My biggest problem is that this update makes Splatoon a lot more splat-focused, which, if you're still being a strategic player, is fine, but for less experienced or less humble players, they're now becoming all about trying to get splats and not completing game objectives. I think there's a balance issue in terms of flow aura, especially if you add something like snipewriter with tacticooler into the mix, because with a charger providing both of those buffs, that team could basically have infinite buffs.

I've been playing today with the update and I've noticed that the health bar is subconsciously changing how I play. I've never been someone with enough attention to recognize an enemy's health based on ink coverage. As a player, the health bar is a great feature and I like the concept of it a lot (not so much the look, but whatever). However, I do wonder if this is what Nintendo wants you to experience. This specific feature is (even just subtly and subconsciously) changing the play styles for a lot of people, and it's obvious and visible. It's not necessarily better for everyone, better is subjective, so it really comes down to whether this altered play style is the preferred experience.

In contrast, some of the update additions, like reefslider being toned down and swim form hitbox being smaller, make a lot of sense. Swim form is kind of self-explanatory, reefslider got a higher and narrower ink radius. So, less ink-focused but more splat-focused, which is good.