Splatoon 3 art is our first new tease since the big February reveal

A new piece of Splatoon 3 art from Nintendo is like an oasis in the desert for fans who have been waiting for more news since the game was announced.

Nintendo revealed the new Splatoon 3 art in a Tweet that conveys happy summer wishes from the Splatoon 3 team. The illustration shows a group of Inklings and Octolings posed out in the sandy wastes of the Splatlands: the Inkling in the foreground is the very same one we followed on their journey past an upside down Eiffel tower, onto a train, and into the streets of Splatsville in the Splatoon 3 reveal trailer - looks like they're sticking with that cool new bow-like ink weapon, and who could blame them? It's rad.

The other characters in the art show some more of the character options you'll be able to choose for your very own turf warrior; for instance, this is the first time in series history we've been able to play as both Inklings and Octolings (those are the ones with round ears, unconnected eyes, and suckers on the outside of their hair) right from the start.

Octolings were previously only featured as enemies in Splatoon single-player campaigns, until they were finally made playable through a Splatoon 2 DLC expansion. It still makes me a little misty-eyed to see these cephalopod youths come together to share fashion tips and their favorite pastime - blasting every horizontal surface with colorful ink - without care for the prejudices of their elders. I'm also super into Splatoon's post-apocalyptic sea creature lore, which is probably not a coincidence.

Splatoon 3 was first announced in the February 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation, revealing the new setting for the game as determined by the events of Splatoon 2's final Splatfest: Chaos prevailed over Order, and as such we're departing the familiar streets of Inkopolis for the cluttered avenues of Splatsville. We're still looking forward to Splatoon 3 arriving in 2022, but hopefully we don't have to wait until next year to hear any more about the game.

See what else we're looking forward to from Nintendo with our guide to upcoming Switch games.