Game:

Splatoon 2 (2017)

Duration: 14:49

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Let's pretend this is still relevant, because this upcoming weekend at the time of writing will bring the ACTUAL game's first Splatfest... y'know, one where the stakes matter for more than just honor and such.

...and yeah, in case you were in suspense... Splatoon 2 is a lot of fun. Somehow this demo didn't fool me into thinking things I already suspected by allowing me to continue thinking those things along with such alarming thoughts as "why is it already 4am?" and "I haven't uploaded anything to YouTube in weeks now..." (It's even managed to sideline and collapse a cascade of other obsessions, making everything more than just a little extra awkward and late to the party, so we've got videos for days! ...months! ...years! ...decades?! ...just waiting for me to dig my way out from under them! ... ... ...run. Run now. Never look back.)

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Match #01 -- Moray Towers

Hey, finally, something NEW... to me. I mean, it's new to Splatoon 2, but these are one of the new basic weapon classes that people have known about since its original announcement and have had hands-on time with for a demo before this and the real game since... is a duration measurable in weeks too soon to open a time capsule?

Let's get the other elephant out of the room... while I like the things it does and the dynamic it brings, even as a troublesome adversary, there's one big stumbling block to be had with the Splat Dualies (part of me STILL can't believe they actually went with that name) weapon class is that they added a dodge function into the already-well-populated control scheme.

I'm not saying that Splatoon is difficult to control or even remotely illogically or complicatedly laid out (though there's maybe one or two minor tweaks I'd have preferred perhaps being allowed to make), because it's very Nintendo-styled pick-up-able and anyone-friendly, but suddenly you have the POTENTIAL to get your mental wires crossed as the jump now contextually changes to dodge depending on whether or not you're holding down a very frequently-held-down button that is most easily avoided or overridden by holding down a DIFFERENT button at the same time... ... ...I feel like the description of the situation that might confuse you is even more confusing now...

Suffice to say, there's a slight bit of overhead for me, personally, in trying to make sure that I dodge when I want to dodge and I jump when I want to jump, and neither vice versa. I have no idea how much this is a particular concern to others.

Oh, and we haven't even gotten into how the addition of dodges might affect battle. It does. A lot. Better have your camera-reorient button handy! (Hopefully you're like me and have been groomed to (ab)use this function by years of three-dimensional platform and combat navigation! (yes, I said ANYONE can pick this game up and play it!)

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Match #2 -- Humpback Pump Track

Hey, new (to me... back then) stage! When you first see a lot of these new stages, even as a veteran of the first game, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the sum total POSSIBILITY of where you can suddenly go. It's doubly overwhelming if you're trying to mentally unravel the lazy spiral that is the track... even more so once you've taken the unwitting plunge and thrown yourself into it. This is why my intuition told me to avoid jumping down from a ledge into an area I'm not so sure if I could get back up from, at least while I was getting my bearings.

Speaking of bearings... it seems quaint and frustrating to behold by now, but I can understand how the Tenta Missiles interface was at least a bit confusing even when you already (theoretically) know how they're supposed to work going into things... oops?

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Match #3 -- Moray Towers

I just want to point out up front that the entire opposing team was using Splat Dualies... which means they all also had the Tenta Missiles special weapon... and they all demonstrated at about the same time I discovered for myself that the stage has ample turf to cover prior to encountering any enemies at all to prepare for a strike on the opposing team. Neat! Definitely not annoying at all! Fortunately every splat and increasingly coated turf meant that all further strikes wouldn't be nearly so... synchronized.

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Match #4 -- Humpback Pump Track

With even a small amount of exposure, even that which was new and scary becomes familiar and reassuring... that's when you cast aside your trepidation and jump straight into the thick of things like that's your natural state of being. Then you get splatted. A lot. Because that's the next step in the learning process!

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I have a license to use Nintendo’s content in this video through the Nintendo Creators Program. This video is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, but any advertising revenue from this video will be shared with Nintendo.