Splatoon 2 Testfire
Just this past weekend, the Splatoon 2 Testfire had six 1-hour sessions for players to hop on and get some games in. In doing so, they would be able to find any potential bugs as well as test the servers as there would likely be a large influx of players at these consolidated times. I was able to partake in 3 of these sessions and found some positives and negatives, as well as some big concerns with the game in general. As expected, the Splatoon 2 Testfire had some slick outfits and many positives, though there were definitely some unaddressed issues…
Splatoon 2 Testfire – The Good
1 – Familiarity
Right off the bat, the Splatoon 2 Testfire feels like it picks up right where the original Splatoon left off. The gameplay feels about the same as Splatoon and plays that way as well. The gameplay is smooth and crisp, and I found myself almost forgetting that this was a completely different game. In fact, even the minor tutorial at the start felt copied and pasted from the first title. Despite not changing significantly, the Splatoon 2 Testfire played well, felt great, and was fun. Sometimes, games change certain aspects to make it feel like changes were made, but Splatoon was already a mechanically sound game and I am glad that the core mechanics stayed the same.
2 – Control Choice
Within minutes of firing up the Testfire, I was frustrated that motion controls for aiming had made their way back into my life. I gave the motion controls a try for a few matches but just could not adjust. Luckily, Nintendo once again gives the option to players to opt for a traditional aiming system. For myself, I vastly prefer aiming with the joysticks. However, I have noticed that many in the Splatoon community stand by the motion controls, with claims that they feel great and are more effective in-game than aiming with the joysticks. It is a huge positive that Nintendo has included both options rather than consolidate all players into one category.
Tablet Mode
Besides playing with the Nintendo Switch docked, the Splatoon 2 Testfire worked very well in tablet mode, especially when using the Pro Controller. The screen may have felt a bit small with so much happening at once, but tablet mode allowed me to continue playing when the TV is in demand. The game played just as smooth as when docked and should provide players with that portable experience to play against others via Local Play.
Click on thru to page 2 to find out ‘THE BAD’…