Skip to main content

Splatoon 3 brings back Salmon Run this summer

Splatoon 3 appeared in today’s Nintendo Direct, once more confirming a summer 2022 release date, as well as the return of the Salmon Run mode. This co-op mode called “Salmon Run Next Wave” made its first appearance in the last installment of the series, Splatoon 2.

Splatoon 3 – Salmon Run Next Wave Trailer – Nintendo Switch

Salmon Run is a multiplayer game mode of the Splatoon series that’s similar to the zombies mode in Call of Duty. Players are tasked with surviving a salmon apocalypse on an island while collecting eggs and placing them in a basket. Each wave of enemies comes in a set amount and each wave gives players a different main weapon.

While the trailer for the mode returning in Splatoon 3 showcased an exact copy of the last entry’s Salmon Run, it introduced a new boss salmon enemy. This boss is a giant kaiju fish that may be a bit much for players to take on alone.

As shown in previous Splatoon 3 trailers, players most likely have access to all-new mechanics such as the squid rollm which allows them to jump out of ink. There is also the squid surge, which lets them swim up ink-covered walls and jump out at the top.

There is also a fresh story mode titled “Return of the Mammalians.”

Splatoon 3 still has no set release date, but Nintendo did reconfirm that the game sill is launching this summer. However, as always, there is a chance that the game could end up being delayed to allow for more production time.

Editors' Recommendations

DeAngelo Epps
Former Digital Trends Contributor
De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…
WarioWare: Move It! let me control Mario 3’s Tanooki suit with my butt
Wario and his friends appear in WarioWare: Move It! key art.

When I first saw WarioWare: Move It! On a Nintendo Direct, I almost forgot it wasn’t the series’ first entry on Nintendo Switch. Just two years ago, WarioWare: Get It Together! brought the eclectic microgame collection back from obscurity, but it didn’t leave too much of an imprint. In my review at the time, I chalked that up to the entry’s lack of a good central gimmick. The series’ best entries, like the Nintendo Wii’s standout Smooth Moves, have always been tied to some sort of tech twist that makes for wildly creative, goofy experiences. Get It Together simply didn’t have that spark.

WarioWare: Move It! - Nintendo Direct 6.21.2023

Read more
What games will Nintendo Switch 2 launch with? We have some ideas
Mario and friends zip through a race course in Mario Kart 8.

We’re officially on “new console watch.” Reports from credible publications like Eurogamer say that Nintendo secretly showed developers its next system behind closed doors at this year’s Gamescom. While it’s only a rumor, it’s a realistic one. We’re six years into the Nintendo Switch’s lifespan and even the longest-running consoles turn over at eight. If Nintendo’s next system is one or two years away, it’s time to start lining up support from third-party developers.

We’ve speculated on features we’d want in a new system before, but the reality of a new platform has me asking another question: What games would you launch with something like this? The Nintendo Switch’s launch day was crucial to its long-term success thanks to a bonafide classic in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While the rest of its launch lineup wasn’t as impressive, Nintendo capitalized fairly quickly with titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2. If Nintendo’s going to push Switch owners over to a new system, it’ll have to roll out the big guns.

Read more
This breezy 3D platformer wears its simplicity as a badge of honor
Koa runs on an island in Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara.

My adoration for exploring and collecting in games is well-known to anyone who has ever heard me wax poetic about Soulslikes. Surprisingly, though, it's rarely the punishing bosses or deep role-playing systems that suck me in the most -- it's the "Aha!" moments of finding a well-hidden item on a ledge most folks would never notice or stumbling upon an illusory wall that leads me somewhere wholly new. But this love of thoroughly examining levels and finding their secrets was first sparked in me with the significantly brighter and cheerier platformer genre almost three decades ago. There's really nothing that makes me happier than becoming entranced in a happy, colorful adventure that lets me sink back into that childlike wonder I experienced all those years ago.

That's why I'm always thrilled to find indie games like Chibig's Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara that genuinely capture the playfulness of the titles I grew up with. Similar to other lovely platformers like New Super Lucky's Tale or A Hat in Time, it may lack some of the AAA flourishes of the genre-defining Super Mario Odyssey, but it makes its case by flawlessly nailing the fundamentals: a memorable and lovable mascot, diverse level design, tight controls, and a cohesive artistic vision. That attention to such core principles keeps it from suffering the same fate as the dozens of low-budget releases each year that often suffocate beneath the weight of their own ambition.

Read more