Splatoon 2

Splat’s entertainment! Nintendo’s speedy sequel makes another fine mess.

This follow-up to Nintendo’s gleefully gungy shooter may feel familiar, as the original was released only a year ago. While Splatoon 2 does suffer a little from second-man-in-space syndrome — a terrific feat, but less thrillingly new than the first launch — you’ll quickly find yourself engrossed. Inkopolis, it’s good to be back.

Seasoned players can leap in and know pretty much exactly what they’re doing. But Wii U’s sales woes surely mean plenty of newcomers will need bringing up to speed. If you haven’t had the pleasure, Splatoon is a competitive multiplayer game where two groups of four Inklings (humanoid creatures that can assume squid form) battle over turf by spraying it with brightlycoloured ink. At the end of three minutes, the total area splatted is totted up and a winner declared. Fundamentally, little has changed, but then there wasn’t an awful lot to fix. Ink is thicker, shinier and gloopier, lightning has improved and everything looks sharper, brighter and altogether better. The plaza hub is sunnier and livelier, with more to do outside the online lobbies, and with menu shortcuts for those who aren’t in the mood for mooching about.

There are eight maps at launch – two are repurposed versions of older maps — but Nintendo’s planning to introduce more maps, weapons and gear in the months to come. Any quibbles about quantity are outweighed by the quality of these arenas. And with maps now being rotated every two hours rather than four, there’s more chance of getting to play one of your favourites. The inability to quit lobbies or change your weapons while you wait, however, is still a pain, exacerbated by the fact you can’t play arcade games during matchmaking. These are the kind of quirks that are harder to forgive the second time.

There are few stage-specific gimmicks in the current batch of maps, though all have individual features that make them distinctive.

On weapons, there’s little to beat the Splashdown, which sees an Inkling leap up and thump the ground with great force, splattering ink in a wide radius — combine it with a super jump into enemy territory and you’ve got a potential team-killer. It’s one of a clutch of terrific new special weapons, including a powerful laser that can shoot through walls, a jetpack that lets you fire thick ink projectiles and our favourite: a translucent ball that can roll up walls, which you can manually detonate to take out nearby rivals. Or if you’re feeling more altruistic, pick a set that gives your whole team temporary armour, allowing them to withstand a single attack that would normally kill them.

Splatoon 2’ s campaign is a more confident, diverse offering this time around. The bosses range from a sentient oven that shoots out loaves of bread to a brute wielding a motorised roller while riding a unicycle. But while its difficulty curve is better judged than the original, the final encounter here is anticlimactic. You’ll find plenty of excitement in the Horde-style co-op mode Salmon Run, however.

With an audience hungry for more of the same, this is a follow-up that delivers, with added polish.

Chris Schilling