Everything Announced In The Latest Splatoon 3 Trailer – New Weapons, Photo Mode, And 3-Player Turf Wars
Nintendo’s August Splatoon 3 Direct was jam-packed (or should that be ink-packed?) with new stuff, announcements, sneak-peeks and more for the upcoming splat-shooter, and if you missed it — or just need a refresher on what was announced — then we’ve got you covered, li’l squid!
Here’s the stream VOD in case you missed it:
Now let’s get our hooks into that delicious new content!
Everything Announced In The Splatoon 3 August Direct
Photo mode
Players can now enter photo mode to take snaps of their characters and the surroundings. These photos can be shared on social media, sent to friends, or used as decor in the customisable lockers.
New techniques
Squid Surge
Players can use Squid Surge to swim up walls quickly in a single burst.
Squid Roll
A technique designed for fast 180-turns, the Squid Roll also includes a brief i-frame that repels ink when the character glows.
New battle stages
New stages include Eeltail Alley, Scorch Gorge, Mincemeat Metalworks, and Undertow Spillway. There are 12 stages available at launch, including some returning ones, but more stages will be added in post-launch updates.
New weapons
Regular weapons
The Tri-Stringer
A bow-like weapon which can fire in three directions at the same time, with the ability to fire charged shots which freeze and then explode.
The Splatana Wiper
Part-katana, part-windscreen wiper, the Splatana Wiper is a long-range weapon that can shoot ink in wide arcs using centrifugal force. Charge it up to release vertical slices that can help squid kids swim up walls with ease.
Special weapons
The Tacticooler
A vending machine that provides up to four players with in-game drinks to boost their stats and abilities. Plop it down at the start of a match for a tactical advantage!
The Reefslider
A shark pool float which zooms around the arena, exploding the enemy with ink.
The Wave Breaker
A tactical post that releases waves of energy, identifying enemy positions and dealing them damage. You can jump over the waves to avoid it!
Returning content
Stages
- Museum d’Alfonsino
- Hammerhead Bridge
- Mahi-Mahi Resort
Weapons
- Tenta Missiles
- Inkjet
- Ink Storm
- Ultra Stamp
- Booyah Bomb
New & returning amiibo
Three new amiibo will be released this Winter:
- Inkling (Yellow) – $15.99
- Octoling (Blue) – $15.99
- Smallfry – $15.99
The amiibo can be scanned to access exclusive gear, take photos with them, and to save your character’s gear combinations as Fresh Fits.
Some Splatoon 2 amiibo will be restocked alongside the new ones:
- Callie & Marie 2-pack – $24.99
- Pearl & Marina 2-pack – $24.99
Deep Cut
Replacing Marina and Pearl, the Splatsville hosts from Splatoon 2, are new trio (yes, trio) Deep Cut: Frye, Shiver, and Big Man, who is a stingray. They’re still musicians, so expect to see them perform some of Splatoon 3’s new music, like Anarchy Rainbow. Their music seems notably more festival-themed than the poppy, hip-hoppy stuff from previous games.
Splatfest
Splatfest is back on August 27th, two weeks ahead of Splatoon 3’s launch on the 9th September. Instead of two sides, this time, there will be three…
Three-player Turf Wars
Nintendo appears to have run out of two-sided battles to pit Splatoon players against each other, as the new Turf Wars gimmick in Splatoon 3 is three-sided battles. Turf Wars will now be split into two halves: The first is regular 4-v-4 battles between the three teams, which determines who will start from the centre of the map in the second half, where all three teams compete in the Tricolor Turf War battle as a 4-v-2-v-2 match.
The first Turf War, which is part of the August 27th Splatfest, will allow players to choose between Rock (Shiver’s team), Paper (Frye’s team), and Scissors (Big Man’s team).
Customisable Splashtags & Lockers
Loads of online multiplayer games have some sort of customisable badge system to display your colours, and now Splatoon 3’s getting in on it with Splashtags. These appear before a match, and can be customised with a title (like Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ titles), a background, and a badge. You can also change the emote that your character does upon winning a match.
Your locker, which will appear in the lobby of players you’ve recently played with, can also be customised to display weapons, objects, photos, and more. You can also change the colour of the locker.
Customisation options will appear in the catalogue at Hotlantis, which will offer new items on a regular, seasonal basis every three months for the next two years.
SplatNet 3 app
Splatoon 3 is getting a companion app, called SplatNet 3. It can be accessed through the Nintendo Switch Online app on your phone, which you’ll need a membership for.
SplatNet 3 will give you access to battle records, unique app-only gear, and something called Crusty Sean’s Wandercrust, which appears to be the ability to fund Crusty Sean’s backpacking trip using Inked Points earned through gaining territory in battle.
New minigame: Tableturf Battle
A new mode in Splatoon 3, where players can ditch the ink for cards. Tableturf Battle is a 1-v-1 competitive game where cards are played to “ink” a grid-based battlefield, with over 150 cards to collect.
Anarchy Battles
Anarchy Battles is the new name for Splatoon 2’s Ranked Battle mode. All four rotating ‘rules’ – Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker and Clam Blitz – are returning, and players will be able to compete for the best rankings in these objective-based blast-outs.
If you’re looking to play with friends, you can join Anarchy Battle (Open). But, if you’re thinking of going it alone, theres also Anarchy Battle (Series).
Lobby ghosts and training dummies
You can now see your friends in the lobby as ghosts, which allows you to join their matches, watch what they’re doing, and mess around with them before a match begins. There’s a training area in the lobby, too, which you and your ghosty pals can use to test out weapons and tactics ahead of time.
The lobby also allows you to replay recent battles with the Memory Player. You can fast-forward, switch character view, and send clips to friends.
Post-launch updates
The catalogue of customisation options for lockers and splashtags will be released every three months from launch for two years, and is available to every player for free. New weapons will be added at the same time.
New stages will also be added to the 12 that are available from launch.
Other planned updates include X Battle and League Battle, which allow high-ranking players to go head-to-head with other players that match their abilities.
DLC
Although we have no specifics, Nintendo is planning “large-scale paid DLC” in the future.
Miiverse returns (sort of)
Splatoon 3 will give players the ability to draw small cartoons (or write words, or post memes) and have them be visible in Splatsville to other players… just like Miiverse did. And this time, you can do vertical art, too!
Salmon Run
Up to four players can battle the Salmonids in the returning Salmon Run mode, which can now be played whenever you want.
Boss Salmonids have been added, like Slammin’ Lid and Big Shot, and a super-giant King Salmonid called Cohozuna, who can turn up at the end of a match. Players can defeat this large lad using the new Egg Cannon, which fires out Golden Eggs to deal massive damage.
The Splatoon 3 Direct also promised a new mode called Big Runs in the future, which sees the Salmonids invading Splatsvile itself…
Story Mode: Return of the Mammalians
The single-player Story Mode is perfect for new players to learn the inky ropes, and it concerns the Octarian Army, a group of weird, hairy fishies. You will play as new recruit to the New Squidbeak Splatoon, Agent 3, who is tasked with finding out the secrets behind Alterna, the Fuzzy Ooze.
That’s all for now, but check back with us for all the Splatoon 3 info as it comes in. If you’re already sold on Splatoon 3 and/or the amiibo, make sure to peruse our pre-order guide:
And if you missed the stream, you can read our live blog while watching the video and it’ll be like you were there:
What was your favourite announcement from the Splatoon 3 Direct today? Tell us in the comments!