Nintendo is starting off strong regarding its promise to consistently updateSplatoon 2with free DLC. Tomorrow Nintendo will be releasing its first bit of free content in the form of the Inkbrush weapon. Both Nintendo in Japan and Nintendo of Europe have confirmed the DLC’s release within the next 24 hours, and while Nintendo of America has yet to confirm the DLC it’s unlikely still planned.
TheInkbrush DLCisn’t a particularly robust update, but considering the game launched just yesterday, any content release is impressive. And in the grand scheme of things a whole new weapon type is nothing to turn your nose at. The Inkbrush offers an entirely different playstyle than other weapons, replete with Splash Bomb secondary and Splashdown special.
OriginalSplatoonplayers will remember the Inkbrush as a highly mobile and sneaky flanker weapon that when used effectively can rapidly paint a wide area. Like a Roller, the Inkbrush can be used to perpetually paint in a straight line, only thinner and unable to splat targets through contact. The basic Inkbrush attack splatters ink in a wide arc in front of the player, but without too much distance. The lack of a focus attack is why Inkbrush players have avoid face-to-face or ranged combat in favor of flanking.
The Inkbrush is an outstandingaddition toSplatoon 2and it’s great that Nintendo was able to put it out so quickly. The Inkbrush and the Roller both offer players who may struggle with the third-person shooter aspect ofSplatoonan opportunity to find success. The Roller offers a steadier, determined pacing with strength in close combat, while the Inkbrush offers a hurried, sneaky style of play. They’re that much more interesting weapons as a result of the other.
Nintendo has dedicated themselves to improved post-launch support ofSplatoon 2over the originalSplatoon, which still had decent support all things considered. That meansfree DLC packslike the Inkbrush featuring new weapons, stages, and larger content releases that Nintendo’s keeping secret. But it also means improved event support as well, such as how Nintendo has already promised two years ofSplatfest events, where as the firstSplatoon’s Splatfests sputtered out after just a year.
Expect more post-launch content announcements in the near future, whether they be weapon and map DLC, Splatfests, or something even more surprising.
Splatoon 2is available now exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. The free Inkbrush DLC should be available by tomorrow morning, barring an as yet unannounced delay for North America.
