Splatoon 2

Mild overall intensity
Highest flag: Violence — cartoon/stylized
Party/CasualSci-fiShooter

What's in it

Violence cartoon/stylized
Low

Stylized, bloodless combat where squid-kid characters shoot colored ink to cover turf and 'splat' opponents, who simply respawn; no blood, injury, or gore.

Who can reach your kid

User-created content

What it is

Splatoon 2 is a colorful team-based third-person shooter for the Nintendo Switch in which players control Inklings—squid-human characters who fire colored ink instead of bullets. Online matches are usually four-versus-four contests to cover the most ground in your team's ink; hitting an opponent 'splats' them harmlessly back to their starting point with a burst of ink, and there is no blood, injury, or gore. A single-player campaign and a co-op 'Salmon Run' mode are also included. In-game communication with strangers is very limited: there is no open text chat and no in-game voice chat (voice was offered only through a separate Nintendo phone app), though players can post drawings and short messages that appear in the game's shared plaza. The game has no microtransactions, loot boxes, or real-money purchases.

How it's framed

The game frames its conflict as a friendly, sporty turf-war competition rather than lethal combat—characters shoot paint-like ink, and being hit is a temporary setback, not death or harm. The tone is upbeat, fashion-focused, and cartoonish throughout.

Details

Developer
Nintendo EPD
Publisher
Nintendo
Released
2017-07-21
Metacritic 83critic score (third-party) · out of 100

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