Nintendo revealed the “bonus one-off Splatfest” on its official Nintendo Versus Twitter account. Its theme is Mayo vs. Ketchup, and it’s a redo of the first official Splatoon 2 Splatfest (though Cake vs. Ice Cream came first, it was for a demo rather than the full game). The surprise Splatfest will begin on Friday, May 22, and run for 24 hours.

It’s a #Splatoon2 #Splatfest so contentious we have to do it twice! #TeamMayo and #TeamKetchup are back and it’s up to you to determine which sauce is the boss!This bonus one-off Splatfest kicks off 5/22 at 3pm PT and ends 5/24 at 3pm PT. pic.twitter.com/n5Ar6EUkJ0April 22, 2020

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Mayo emerged victorious in the original August 2017 event according to the official tally, but fans have since found that Ketchup would have clinched the victory if worldwide category results were pooled – as they were for later international Splatfests – rather than being broken down by region. This new Splatfest will finally settle the score with a fresh tally.

Nintendo previously held that the Order vs. Chaos Splatfest held in July 2019 would be the Splatoon 2 battle to end all battles (opens in new tab), and no other Splatfests have occurred since Chaos won the three-day event. This surprise Splatfest reappearance proves that even more so than order and chaos, mayo and ketchup are universal constants in eternal opposition.

The balance patch (opens in new tab), which first started rolling out last week, mostly consists of nerfs for weapons and abilities that Nintendo found were overperforming in high-ranked play. The game will also force players who frequently disconnect to wait longer to find their next match, with an increasing penalty for more disconnects.

The Ninjala beta (opens in new tab) coming next week is getting me excited to dip back into that candy-coated competition vibe on Switch, so this Splatfest redux could hardly have come at a better time.

See what else you have to look forward to with our guide to upcoming Switch games (opens in new tab). 

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Every other Splatfest let players pledge their support for fairly neutral concepts like Cats vs. Dogs or Burgers vs. Pizza, then determined the victorious side by tallying the results of Turf War battles. Splatoon’s last Splatfest asked players to pledge their allegiance to either Callie or Marie. Marie won the day in all three online territories, but it was just in good fun, right? Maybe not…

#Splatoon2 Fans! Find out what happened between Callie & Marie after the final Splatfest in #SquidSisters Stories: https://t.co/OQecEO6APH pic.twitter.com/JDkOSSOxo6April 25, 2017

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The prologue (opens in new tab) for Splatoon 2’s “Squid Sisters Stories” is surprisingly downcast for a game about shooting ink guns and buying cool clothes. Distant memories and better times, it reminisces, before arriving at the last night of the final Splatfest.

“The showdown of Callie versus Marie ended in victory for Marie, but there was no ill will between the two. The girls left the studio arm in arm, smiling and laughing as they always had. The bond between them would continue, unbroken, for years to come. Or so it seemed at the time…”

Hold the phone. Is Nin “Friend Codes” Tendo actually going to let the player-determined conclusion of an online event profoundly influence the story of its upcoming game? That would be so, so fresh. Between The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (opens in new tab), the “just works” hybrid sensibility of Nintendo Switch, and these clever ideas for Splatoon 2, the company’s latest console generation has already been full of pleasant surprises.

Although… you don’t think that being spurned by the inkling masses caused Callie to go over to the evil octoling side, do you? I don’t know if my heart could stand a War Between the Squid Sisters.

The post Splatoon 2s teasing a rift between the Squid Sisters… and ITS ALL OUR FAULT appeared first on Game News.

Nintendo revealed during its Nintendo Direct presentation today that in addition to the usual competitive modes that fans have come to know and love, Splatoon 2 will also feature a 4-player, co-op horde mode called “Salmon Run.” Apparently those octopi from the first game aren’t the only aquatic lifeforms making a mess, and you need to defend yourself from waves of approaching Salmon. Yeah, it’s weird, but it’s also cute, so I’m down.

Check it all out in action below:

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