The squids are all right in Splatoon 2

Sequel brings fun, fast-paced ink-shooting mayhem to Switch

TORONTO — When Splatoon came out for Nintendo’s Wii U two years ago, it was judged to be an enjoyable third-person shooter. But, what was truly interesting about the game was how it knocked the genre on its head.

Trading frag grenades and AK-47s for paint rollers and ink guns, and featuring cartoony teenage humansquid hybrid characters, Splatoon was a shooter that gamers of all ages could sink their teeth into. But for Nintendo, it was more than a kid-friendly Call of Duty: the gaming giant had a successful new intellectual property on its hands for the first time in years.

Splatoon 2 carries on the paintball-inspired mayhem of the first game and dovetails nicely into the company’s plan to regularly release original titles from its tentpole franchises to support the hybrid console/portable Switch.

While Splatoon 2 doesn’t offer any major innovations over its predecessor, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Wii U was a disappointing seller, so the new title for the Switch will reach gamers who missed Splatoon the first time around. The game remains fast-paced and fun, with a surprisingly enjoyable single-player campaign to go along with the multiplayer maps.

The main attraction of Splatoon 2 is undoubtedly the multiplayer. Players will start by engaging their avatars, called “inklings,” in four-onfour “turf war” maps, where the goal is to cover more of the playing field with your team’s ink colour while preventing your enemies from doing the same. You will start off with a simple ink gun before getting access to paint rollers — good for inking up large swaths of the playing field — long-range rifles and dual pistols.

You can turn from a hip teenager to a small squid at the press of a button. Squids are great for swimming through areas of friendly ink, allowing you to get around quickly and get the drop on unsuspecting foes. Watch out for enemy ink, which will slow your squid down.

The “turf war” levels can be as much skate park as battleground, with ramps to launch off and rails to grind as you race around trying to meet your team’s objective. But for a few matches, that’s all you will be able to do in multiplayer. Once you reach level 10, ranked matches open up. Here, more competitive inklings will engage in maps with different objectives, including tower defence and escort missions.

So long as there is a good internet connection, matchmaking for the “turf war” battles is easy. The advantages to these melees is that it’s easy as a novice player to contribute.

While in tablet form, the Switch allows you to take Splatoon 2 on the go. You can play in local multiplayer battles with no internet connection, but all participating must have their own copy of the game for their Switch. This is fine for prearranged gaming sessions and might even work on a crowded bus, but it isn’t much help for long trips out into the countryside.

Fortunately, a robust story campaign called “hero mode” helps with that. This single-player adventure takes your inkling on a quest to defeat the sinister Octarians (why these mollusks are at war is unclear). At its best, the design levels here are approaching Super Mario standards.

While the game controls work well and the game is a blast to play, the esthetic may not be for everyone, particularly adults. Characters make bad puns about marine life, and the music can grate. These elements work with the game’s cartoony vibe, but your mileage may vary.

Splatoon 2 is rated E-10 and retails for about $80.

— THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Jackson McLane, left, and his father, Adam McLane, play Nintendo’s Splatoon 2 at San Diego Comic-Con. Players engage in four-on-four ‘turf wars’ in the game’s multiplayer maps.

Splatoon 2 is a shooter adventure game for all ages — assuming you’re OK with its cartoony vibe and silly puns.