First Splatoon 3 Splatfest Is Free, Coming In August As A Pre-Release Demo

gamespot.com:

Splatoon 3 is releasing on September 9, but you can get an inkling of it this month with a special Splatfest event. As announced in the Splatoon 3 Nintendo Direct, a Splatfest World Premiere will run from August 27 at 9 AM-9 PM PT / 12 PM — 12 AM ET, giving you a chance to try the newly revised multiplayer mode.

The new Splatfests will feature not two but three competing sides. First teams will take part in a standard Turf War battle, but then you'll transfer to a special tri-color Turf War with all three teams battling it out at once. The first-place team will start in the center while the second- and third-place teams will start from opposite corners, forcing the champs to defend their crown. Like all Splatfests, your team choice will be based on your answer to a poll question--in this case: rock, paper, or scissors?

That isn't the only new mode coming to Splatoon 3. The presentation also detailed a card-collecting puzzle game mode called Table Turf Battle, a 1v1 battle where you fill slots on a board with cards that show geometric shapes like Tetriminos. Every player will get a starter deck, and there are 150 cards to collect in all. The cards themselves have arrangements of blocks, and your goal is to win over more territory with your blocks by playing the cards.

The presentation also shared new details on weapons, maps, and more. All of the weapons from previous Splatoon games will be returning, along with a new bow-and-arrow-like weapon called a Stringer, and a melee sword weapon with a charged slash called a Splatana. Three new special weapons are incoming, as well. The Tacticooler is a fridge that releases four buff beverages to take and share with teammates. The Wave Breaker unleashes a pulsing wave that marks