Splatoon 2  finally released, and the reviews have generally been positive. It might not be enough of a huge step-up in terms of new features to justify referring to it as a sequel, but the fact that the game can be played on the go adds a whole new dimension to the Splatoon series. On top of that, this is the game that is spearheading Nintendo's new online services for the Switch. So how does it stack up?

Splatoon 2 has a plethora of online modes and stages, but it is easy enough to go into matches with friends or create your own private battle. You can only use the voice chat feature by creating an online lounge, which allows you to create a private room, and invite people from your social media sites, Switch friend list, or from the people you've played with before. When everyone is in the room, the voice chat feature will be activated, though you will only be able to hear the people on your team.

The voice chat feature does not work if your phone goes into sleep or standby mode. Entering either of those modes will cause the Nintendo Switch Online app to shut off. The best you can do is use the device's battery saving mode to dim the screen. This is advised in order to slow down battery drainage, as the Nintendo Switch Online app requires you to have the screen on. We tested the app with a number of different phones and settings, resulting in an average of 15-18% of battery life lost every hour. This isn't too bad depending on how long you intend to play, though you might want to consider plugging in your phone if it is on low battery. The service is still in its infancy, however, so a future update might be more forgiving in that regard.

The process of starting a match with the voice chat enabled is needlessly complicated and involves waiting around as if you were trying to make a conference call at the office. Nintendo should have included some kind of Bluetooth feature to the Switch that would allow you to use wireless headphones while it was in docked mode, or add an audio jack to the Pro Controller to skip requiring the phone altogether. As it stands, the voice chat only works with people you know and cannot be brought into modes where you are playing with strangers. If you are just going to be playing with people you know, then it would simpler to just use something like Discord to set up voice chat, rather than using the cumbersome app that limits how you play.

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The Nintendo Switch Online app isn't great and is demonstrably worse than what is provided by its competitors. We can only hope that Nintendo put a better foot forward in the future, especially when they want to start charging for the service.

Splatoon 2 and the Nintendo Switch Online app are both available now.