Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Early Christmas presents: ‘Splatoon 2’ updates add more items, ‘Clam Blitz’ mode

Gabe Gurwin
By
Splatoon 2 - Huge Holiday Updates! - Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch has a great lineup of games to play this holiday season, including Super Mario Odyssey  and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 , but you shouldn’t let Splatoon 2  get lost in the shuffle. The multiplayer shooter has continued to get free content updates since its release in July, and the latest additions include an all-new mode.

On Thursday, November 23 — that’s Thanksgiving in the United States — Splatoon 2 will receive a new stage for the Salmon Run mode called “Salmonid Smokeyard,” as well as items and hairstyles for the Inkling characters. The new items include winter clothing so your squid kid will be warm when it starts snowing, and new music will even make its way to the game.

Recommended Videos

The following day, the stage “MakoMart” will arrive to competitive multiplayer — it’s a giant superstore that lets you tase another customer so you can get that new 4K television. Later on, the new stage “Shellendorf Institute” will arrive to the game, as will the original Splatoon stages “Walleye Warehouse” and “Arowana Mall.” Other changes arriving in the update include a level 99 cap in place of the current limit of 50, new Amiibo functionality, and the ability to swap gear without exiting to the lobby — this should help to keep teams of players together for multiple matches.

Related

The update we’re really excited about, however, arrives in mid-December. This update includes the new competitive “Clam Blitz” mode, which tasks teams with collecting clams and throwing them into a basket near the enemy team’s base. Before being able to score points, the teams must break through a protective barrier using an item called a “Power Clam.” The mode seems to be similar to Salmon Run in its basic format, but being competitive rather than cooperative should make for some interesting matches.

Splatoon 2 has some multiplayer competition on the Switch now that Doom has arrived, but we’re confident the game’s player base will hold steady. In our review, we called the game “a remarkable multiplayer shooter with all the style, attention to detail, and polish that we’ve come to expect from Nintendo.” It’s available exclusively on Nintendo Switch, while the original game is only on Wii U.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Splatoon 3’s multilayered grind has me completely hooked
Squid kids from Splatoon 3.

I can’t stop playing Splatoon 3. With 70 hours currently logged, it’s the most I’ve ever played an entry of the series. My hour count has already eclipsed Splatoon 2, a game I thought I was obsessed with at the time. I recognize that I might have a problem here.

What surprises me about that is that there’s not a huge difference in quality between Splatoon 2 and 3. As many critics pointed out in reviews, the threequel is largely the same as its predecessor. It brings key quality of life improvements and ratchets up the intensity in content like Salmon Run, but its online modes remain virtually unchanged. If you played Turf War back on the Wii U, you know exactly what to expect here. So why am I more hooked than I ever have been?

Read more
The best special weapons in Splatoon 3
Squid kids from Splatoon 3.

While Splatoon has always walked its own path in terms of weapons, opting for more family-friendly firearms like ink pistols, paint buckets, and giant rollers, most serve a similar purpose to the arsenal you'd find in other competitive shooters. You will equip your main and sub-weapons for either close-, mid-, or long-range encounters, with the added wrinkle of also wanting to be able to cover a lot of ground area as well. Where things get interesting, in both Splatoon 3 and more traditional shooters, is when ultimate or special weapons are added into the mix.

Special weapons in Splatoon 3 are just as unpredictable yet simultaneously perfect for the theme of the game as the main weapons. To access these weapons in a match, you will need to build up a charge by inking as much ground as possible. Once fully charged up, you will be able to pull out one of these powerhouse tools in a key moment that can turn the tides of battle in your team's favor. There's plenty to pick from, and all of them sound good, but these are our picks for the best special weapons in Splatoon 3.

Read more
The best weapons in Splatoon 3
An inkling with a bow.

Leave it to Nintendo to make the least-traditional online third-person shooter on the market but also have it be such a smashing success that it spawned two sequels. Splatoon 3 is, of course, the latest in the squid-kid franchise that brings in tons of new features, modes, mechanics, and improvements to the series all about spraying ink over fragging enemies. The team didn't just take normal guns and weapons and make them colorful, though. They took full advantage of the concept of spraying ink to craft some of the most unique weapons in any shooter.

The amount of weapons available in Splatoon 3 is the largest yet. Many are returning from past games, but there are plenty of new additions that are tons of fun. That being said, many weapons are rather ... unconventional if you're new to the series. How can a paintbrush or a windshield wiper be a weapon, after all? If you're at a loss for what to arm yourself with for the best chances of winning that close Turf War, here are the best weapons in Splatoon 3.

Read more