Thanks to February's jam-packed Nintendo Direct, fans have gotten a brand-new look at Splatoon 3 with a fairly lengthy gameplay trailer. Over the last year or so, Nintendo has released several trailers for the upcoming sequel, with one focusing on the game's new "Return of the Mammalians" story-focused mode, and one showcasing a new take on the classic "Turf Wars" multiplayer arena mode. Nintendo's most recent trailer revealed that Splatoon 2's "Salmon Run" co-op game mode is returning in the sequel.
From what fans have seen in the trailer, Splatoon 3's Salmon Run mode looks very similar to Splatoon 2's, with the same general rules being present: Players need to splat a certain number of Salmonids, pick up the golden eggs they drop, and bring them back to a basket to earn points and move on to the next wave. Bringing this mode back is a very smart move on Nintendo's part, and with Splatoon 3's new gameplay mechanics, this mode is sure to be more engaging than ever.
Co-op Modes Are Always a Welcome Addition
Co-op games are having a bit of a resurgence right now. While they may have lessened in the 2010s, co-op games are back, and are starting to become bigger and better than ever. With It Takes Two taking home the Game of the Year award last year, co-op games have been thrust back into the spotlight, and the general gaming public seems willing to embrace a couch/online co-op experience once more.
Splatoon 3 including the Salmon Run mode is an incredibly smart move on Nintendo's part. The last two entries in the Splatoon franchise were widely criticized for their perceived lack of content upon launch. Nintendo looks to be rectifying this with Splatoon 3, which seems to include three main gameplay pillars at launch: A full story mode, the classic arena multiplayer mode, and now the co-op Salmon Run mode. The addition of this horde mode should help to make Splatoon 3 feel like a full product, worth full retail price.
Splatoon 3's New Abilities Should Add Some Depth to Salmon Run
While Splatoon 2's Salmon Run mode was fairly engrossing, Splatoon 3's has the potential to be very addictive, with the game's new abilities and weapons giving the gameplay a lot more variety between matches. In a previous trailer, Splatoon 3 revealed some new moves that the player's Inkling can pull off. These moves included a "Squid Roll," allowing players to jump out of their ink and perform a twirl, and a "Squid Surge," which allows players to swim up an ink-covered wall and fly out upon reaching the top.
Another new ability, some form of egg throw, was revealed in this new trailer. This ability seemingly allows players to throw the golden eggs between one another, and into the scoring basket. This should change up the gameplay dramatically from its predecessor as in Splatoon 2, players could only carry the egg, which disabled their ability to fire their weapons.
Now, with the ability to throw an egg, players can be more strategic with how they play, being able to pass the egg between one another to best utilize the team's randomized weapons. This egg throw ability should also help to keep a match's momentum going, with Salmonids constantly closing in, forcing players to think quickly and pass between their teammates. Though, with this ability, the game may need to work a little harder to remain balanced, as it's still unclear how far an egg can be thrown, and whether this will make the mode significantly easier.
Splatoon 3 is in development for Nintendo Switch.