Splatoon’s free post-launch content might be a bit misleading

Nintendo has hit a home run with Splatoon. Sure, it's rough around the edges, with features that are either under-developed or just not fully implemented yet, but the gameplay is fantastic. I'm not a shooter fan by any stretch of the imagination, but Splatoon's unique brand of action had me completely hooked.

Nintendo is also heavily praised for promising free content post-launch that will add everything from more modes to more maps to the game. In an age where Season passes rule the post-launch world of video games, it's certainly nice that Nintendo opted for free updates.

But not everything is as it seems. I have a few overarching issues with Splatoon that don't necessarily detract from the fun I have while playing it, but it does make me rather upset with Nintendo and how they handle them.

The post-launch content is more of an apology than a sign of good will

If there is one thing that's extremely apparent from the moment you join an online lobby in Splatoon, it's how little content there actually is, especially when I queued up to the same map four times in a row.

I have a very big suspicion that Nintendo wanted more content in the game, but needed Splatoon to come out as soon as possible. After all, the two biggest first-party Nintendo games that preceded Splatoon were Kirby and the Rainbow Curse in February and Mario Party 10 in March. That's nearly a three month gap.

Had Nintendo held off until later this year, the game could have launched with a ton of extra content, that same content that's now trickling out over time. Instead, to apologize for only offering a few maps and essentially one main game mode that people have to play repeatedly until they reach level 10 and unlock Ranked Battles, the promise is that over time, the game will get bigger.

But therein also lies the problem with the base cost of the game. For $60, 5 maps and 1 main mode doesn't really seem justifiable. Sure, there is single player content, which is actually really fun and very worthwhile to dive into, but the game was always advertised as a multiplayer game first and foremost. The fact that it came with such little amount of content was surprising to say the least.

DLC lockout and actual game cost

This is a perfect segue from talking about the cost of the game, since I'll actually get into what the game really costs if you want the actual full experience. Over the weekend I was lucky enough to find one remaining Splatoon amiibo triple pack, which by the way is the only way you can acquire the green squid amiibo. I visited 6 different stores all to no avail, until a Toys R' Us had a single one left on their counter. And boom, just like that, $35 spent on three plastic figures.

Except these plastic figures added some cool content to the game. Each specific figure has challenges associated with it that task you to complete levels with particular weapons. The squid girl amiibo for example will task you with completely levels using only the sniper rifle, while the green squid is more of a timed challenge, allowing you to transform into the Kraken at will and get through the level as fast as possible.

These challenges were actually really great, and changed up the already fantastic single player levels enough to warrant a return to them. Not to mention, they come with sweet exclusive and pretty powerful gear you can't otherwise obtain just by playing the base game.

The problem then? Amiibo availability of course. The triple pack as of right now is practically nowhere to be found, unless you're lucky and don't live in a city with rabid gamers and collectors. But let's say you could just go out and buy one right now. That brings the total cost of your game to $95, excluding tax.

But since Nintendo can't keep up with the demand for these things, the next place you could turn to is Amazon. However, at that point you're paying almost double the cost. So now you're paying $120 for the full Splatoon experience. You could of course opt to buy all of these individually, and pay almost $35 for the green squid alone. But let's face it, you're smarter than that, right?!

While it's great that Nintendo is actually making amiibos meaningful, attaching DLC style content to them is the bigger issue. With certain amiibo selling out almost immediately upon launch, it's impossible for some to actually use some of that associated DLC. Of course, in the case of games like Mario Kart 8 where all you're getting is a skin for your Mii, it's trivial content. But for games like Splatoon, that actually have substantial amount of gameplay tied to them with worthwhile rewards, it sucks to not have that readily available, for those that actually want to give Nintendo money.

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I will restate that gameplay and mechanics wise, Splatoon is an absolutely fantastic game. It's easily one of the best controling shooters I've played in a while. However, behind Nintendo's seemingly charitable attitude with offering free post content comes a stark truth that maybe it's more of an apology. Nintendo's track record with amiibo shortages just further adds to the problem as it locks out some cool missions and rewards to players who are unable to find and buy the elusive figures.

The point is, be thankful that Nintendo took a gamble on such a quirky new IP, and that it seemingly paid off, but don't let them pull the wool over your eyes completely.