Splatoon players have chosen the best hub area in the series

Every Splatoon game has offered a selection of cool maps to splat across, but before the Inklings and Octolings can get there, they have to start in a hub area. Splatoon had Inkopolis Plaza, Splatoon 2 had Inkopolis Square, and Splatoon 3 has Splatsville. These are places where the series’ various idols hang out and where players can share fun messages with each other. But which one is the best?

That’s the question that ResetEra member ScOULaris posed on the popular gaming forum. As of the time of this writing, Splatoon 3’s Splatsville is running away with the poll results, with more than half of all votes. Just over a quarter of voters chose Splatoon 2’s Inkopolis Square, while the remaining votes went to the first game’s Inkopolis Plaza. There might be some recency bias at play there, but Splatsville voters gave a few different reasons for their choice. For Dyle, it’s because it’s “the only one that feels like a place that could be in a real city.” TGB86 has similar reasoning, saying that “it’s just so vibrant and full of life.”

There are definitely plenty of shenanigans to get up to in Splatsville. There’s a variety of shops and important locations to visit: Ammo Knights for weapons, multiple clothing stores, and a lobby space where you can launch multiplayer matches and customize your locker. Those lockers can be pretty funny themselves, adding to the overall Splatsville experience.

Plenty of voting happens within Splatsville itself — that’s how Splatfests work, after all. In fact, this hub location poll would be perfect for Splatoon 3’s new Tricolor Turf Wars, which pit three different teams against each other based on their vote. Between Inkopolis Plaza, Inkopolis Square, and Splatsville, the perfect trio of options have already presented themselves. The most recent iteration of this competition asked players what they’d bring to a deserted island: Gear, Grub, or Fun. That first option won the Splatfest, for anyone who’s curious.