Nintendo completely reimagined the largely homogenous third-person shooter genre with its Splatoon series. In it, the player does not shoot enemies, he/she inks them while covering the field in the player’s ink. With a 90s punk rock squid theme, Splatoon and Splatoon 2 earn a unique feel and gameplay style that differentiate themselves from common third-person shooters such as Call of Duty, Doom, Halo, etc. With the introduction of Splatoon 2, this zany series boasts a robust horde mode called Salmon Run. In it, teams of four players ink salmonids to earn bonuses of small eggs, but ultimately strive to defeat boss salmonids to reap golden eggs. Each of Salmon Run’s three rounds increase in difficulty and require a set number of golden eggs to progress and earn in-game rewards. Salmon Run incorporates a plethora of intelligent design choices that keep gameplay fresh and entertaining.
Constant gameplay variety
To prevent one round from mirroring another, Salmon Run continually diversifies its level gameplay to keep players engaged. Tides randomly raise or lower at the start of rounds, thereby affecting how players engage the level’s geography. High tide results in less land and more constricted gameplay with the risk of being overwhelmed by enemies, while low tide results in greater coordination and movement to target enemies effectively. Sometimes fog overtakes the stage, resulting in less visibility and a greater emphasis on communication. Canons are occasionally operable to take down powerful boss salmonids from a distance. The weapons for Salmon Runs are also randomly assigned, resulting in constant adaptability of play styles. Rollers cover the floor in ink, chargers snipe bosses from a distance, dualies execute close-corners fighting, etc. These many game mechanics introduce variety to Salmon Run’s stages that keeps the player engrossed in gameplay.
While these many mechanics improve gameplay variety, one stands above the rest: boss salmonid diversity. Salmon Run’s ten bosses dramatically differ in terms of moveset and gameplay impact. The sneaky Drizzlers cause an inky area of effect attack that drowns the playfield in opposing ink, the deadly Maws lurks below to snap up inattentive players in one strike, and the dangerous Flyfish fires far-away rockets toward the player. Each boss requires a different approach for both survival and assault. Pairing this strategy with the tempting risk-reward system of defeating boss salmonids to earn more golden eggs cultivates into an exasperatingly thrilling time. By infusing continually changing elements into its level and boss design, Salmon Run keeps every battle fresh and surprising.
Task interdependence
One of the most influential factors in preventing social loafing is task interdependence, the interweaving of individual work to establish a team effort. Salmon Run adopts such task interdependence in its gameplay to make every player accountable for supporting the team. Some bosses, such as the Flyfish, are best taken down with multiple players working together. To prevent the entire squad from being defeated, teammates should revive fallen comrades with ink; thus, no player is rewarded by completely separating him/herself from others. This system of group accountability introduces a need to not only rely upon others but let others rely upon oneself. Perhaps a Maverick strategy encourages a player to rush into the enemy fray. Such bold gambits succeed only when teammates can cover or revive the lead player. Additionally, a constant desire to help teammates down the line encourages the player to lay ink wherever possible. Executing tasks interdependently naturally results from Salmon Run’s extreme difficulty, thereby keeping players engaged in gameplay and supportive of teammates.
Task individuation
Not to be confused with task similarity, task individuation refers with each member of a team possessing a unique approach to problem-solving. In terms of Splatoon 2’s Salmon Run, task individuation propels gameplay diversity and instills a sense of urgency within the player due to his/her unique weapon. Although every team member has the same goal of collecting golden eggs, each member’s weapon assignment shapes how that goal is executed. For example, the player executes a profoundly different set of strategies when equipped with the sniping charger as compared to the technical dualies. Thus, each player on a team retains a special and valuable approach to collect golden eggs. Considering that weapons are randomly assigned at the start of Salmon Run’s three rounds, the player can enjoy several playstyles each game. Once the player recognizes his/her special role in attaining golden eggs, he/she commits to that strategy. This commitment results in heightened attention to maximize gameplay. By allocating individual roles to each player, Salmon Run creates a stimulating sense of responsibility that drives gameplay and enjoyment.
Player ranking system
Salmon Run incorporates a simple ranking system that boasts powerful ramifications. Each game punishes or rewards the player based off its four possible outcomes: the player loses in the first round, second round, third round, or not at all. Each round progresses in difficulty and chaos. Round one is the easiest, and brutally punishes the player’s loss in it by dramatically decreasing their ranking. Upon losing in the second round, players suffer from a smaller rank decrease. Once the second round is won, players are safe because losses in the third round do not negatively affect the player; instead, they result in no changes to the player’s rank. Only by winning the third round does the player enjoy a massive increase in rank. With this addictive risk-reward system, players are motivated to try “one more time” for a big win. To add further stakes, players are additionally punished upon losing several games in a row. Even though player rank affects game difficulty, with higher ranks resulting in harder scenarios, player rank is a mostly arbitrary sense of satisfaction in the player. The Peter Principle states that people succeed until they cannot overcome a certain difficulty; however, this ranking system encourages the player to improve and excel beyond initial limits. Thus, gameplay provides desirable difficulties that expand playtime. Salmon Run’s crafty use of its player ranking system motivates the player with deliciously daunting difficulty and significant ramifications to gameplay.
Constant decision-making
Salmon Run is not a traditional tactical game, such as Chess, where each player possesses a theoretically limitless amount of time to fully articulate a gameplay decision. While these approaches are a joy to savor in many franchises, the real-time strategy nature of Salmon Run engenders countless decision-making opportunities that engage the player. Each round has three minutes, and, as previously noted, an unbelievably large amount of iterations are possible. Should the player defeat a small batch of salmonids, scope the area for a boss salmonid, cover the field in ink for future movement, team up with another player to take down a boss salmonid, etc. In addition to these choices looming throughout a round’s overall duration, the player quickly calculates such alternatives every few seconds. Even a decision as simple as choosing to move to one side of the map or another robustly affects a round’s overall progression. Rather than being burdened burdened, the player is constantly tasked with executing numerous smaller decisions to enact their larger goal. These myriad of choices seamlessly maintain the player’s dedication to a game, thereby making each game a powerfully felt experience.
One tragic flaw
Despite these many valuable and important gameplay mechanics that champion Splatoon 2’s Salmon Run as a gripping and exhilarating experience, one terrible mechanic terribly sours it: restricted play times. In efforts to concentrate player activity, Splatoon 2 only allows players to enjoy Salmon Run during specific timeframes. This mechanic results in players worldwide not being able to play Salmon Run about one-third of the time. Not only is this feature insulting to players who pay for and subsequently deserve a game’s entire experience, it is illogical because only four people are needed for one game of Salmon Run. Four people across the entire world are not challenging to assemble in one of Nintendo’s most popular games (Splatoon 2 has currently over seven million copies worldwide). Even if Nintendo aims to prioritize matching geographically closer players to reduce gameplay lag and similarly ranked players to produce a fair challenge for every player involved, there is no excuse for arbitrarily restricting access to an enjoyable feature for which players paid to receive.
Conclusion
Despite its terrible time restriction mechanic, Splatoon 2’s Salmon Run is one of the most enrapturing and absorbing delights. Its complexity, chaos, structure, bosses, and look all craft a uniquely mesmerizing player experience that separates itself from the typical third-person shooter genre. Although there are many horde modes in the sea, few showcase the rich gameplay and thrills of Salmon Run. Booyah!
댓글