Splatoon 2 is a team-based third-person shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the sequel to the 2015 Wii U title Splatoon*.*

Like its predecessor, Splatoon 2 is a multiplayer third-person shooter in which players control characters known as Inklings and use colored ink to attack opponents and clear goals. Inklings can transform between humanoid form, during which they can fire ink with their weapons, and squid form, which allows them to swim through ink of their own color in order to move quickly and replenish ink supplies. The sequel adds new standard, sub and special weapons to the game, including dual-wield pistols, that allow the player to perform dodge rolls, and jetpacks. Like the previous game, the game features the Turf War modes for Regular Battles, and a rotation of Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker, and Clam Blitz modes for Ranked Battles, which are now ranked individually. League Battles allow players to form teams with friends. A new mode, Salmon Run, allows up to four players to team up co-operatively to tackle waves of enemies called the Salmonids. ^{[82] [83]}

The game features a single-player campaign, Hero Mode (Octo Canyon), in which the player must battle through various levels fighting the evil Octarians.

Unlike the previous game's single-player campaign which had a pre-determined weapon set, the player can now earn various weapons, some of which are required when playing levels for the first time.

In addition to scrolls that unlock artwork and in-game lore, players can collect Sardinium to upgrade their Hero Mode weapons and tickets that can be exchanged for temporary reward boosts in multiplayer battles, such as increased experience or money.

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Players can play multiplayer online through an internet connection or play locally, although local play requires multiple consoles and copies of the game.

The game also features LAN support with an adapter accessory for local private tournaments. The game supports Amiibo figures, which allow players to store their Inkling's custom look and unlock additional content. ^[86] Post-release updates continued for two years after the game's release, adding new weapons, stages, gear, online and private match features, sub weapons, and specials, as well as a new game mode known as Clam Blitz. ^[7][97][98] Splatfest events also were held once a month for two years, with most events having different themes for each region.^[99]

Splatoon 2 takes place approximately two years after the final Splatfest event of the first game, in which the pop idol Marie proved victorious over her cousin and fellow Squid Sister, Callie. While the two girls seem to carry on as normal afterwards, the usually inseparable cousins begin to spend more and more time apart due to their growing solo careers, with Marie beginning to worry about whether Callie was negatively affected by the Splatfest result. After going out of Inkopolis to see her parents, Marie returns home to discover both Callie and the Great Zapfish have gone missing. Fearing that the evil Octarians are once again involved, Marie once again takes on her role as Agent 2 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon and recruits an Inkling from Inkopolis Square, the player character, to become Agent 4 and investigate. ^[89]

With assistance from both Marie and weapons expert Sheldon, Agent 4 makes their way through Octo Canyon fighting off Octarians and recovering the stolen Zapfish.

They eventually discover that Callie herself has sided with the Octarians after being brainwashed by their leader, DJ Octavio.

With everyone's effort, however, Marie manages to break Callie free from her mind control, and together they help Agent 4 defeat Octavio once again.

With the Great Zapfish safely returned to Inkopolis, the Squid Sisters happily reunite and resume their musical career together.

A limited-time global multiplayer demo for the game, known as the "Splatoon 2 Global Testfire", was made available to play in March 2017. ^[90] A special edition of Nintendo Treehouse Live was streamed during the first session, in which members of the Nintendo Treehouse participated in the demo. ^[91] Similarly to the demo of the original game, it was only available to play for a specific time period, across six one-hour play sessions in one weekend. ^[93] Another demo session demonstrating the game's Splatfest events was held on July 15, 2017. ^[94]

The game was released worldwide on July 21, 2017.

^[82] In Japan and Europe, neon green and neon pink colored Joy-Con controllers and Splatoon-themed Pro Controllers were released alongside the game. ^[82] A game card-free version, which features a download code inside of a game case instead of a game card, was also released in Japan, as well as a Switch hardware bundle including a download code for the game. ^[82] A similar bundle was released in the United States as a Walmart exclusive. ^[82]

Splatoon 2 received a paid DLC on June 13, 2018, titled the Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion. The DLC gave players a new story mode, as well as the ability to play as an Octoling upon completion of the campaign. ^[100]

Like the previous game, Splatoon 2 was continually updated post-release with free updates and Splatfests for two years. ^[82] The final updates to the game came in July of 2019, with a special 72-hour final Splatfest and the release of a 5.0.0 update that added a Splatfest mode to private matches.^[98]

Prior to Splatoon 2' s reveal, clips of the game were featured in the announcement trailer for the Nintendo Switch. ^[82] Its unanticipated appearance led to speculation by the media and public over whether or not the footage shown was that from a port of Splatoon or a sequel. ^{[11] [82] [82]} It was also presented in the trailer in a way that promoted the game as an eSport, ^{[11] [82] [83]} following investments by Nintendo in Splatoon eSport tournaments in late 2016. ^[83]

Splatoon 2 was unveiled to the public during the Nintendo Switch reveal presentation held in Tokyo on January 13, 2017, where it was announced for release in Q2/Q3 2017. ^[83] The reveal was accompanied by a trailer featuring the game's new maps and weapons, ^{[83] [83]} and an on-stage appearance of producer Hisashi Nogami in-character as a scientist from the Squid Research Lab, a fictional scientific group from the game, which appeared in various promotional material for the original Splatoon. ^[83]

A manga series based on the game and illustrated by Sankichi Hinodeya began serialization in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic magazine in May 2017. ^[83] It will be published in North America by Viz Media starting in late 2017. ^[83] An anime adaptation of the game was announced in July 2017, and was released on YouTube on August 11, 2017. It was produced by CoroCoro Comic, being based on the manga adaptation. ^[83]

Splatune 2, a two-disc official soundtrack featuring music from the game by Toru Minegishi, Ryo Nagamatsu, and Shiho Fujii, was published by Enterbrain and released in Japan on November 29, 2017. ^[85] Music from the game's DLC, Octo Expansion, also saw a physical release titled Octotune on July 18, 2018.^[101]

Splatoon 2 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. ^[39] Critics stated that Splatoon 2 retained what was great about the original game while adding new features to keep the game fresh. ^{[45] [48]} Nintendo Life gave Splatoon 2 a 10 out of 10, praising the improved single-player campaign. ^[48] Destructoid and Game Informer criticised the accessibility within the game's multiplayer modes—weapons couldn't be changed between matches at that time, though this was added in a later update, no split-screen play, and the Salmon Run mode is only playable online at certain times—but complemented the new weapons and gameplay. ^{[40] [43]} The Verge blamed the lack of a built-in voice chat feature and ease of viewing the map for taking away from the multiplayer experience, yet still calling the game an improvement over the original. ^[87] GameSpot cited Splatoon 2 as "a fresh take on the already unique shooter" but pointed out that using a mobile app for voice communication made multiplayer more complicated than it needed to be. ^[45] Game Revolution and GamesRadar both praised the colorful artstyle and depth of the multiplayer combat. ^{[44] [46]} IGN gave the game a score of 8.3/10—higher than the initial score of the original game but lower than its re-review—praising the "addicting" Salmon Run mode and improved graphics, while making similar complaints about the game's matchmaking system. ^[47] Electronic Gaming Monthly and Nintendo World Report both stated that the game felt "more like Splatoon 1.5" than a true sequel to the original, but nonetheless complemented the game's new additions. ^{[41] [49]}

Eurogamer ranked the game 17th on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017", ^[87] while Polygon ranked it 43rd on their list of the 50 best games of 2017. ^[87] The game was nominated for "Best Switch Game" in both Destructoid ' s Game of the Year Awards 2017 and IGN's Best of 2017 Awards, ^{[87] [87]} the latter of which also nominated it for "Best Shooter" and "Best Multiplayer". ^{[87] [87]}

Splatoon 2 debuted second on the UK software sales chart in its launch week, behind Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy . ^[60] It had 59% better first week sales than Splatoon and became the third biggest launch of a Switch game in that country. ^[60] In Japan, Splatoon 2 sold roughly 648,000 copies at retail within the first few days of its launch and 1.97 million copies by January 2018. ^{[87] [89]} Including download copies, the game had sold over two million in Japan by early 2018, making it the first home console game to do so in the country since 2010's Wii Party . ^[89] The game shipped 1.56 million copies in Japan and 3.61 million copies worldwide in its first fiscal quarter on sale. ^[83] By the end of 2017, those figures had increased to 2.21 million in Japan and 4.91 million worldwide. ^[89]