Diving into
Splatoon 2’s Octo Canyon is a very familiar experience. The basic level design
and hub world layouts are nearly identical to that of Splatoon 1’s. Even the
story feels somewhat familiar, revolving around the Octarians abducting the zap
fish that power Inkopolis. However, despite the similarities to its
predecessor, Splatoon 2’s story mode somehow feels like a fresh experience.
This is accomplished by means of improvements to almost every aspect of both
gameplay and storytelling.
Hub World
The layout
of Hero Mode’s hub world is identical to that of Splatoon 1’s story mode. You
are thrown into Octo Canyon with a mission to find the entrances to each level.
The entrances to the levels are invisible teapots that you must look around
for. If something looks out of the ordinary, then you must ink it in order to
uncover the teapot and enter that level. Where Splatoon 2 differs is how it
improves the small details of this concept. Each hub world that you unlock
feels larger and more complex, giving the developers more interesting places to
hide level entrances. Finding all of these invisible teapots was itself a
platforming challenge. I often times struggled to find the last couple of
teapots for each world, creating a satisfying meta-game.
The hub
world for Splatoon 2’s story mode also offers interesting collectibles. Power
eggs can now be found in the hub world, hidden inside of crates and even inside
of easy, yet interesting balloon puzzles. Collectibles such as sardinium can be
found inside of the hub world as well, making exploring every inch of it
worthwhile. While the hub world is essentially the same as in Splatoon 1, minor
changes and additions make for a more satisfying world to explore, allowing
players to get just a little bit more out of their single player experience.
Story Telling
The story of
the original Splatoon was not the strength of its single player campaign. Where
the original excelled in fun platforming, it fell somewhat short in terms of
how invested players could become in its story. Splatoon 2 changes this
completely with one small tweak, adding characters the players actually care
about. Trying to avoid spoilers, I will say that Splatoon 2’s hero mode does
include beloved characters from the original Splatoon, such as Marie and
Sheldon. The incorporation of these pre-established characters instantly boosts
the world’s lore. This increases intrigue among players, as we wonder where the
story will go and how it will affect our favorite characters. From beginning to
end, Splatoon 2 does tell a more intriguing story than its predecessor, and is
a much better experience because of it. I no longer found myself mindlessly
splatting Octarians just for the sake of pushing through single player. This
time around, I found myself genuinely curious about how the next part of the
story would unfold.
Level Design
Where
Splatoon 2’s hero mode truly excels over the original is in its level design.
While the basic premise and layouts of the levels are the same, the execution
is much better this time around. Players still jump from level to level and
splat various types of Octarians until reaching that world’s boss fight.
Players will also still collect power eggs and sea scrolls while enjoying
clever platforming challenges. However, this time around, levels have a more
difficult design, with better hidden collectibles, more items to find, and
smarter enemies.
Offering a
quick play through, essentially the same length as the original’s story mode,
hero mode’s length is not its strong point. However, a short, sub-10 hour play
through works well this time around as there is a ton of replay value to
Splatoon 2’s story mode. The addition of allowing players to play through
levels using different weapons is a huge draw in to play levels over and over
again, as every weapon makes you play each level differently than you
previously had. This is truly a unique way to add variety to the same levels
that Splatoon 1 was sorely lacking. Increasing the difficulty and the number of
collectibles in each level also adds a reason to replay them. I often times
found myself noticing a crate or a balloon that I had missed as I was being
launched from one part of a level to the next. By that point, it was too late
to go back during that play through, so it required me to replay the level again
in order to 100% it. This is the kind of thing that completionists drool over,
and it certainly had me satisfied.
Adding
harder to find collectibles is not the only way that Splatoon 2 increases the difficulty
of its story mode. This time around, Octarians satisfyingly behave more like
competent enemies rather than mindless bots. It is evident within the first 3
levels of the story mode, that the difficulty of defeating enemies had been
increased, while I still wouldn’t classify Splatoon 2’s hero mode as overly
difficult, it does feel like a significantly better challenge than what was
offered in Splatoon 1. This new difficulty can be found in standard enemies,
their placements and frequency around the level and in the incredible boss
fights as well.
Verdict
While
Splatoon 2’s story doesn’t take any great leaps over the story of its
predecessor in terms of design, it does make small improvements to almost every
aspect that add up to a much greater experience. Splatoon 2’s hero mode offers
a unique challenge of finding collectibles coupled with addictively fun action
platforming. On top the great gameplay and improved difficulty, the story mode
looks great and actually tells a story worth caring about. I would honestly
have classified Splatoon 1’s story mode as a passable experience, but this time
around, the single player campaign is a must for any fan of this beloved
franchise.
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