Nintendo Direct Live: Splatoon 2 and Nintendo Switch Surprises

It's time! Listen up, kids and squids: Splatoon 2 is right around the corner. The sequel to Nintendo's flagship team shooter launches on Nintendo Switch on July 21, and today Nintendo is giving us an in-depth look at the game and all of its exciting new features. Tune in above, where you can expect to see all of the available game modes, some new weapons, multiplayer details, and additional information regarding future DLC. Who knows... Maybe we can even look forward to a big surprise this morning.

Okay, so this is a straight-up Splatoon 2 Direct, so don't expect any bombshell announcements of a surprise Pikmin or Paper Mario game for the Switch. There will be future Directs where we can look forward to new game announcements, but today we're celebrating Splatoon, and I am so okay with that. For those of you who are diving into the world of Splatoon for the first time, I truly envy the fun and surprises that you have ahead of you.

Splatoon is a team based third-person shooter developed by Nintendo where teams of four face off, one against another, using a huge arsenal of inventive weapons. We're not shooting bullets in Splatoon, we're shooting colorful, glowing, neon-tinted ink. Your goal is not to eliminate players, rather the goal is to cover as much ground (or 'turf') with your team's ink before time runs out. Of course, the other team will be trying to do the exact same thing, and if you get shot and taken out, you'll have to wait a few seconds to respawn while you helplessly watch your assailant cover all of that precious ground with ink while you sit and watch.

Things get very competitive, very quickly. While it may look cute, colorful, and "Nintendo" from the outside, it only takes a few rounds of Splatoon before its sinks its hooks in deep and you start caring very deeply about your win and loss ratio.

More than anything, I'm glad that Splatoon 2 is headed to a console that's selling like crazy because I can't wait for guaranteed competition. On the Wii U, I rocketed up to S rank in competitive play and tasted what true competitive Splatoon can look and feel like. You guys are just two weeks away from getting to experience the thrill of turf war for yourselves.

The cherry on top? The single-player campaign in the first Splatoon was incredible, and featured some of the best boss fights I've played in all my years of gaming. The characters are brilliantly realized, the in-game culture is storied and believable, and the music is original and catchy. Let's enjoy the Direct together, and if there are any big announcements, you better believe we'll get you updated right away.

Stay tuned!