Splatoon 2 Splatfests return with a redo of the original Mayo vs. Ketchup battle

Splatoon 2 is coming out of semi-retirement with a surprise Splatfest redux and a balance patch, just when you thought you'd inked your last piece of turf.

Nintendo revealed the "bonus one-off Splatfest" on its official Nintendo Versus Twitter account. Its theme is Mayo vs. Ketchup, and it's a redo of the first official Splatoon 2 Splatfest (though Cake vs. Ice Cream came first, it was for a demo rather than the full game). The surprise Splatfest will begin on Friday, May 22, and run for 24 hours.

Mayo emerged victorious in the original August 2017 event according to the official tally, but fans have since found that Ketchup would have clinched the victory if worldwide category results were pooled - as they were for later international Splatfests - rather than being broken down by region. This new Splatfest will finally settle the score with a fresh tally.

Nintendo previously held that the Order vs. Chaos Splatfest held in July 2019 would be the Splatoon 2 battle to end all battles, and no other Splatfests have occurred since Chaos won the three-day event. This surprise Splatfest reappearance proves that even more so than order and chaos, mayo and ketchup are universal constants in eternal opposition.

The balance patch, which first started rolling out last week, mostly consists of nerfs for weapons and abilities that Nintendo found were overperforming in high-ranked play. The game will also force players who frequently disconnect to wait longer to find their next match, with an increasing penalty for more disconnects.

The Ninjala beta coming next week is getting me excited to dip back into that candy-coated competition vibe on Switch, so this Splatfest redux could hardly have come at a better time.

See what else you have to look forward to with our guide to upcoming Switch games.