Splatoon 3
It’s another sequel for one of the brightest shooters around… but does the Switch’s new paintballing bonanza have enough to keep you splatting away?
Splatoon isn’t like other multiplayer shooters. Instead of accuracy or kills, it’s more concerned with how much of each map you can cover in your team’s coloured ink.
That formula hasn’t changed in Splatoon 3, with each match three minutes of messy chaos that’s over before things ever get too heated. As well as its signature Turf Wars mode, in which two teams of four compete for dominance with spray-guns, paint-rollers and a new bow-style weapon, there’s also Salmon Run, where your job is to farm golden eggs while fighting off hordes of fishy foes. Unlike in Splatoon 2, Salmon Run is no longer only available to play at certain times, plus you can now lob eggs instead of carrying them all the way to the basket, which makes for more improved pacing.
Single-player modes are rarely a main draw for multiplayer-based shooters, but the campaign in Splatoon 3 has largely improved from its predecessors. In some ways, missions feel like glorified obstacle courses, sometimes focusing on a particular mechanic from the core game; but some of these gimmicks, notably the new Zipcaster grappling ability, work much better as the focus of a single-player level than as a special ability in Turf Wars.
Unfortunately, this latest version of Splatoon still lags behind other online shooters when it comes to the actual online experience. The new lobby system is still restrictive, and it retains a rigid structure where you either match with complete randoms or must have a full team of friends at all times. Nintendo’s own online app is also underwhelming when it comes to voice chat.
Yet these grumbles aren’t serious enough to spoil the joyous, paint-splattered essence of a match – and with at least two years of post-launch content promised, including the always exciting Splatfest events to galvanise the player base, there’s plenty to ensure Splatoon 3 will stay fresh for a while.
Alan Wen