Splatoon 3 does not differ much from the formula that made millions of players love the series, but already from our brief proof shines through the general quality of the game and the willingness of the developers to refine every element. Now it remains to be seen just what the actual value of the available content is, and how well the rebalancing has been approached. For the rest, the base remains granite (and very, very hilarious).
