Splatoon 3 Direct, August 10, 2022 – Information and Reactions

For such a hyped Nintendo Switch release, Splatoon 3 has had a noticeably (if relatively) quiet hype cycle. It got a notable delay from summer, where it typically launches, to September. There were updates, but they were more quick and muted in size. That allowed other great games like Xenoblade 3 and Kirby and the Forgotten Land to have more breathing room, but a casual player could be forgiven for not having this one on the brain. So this big, half-hour Direct had to make clear exactly what is new and what is in this game.

And… yeah! Kinda delivered pretty well on that front! There’s a lot of information, so we had to take our time getting all of it right (in a way that has nothing to do with work schedules). Here is everything we saw in this sea life-stocked showcase, as well as an update on the Splatoon 3 website that went into further details.

Returning features

The ability to play online and locally with strangers and friends, the bulk of Splatoon
All weapons from Splatoon 1 and 2 are available to purchase at launch alongside the various new weapons. Some may have changes from the prior games, but Nintendo has stressed that the “base stats” will be retained from where they were
Amiibo are supported. In addition to the gear sets that you get normally, you can use amiibo both new and old to register your gear sets too. You can still take photos in the new Photo Mode with your amiibo characters and receive their corresponding special gear
- New amiibo: Octoling (Blue), Inkling (Yellow), Smallfry (the baby Salmonid who aids you in the story mode)
Shops that sell items to buff your stats
Murch, who’s now grown to be a relaxed teen, can still swap abilities on your gear. This time, he can swap out primary abilities, but it costs more
The Test Range can be played on your own or while waiting for your match to start. Additionally, Recon Mode allows you to explore the actual stages on your own
The Mailbox, where you can draw and post images
Judd!

Returning modes

Turf War, the standard three minute “ink more of the ground than the opponent” online match
Private and League Battles also return, unsurprisingly
Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker, and Clam Blitz are the returning ranked modes. However, the ranked mode has changed
Salmon Run, the co-op mode in which you collect eggs and fight Salmonid monsters, is back. New Salmonid bosses include Slammin’ Lid (a UFO that smashes into the ground), Big Shot (a cannon that fires giant ink bombs), and Chohozuna (a new King Salmonid)
The King Salmonid is tied to two new features:
- Normal Salmon Run matches last for three waves. But if a King Salmonid attacks, the match goes into the overtime Xtrawave. The goal is to simply do as much damage as possible; you’re given extra compensation for how well you do, and if you die before it’s over, you’re still rewarded for the three successful waves
- The King Salmonid can only be harmed by using an Egg Cannon you have to find on the battlefield
- There are also special fish scales earned only by getting to Xtrawave, and exchanging them gets special trinkets for the larger customization features
- Grizzco Industries, which operates Salmon Run, has its own Lobby with similar features as the Splatville Lobby
Big Run: a new version of Salmon Run in which Salmonids attack Splatsville itself and must be fought off. Played every few months

Stages

Starting stage roster: 12. However, more stages will be added through free updates, as is the Splatoon (and online shooter) standard
New stages: Scorch Gorge, Eeltail Alley, Mincemeat Metalworks, Undertow Spillway, Hagglefish Market
Returning stages: Museum D’Alfonsino, Hammerhead Bridge (which is what connects the Splatlands to Greater Inkopolis), Mahi-Mahi Resort, Inkblot Art Academy, Sturgeon Shipyard, Makomart, Wahoo World

New features

New moves like Squid Surge and Squid Roll. These allow a greater movement and, in Squid Roll’s case, the ability to lightly block enemy ink
Anarchy Battle is Splatoon 3‘s new ranked mode! The Series (solo) version still has the same setup, playing a set of five games to proceed to the next rank. However, there is now the Open version, which allows you to play a ranked game mode with your friends, or still by yourself, without the worry of losing your rank
- Higher level versions are X Battle and League Battle, in which you are paired with players within your region (either “North America and Europe” or “Asia and Oceania”) that correspond to your Anarchy Battle ranking
- To enter most Anarchy Battles, all team members have to sacrifice some of their individual rank points as a “fee,” only earning it back through victories
At present, the intention is that everyone’s rank will go down slightly when the game has a new season. However, this system “may change,” presumably if it has an unwanted side effect on the audience or player economy
Alongside going to the Lobby, you can enter the battle menu just by pressing the L button
Players can now save their gear combination to presets
The Splatfest Lobby works the way Inkopolis Square and Plaza worked; you explore, go to shops, and enter online battles. However, you can also drop into online friends’ battles and watch their fights as they happen when they appear as Ghosts in your Lobby Test Range. You can also invite your friends to play with you and join up to be on the same team!
- If you drop into a friend’s game, it may not necessarily be on their team
- A future update is planned that will allow players to use hashtags to connect to ghosts who are also using hashtags
- The Shoal, which facilitates battles with friends, is also back
Players can now watch, capture, and share battle replays. Only a limited number can be saved, however, and once the limit’s reached the oldest ones will be automatically deleted unless you mark them as a favorite
- In addition, battle replays can only be stored for a limited time and will be inaccessible after certain updates
New weapon type: the Splatana, a melee-ish weapon that fires inky sword beams. The default version is the Splatana Wiper
New special weapons, super attacks specific to each weapon:
- Tacticooler, a set of four fridges that gives out food that buffs your stats
- Wave Breaker, which has an area of effect attack that marks and hurts opponents, but can be dodged by jumping
- Reefslider, a large shark-like rideable torpedo that ends in an explosion
- Returning special weapons: Tenta Missiles, Ink Jet, Ink Storm, Ultra Stamp, Booyah Bomb
New abilities:
- Intensify Action, which lets you keep momentum while using Squid Rolls and reduce momentary accuracy loss after using them
- Sub Resistance Up, which weakens the effects of sub-weapons
Sheldon, the owner of Ammo Knights, still sells weapons. However, he only accepts a new currency: Sheldon Licenses. You earn them by leveling them up in battles and consistently using weapons. Weapons can only be bought when you reach a certain level, but if you repeatedly purchase weapons or bribe him, he’ll let you buy them at a lower level
Other shops are new: Naut Couture (headgear, run by nautilus Gnarly Eddy and snail Nails), Man-o’ Wardrobe (clothes, run by jellyfish Jel La Fleur), Crush Station (shoes, run by buff crab Mr. Coco), Hotlantis (various items to customize your locker, run by the Inkling Harmony), Crab-In-Go (food that gives various buffs)
“Large-Scale” paid DLC is also planned

Customization is significantly larger than in prior games:

Victory Emotes: Instead of victory poses based upon which weapon you’re using, you can now choose your own victory pose.
Player Tags: Showcase your flare with different banners, badges, and titles.
Lockers! Players now have customizable lockers that they can place items, customize, and organize to showcase their personality and interests. You’ll be able to see the Lockers of the most recent people you played with. You can buy items from Hotlantis, run by Harmony of Chirpy Chirps.
You can identify yourself in matches with a Splashtag: a banner, several badges, and a title (you choose an adjective and term, like “Fluttering Muscle” or “Full-Throttle Object of Affection”)
- Nicknames are exclusive to Splatoon 3, not your Nintendo account, and can be changed
- Badges are effectively in-game achievements, won for things like earning points or victories
- Other than a few standard ones, titles are given to players in different orders
You can preset the victory emotes you make at the end of battles
All of these are obtained through the in-game currency
At least some of these items come in a seasonal catalog. Every three months for two years, the catalog will be updated, with new items being moved in and out. This will correspond to when new weapons are added
- You purchase items through Catalog Points. Players get points playing both regular online matches and Salmon Run, so it’s accessible for players who only want to play one kind of online mode

Tableturf Battle

A top-down, one-on-one Tetris-esque card game in which you place cards that represent actions in a Turf War
All players are given a starter deck, with over 150 cards to collect in total

Story Mode, “Return of the Mammalians”

Stars a new Agent 3 and the New Squidbreak Splatoon against a returning, yet oddly furry, Octarian Army
Explicitly posited as the “epic finale” to the saga of Squidbreak Splatoon and the Octarian Army

Players with Splatoon 2 Save Data can transfer some of it to Splatoon 3. It lets you start off with a higher rank based on the rank you achieved in 2, match with players of a similar skill level, join Anarchy Battles from the get-go, and receive a few Gold Sheldon Licenses.

The new mobile app is SplatNet 3, available at launch via the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app

Contains information on battle stats and past ranks for the past fifty battles
Lets you purchase items from shops remotely
One new feature is Sean’s Wandercrust Tour, in which you can support Crusty Sean using points based on your performance in online matches (via Ink Points). As you give him more points, he’ll give you special items
Gives you special wallpapers for your phone

Splatfests—large-scale tournaments where players fight for color-coded sides like “ketchup vs. mustard”—make a return. However, they have substantial new changes

The new idol band that gives news bulletins and directs Splatfests is Deep Cut, consisting of one Inkling (Fyre), one Octoling (Shiver), and one manta ray (Big Man). They add classical Japanese instruments to their pop music and run the Anarchy Splatcast TV show
In keeping with the new three-person band, the structure of the events is based around three choices at once
The first round will feature the classic Splatfest style, where opposing sides will face off in 4-v-4 Turf Wars to increase their teams’ score
The second round will feature a new style of Turf War, called the Tricolor Turf War! In these matches a group of four representing the leading Splatfest team will be pitted against four other players, two from each of the other teams placed at opposite ends
- In these battles, you’re fighting not only for revenge against the leading team but to take control of the Ultra Signal, which starts in the leading team’s territory but not under its full control. Getting it lets you call for help from Deep Cut, which powers up your team
- In instances where a Tricolor Turf War isn’t workable for matchmaking, you’ll simply be played into a normal Splatfest battle
Additionally, even if you can’t or don’t participate in the Splatfest itself, you can still help your team. After the theme gets announced and after you’ve picked a side, you will earn conch shells from every regular or Salmon Run battle. These will impact the results and support your side, whether or not you make it to the Splatfest
Conch shells can also be spent on customizable items

Like the “Testfires” that demoed the first two Splatoon games, Splatoon 3 will be getting a Splatfest World Premiere:

Saturday, August 27th, from 9 AM to 9 AM (PDT)
This gives everyone a chance to demo a Splatfest before the game’s release
The theme is Rock, Paper, Scissors! Shiver repping Rock, Fyre as Paper, and Big Man as Scissors

Splatoon 3 Enter the Splatlands Invitational 2022

September 5 at PAX West Seattle
Features some of the players from Splatoon 2‘s Inkopolis Showdown

The Direct itself:

Wolfman’s Soapbox: First off, a deep thank you to Phantom for helping me put together everything, without whom this article would have come out much later than it already did.

Second, I’m not sure I’m fit to judge whether this Direct was exactly what it needed to be. We had a big dearth of information about Splatoon 3, with the biggest news being that it had to effectively get its release date switched with Xenoblade. I know there was some concern about how it was shaping up, what unique things it would bring to the table, and generally how it would hold up to being a third game instead of an updated version. And maybe I’m too generous with finding things like quality of life improvements to be as important as grander mechanical changes.

But—but—I think that this more than pulled it off. Everything seems to click just a bit better for a game (and a series) that was clicking pretty well to begin with, partially just because of those QoL improvements. Making it easier to interact with friends! Getting a better amount of content in Salmon Run! So much customization (which appears to be either the main theme or an extension of a general main theme of player choice)! Some of it’s more impactful than others, but it’s all good.

It’s also not as though those smaller things are only things. The bigger swings, like three-sided Splatfests (even though I suspect we’ll certainly get a few two-sided ones as well) and the silly card game, are still pretty exciting. The story mode being a conclusion to the Octarian conflict is interesting, even if I’m more interested in what the next part of the surprisingly deep Splatoon story will be. Those are arguably the things Splatoon 3 needed most, if only to make it feel like more than just another “season” of a shooter franchise. But everything being tweaked and improved and twisted across the board works with them. Together, they’re letting the game have it both ways; it can be a dramatic sequel whose additions justify its being a new game and a quiet but consistent swath of game improvement for a new season.

And third, the Splatfest theme is absurd. I don’t care that Big Man is the best. Go with Fyre! Rock beats everything; it’s the best one!