Early Christmas presents: ‘Splatoon 2’ updates add more items, ‘Clam Blitz’ mode

On Thursday, November 23 — that’s Thanksgiving in the United States — Splatoon 2 will receive a new stage for the Salmon Run mode called “Salmonid Smokeyard,” as well as items and hairstyles for the Inkling characters. The new items include winter clothing so your squid kid will be warm when it starts snowing, and new music will even make its way to the game.

The following day, the stage “MakoMart” will arrive to competitive multiplayer — it’s a giant superstore that lets you tase another customer so you can get that new 4K television. Later on, the new stage “Shellendorf Institute” will arrive to the game, as will the original Splatoon stages “Walleye Warehouse” and “Arowana Mall.” Other changes arriving in the update include a level 99 cap in place of the current limit of 50, new Amiibo functionality, and the ability to swap gear without exiting to the lobby — this should help to keep teams of players together for multiple matches.

The update we’re really excited about, however, arrives in mid-December. This update includes the new competitive “Clam Blitz” mode, which tasks teams with collecting clams and throwing them into a basket near the enemy team’s base. Before being able to score points, the teams must break through a protective barrier using an item called a “Power Clam.” The mode seems to be similar to Salmon Run in its basic format, but being competitive rather than cooperative should make for some interesting matches.

Splatoon 2 has some multiplayer competition on the Switch now that Doom has arrived, but we’re confident the game’s player base will hold steady. In our review, we called the game “a remarkable multiplayer shooter with all the style, attention to detail, and polish that we’ve come to expect from Nintendo.” It’s available exclusively on Nintendo Switch, while the original game is only on Wii U.