Here’s an interesting development. Unfortunately, it looks like the Splatoon 2 voice chat drama is running deeper than everyone originally thought. A user on NeoGAF made a strange discovery when utilizing Splatoon 2 ’s LAN mode to play local multiplayer with some friends. As it turns out, despite the hoops players have to jump through to get voice chat going in online play, the game (and the Switch) natively support microphones. Whoops!
Here’s how it works. Generally, with local multiplayer, Switches connect to each other wirelessly by default. However, you can also activate LAN mode, usually with some input combination. In this case, pressing L+R+left stick in the Shoal lobby for a few seconds swaps the game to LAN mode. Generally with LAN mode, you’ll get a more stable connection between players.
NeoGAF user PetrCobra was playing LAN Splatoon 2 with some friends, one of whom happened to have a microphone on their headphones. They were quickly surprised to hear his voice through the game’s sound once they started playing. Normally, you have to go through the Nintendo Switch Online app to use voice chat, and using a headset requires an infamously complicated setup.
Source: NeoGAF