Splatoon 2 global testfire kicks off soon on the Switch

Ready to get splashed in Splatoon 2? One of the biggest titles scheduled to hit the Nintendo Switch is about to get a global “testfire”.

Paint-guns ready

The original Splatoon was a pretty great surprise on the Wii U. A fresh IP from Nintendo, Splatoon took arena-style, shooter combat and played a cartoony gloss on it, all of which equated to something pretty darn fun. Heck, I don’t even like online shooters, but I was into Splatoon for a good chunk of time. So honestly, I’m excited for another go.

If you are too, then you’ll be happy to know that your chance to get in on what’s going to basically be a globally available demo is almost here. The event kicks off this weekend, opening on the 24th of March and coming to a close on the 26th.

Getting in on things is easy as pie; all you need to do is to download the demo. After that, you can log on and play any time during the demo periods. Wait, periods? Yes, that’s right, this isn’t a demo that you can just wail away on, you’ll be presented with specific times that you can play. Oh, and you have to be online too – no offline stuff for this one.

Here are the specifics, including the hows and whens:

1.DOWNLOAD THE FREE DEMO: Just head to Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch and download the Global Testfire demo before playing. It won’t cost you any snails.

2.MARK YOUR CALENDARS: With ink, of course. Here are the times you can play to get tentacle-on time with Splatoon 2 before it launches:

• March 24: 12-12:59 p.m. PT
• March 24: 8-8:59 p.m. PT
• March 25: 4-4:59 a.m. PT
• March 25: 12-12:59 p.m. PT
• March 25: 8-8:59 p.m. PT
• March 26: 4-4:59 a.m. PT

Also, it has come to our attention that the fine folks in the Nintendo Treehouse will be livestreaming Splatoon 2 gameplay during the first Global Testfire event on March 24between noon and 12:59 p.m. PT. Tune in to http://live.nintendo.com to watch!

3.IN THE LAB OR ON-THE-GO: With the first Splatoon game, you had to conduct important cephalopod research from the comfort of your own lab. But with Splatoon 2 on Nintendo Switch, you can take the messy action anywhere you go that has a Wi-Fi connection. Maybe you want to choose an untraditional location to participate in the Global Testfire. It’s up to you!

4.GET PRIMED WITH A CONTROL & WEAPON OVERVIEW: Research can be conducted with either a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller or Joy-Con controllers. Splat Dualies are a new weapon type, while mainstays like the Splat Roller and Splat Charger have been remixed to allow for new battle strategies.

5.CAPTURE YOUR RESEARCH: An important step in the scientific method is to make observations. We recommend capturing your findings with the Capture button on the Joy-Con or Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, then later sharing it with your peers in the scientific community (or if you’re like our intern, use Facebook or Twitter). When publishing your research, please use the octothorp symbol (#) followed by “Splatoon2” or “Testfire.”