Over its 130-year life, Nintendo has gone through many different stages, turning from a playing card manufacturer into a toy manufacturer and, finally, into one of the world’s largest video game publishers. Even in the gaming world, Nintendo had several different milestones, most of which revolved around whether it was setting an example for the industry or just following the latest trends. In recent years, with the release of the Nintendo Switch, it seems that the publisher has once again focused on paving its own path, and games like Splatoon 3 are a perfect example of this.
Although Splatoon 3 is a competitive 4—on-4 multiplayer shooter, its modes, weapons and visual style set it apart from the rest of the modern market and give Nintendo a special intellectual property. One of the most anticipated Splatoon 3 modes is a repeat of the Salmon Run Horde mode, first introduced in Splatoon 2. This mode, called Salmon Run: Next Wave, includes a time-limited event that might just give Call of Duty Zombies a run for their money.
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Salmon Run: the big race mode of the next wave
For those who have not played Splatoon’s Salmon Run before, in this mode, a team of players resists the onslaught of salmon, each of which tries to crush the player, destroy his fortifications and defeat him. Players will need to fight off the horde, trying to collect as many golden eggs as possible, which mostly fall out of larger enemies and bosses. It looks like Splatoon 3 will rely heavily on its predecessor’s Salmon Run mode with new weapons, targets and bosses.
In a recent review of Splatoon 3 gameplay, Nintendo hinted at a time-limited special event for this new Salmon Run: Next Wave mode. The event, dubbed Big Run, will apparently take place every few months, and players will see players battle a horde of salmon on a number of regular Splatoon 3 multiplayer maps, from construction sites to shopping mall parking lots.
Big Run can convey the same chaotic feeling as Zombies COD
While all of this is currently shrouded in mystery, the Splatoon 3 Big Run special event may have the potential to reach the same lofty heights as Call of Duty Zombies, which is still widely considered the leading voice when it comes to the horde mode genre. One of the key defining features of CoD Zombies has always been its claustrophobic maps. Even the biggest CoD Zombies cards tend to force players to walk through narrow corridors for the most part, which guarantees a constant sense of danger throughout the round.
The special Big Run event in Splatoon 3 can convey the same intensity as the best CoD Zombies cards. By transferring the salmon invasion to the usual Splatoon 3 multiplayer maps, players will be forced to re-explore the territory and learn to better navigate the arena when a constant stream of enemies floods the territory from all sides. These once vibrant and insane multiplayer maps can easily turn into chaotic, claustrophobic twisty passages where it’s easy to be captured by a horde of salmon. The false sense of security that comes from having played the cards before in a different context can easily give way to perhaps one of the most intense games Splatoon 3 has to offer, and maybe it will just be able to catch the same unmistakable Call. The zombies on duty feel it.
The release of Splatoon 3 for the Nintendo Switch is scheduled for September 9.
