Splatoon 3 reveal trailer leaves us with more questions than answers

After a fairly slow build-up in one of its weirdest trailers yet, Nintendo announced that Splatoon 3 will be coming to Nintendo Switch in 2022.

The trailer, which shows off some of the game’s new customization features, starts with an inkling as it makes its way from the dusty wastelands to a wider city that looks, according to folks on Twitter, like Hong Kong.

Chances are good the area will serve as the new hub world for the game – but it’s not something we’d bet our ink-rollers on at this point.

Speaking of rollers, what we can glean from the trailer, though, is that there will be a few new weapons including a neat bow and arrow that we see in the hands of the inkling. There’s also a new map – a desert with fish bones – that sort of alludes to an ocean-less future dystopia, but again, it’s all anyone’s guess based off this trailer.

Nintendo's long and desolate road to 2022

Considering we’re just two months into 2021, next year is a long ways away – especially if you're Nintendo. The Big N has a few first-party titles between now and then like New Pokémon Snap, Mario Golf: Super Rush and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD but the schedule looks a bit empty after that.

That changed slightly thanks to today’s Nintendo Direct, but it also delivered the bad news that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 still isn’t ready to be shown off yet.

There are some good third-party games coming in the next few months for Nintendo Switch owners like Monster Hunter: Rise and Apex Legends, but it's still looking pretty desolate all things considered.

Hopefully we'll hear some Metroid Prime 4 or Breath of the Wild 2 news at E3 2021 but, if we don't, it could be a long 12 months for Nintendo Switch owners.