After an incredible start to the year with titles like Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and a brief break in the middle, Nintendo is gearing up for one hectic Holiday period. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Bayonetta 3, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are all set to release in the coming months, but Splatoon 3 is the title that kicks it all off, dropping September 9 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Announced all the way back in February 2021, and now with over a year of hype behind it, Splatoon 3 is easily one of the most anticipated games of 2022. Based on all the trailers released so far, Splatoon 3 looks as though it's shaping up to be a real culmination of the entire series, taking every positive aspect of its predecessors and blending it all together to make one content-rich competitive multiplayer game. But while Splatoon 3 is taking a lot from its past entries, it's also adding its own fair share of new features and mechanics, and one of which - its dynamic respawn system - may just impact the classic Splatoon formula heavily.
Splatoon 3's Dynamic Respawn System And How It Might Affect Multiplayer
In Splatoon 1 and 2, players spawn-in on top of a circular, neon-colored pad. This pad represents the team's spawn area and base, and whenever a player is defeated, they'll spawn back on this pad, which is all fairly typical for a team-based competitive shooter. Splatoon 3 looks to be shaking this up quite a bit. For a start, spawn pads have been completely removed from Splatoon 3. Instead of respawning in the same usual spot, players will now spawn in mid-air, and will be able to pick a spot on the ground to be launched to.
While it's currently a little unclear on just how this new dynamic respawn system is going to work, it has the potential to change up Splatoon's usual gameplay formula fairly drastically. One confirmed detail is that at the start of a Splatoon 3 match, players will be able to drop freely anywhere in their team's designated spawn zone. This already adds a big layer of strategy to the standard Splatoon formula, as players can now communicate where one another should be dropping to best take advantage of their starting surroundings. The start of a Splatoon match is always a pivotal moment, and thanks to this new dynamic spawning system, it's even more tactical than ever.
It would seem as though this ability to freely land in the team's spawn zone also extends to respawning throughout the course of the match. So, as opposed to respawning back at a circular pad, players will now be able to respawn seemingly anywhere within their team's spawn zone after they've died. This continues to add even more layers of strategy to Splatoon 3's gameplay, as players will now be able to choose whether they land closer to their team's base in an attempt to defend it and regain territory, or whether they spawn closer to a pathway that leads directly into the enemy's base, pushing the offensive. For a series that's always revolved around competitive gameplay, communication, and teamwork, this subtle change to the spawning system could have a significant impact on how an average Splatoon match plays moving forward.
Splatoon 3 will release for the Nintendo Switch on September 9.
