The “Splatfest World Premiere,” which occurred this past Saturday, Aug. 27, was a free demo of the upcoming “Splatoon 3,” which will officially launch on Sept. 9. Running from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., players who downloaded the demo could experience new features, a stunning new world and character, and the return of the iconic Splatfests from “Splatoon 1” and “Splatoon 2.” With new weapons, maps, powerups and an entirely new game mode to play during Splatfest, this demo was a great look into what to expect from “Splatoon 3.”

Splatfests were an iconic part of the “Splatoon” franchise and a fan favorite for a long time. However, “Splatoon 2” removed Splatfests with the “Final Splatfest” that occurred from July 19 through July 21 in 2019. “Splatoon 3” decided to reintroduce Splatfests to the game, which was announced with roaring approval from the fans of the franchise, including myself. Since “Splatoon 3” would introduce three new idols, the announcement of a new and improved Splatfest was as intriguing as it was exciting. 

The “Splatfest World Premiere” featured three teams to choose from, represented by the new idols of the game. Team Rock, represented by the idol “Shiver,” Team Paper, represented by the idol “Frye,” and Team Scissors, represented by the idol “Big Man.” “Splatoon 3” deviates from the typical concept of “Splatoon” idols, having three rather than two. It also introduces the first male idol of the game, Big Man, who is a manta ray.

With three idols introduced instead of the usual two, a new game mode was introduced to Splatfest: the Tricolor Turf War. This new game mode had three teams against each other rather than the two in a typical turf war. It occurs at the halftime point of the Splatfest and gives the two losing teams a chance to dethrone the current winning team. Four players from the winning team spawn in the center of the map, and two players from each of the losing teams spawn on the sides. The goal is to ink the most map with your team’s color. If that were the only goal, it’d be almost impossible for the losing team to win – but this game mode introduces a new mechanic called the “Ultra Signal.” The Ultra Signal spawns in the center of the map and, when collected by a member of the losing teams, creates ink sprinklers across the map to help ink turf. The winning team must defend the Ultra Signal while inking the most turf to win.

This new game mode was extremely fun. I played for Team Rock, which was not the winning team at halftime, so I was one of the teams going for the Ultra Signal. Though I didn’t play for Team Scissors, I heard that defending the Ultra Signal was really challenging, even though they outnumbered the two other teams. Even so, this new game mode was honestly a great addition to Splatfests, as someone who played Splatfests in “Splatoon 1” and “Splatoon 2.”

I am unbelievably excited for “Splatoon 3” to come out. I really think that Nintendo outdid itself with this game and all of the incredible updates and new gameplay. Even seemingly small things like character customization have been improved. It really shows that the people working on this franchise have a lot of passion and love to give. If you are a fan of the first two “Splatoon” games or are looking for something new and unique to play, strongly consider pre-ordering this game so you can play it on release day.