Splatoon 3 Review: Chaotic Refreshing Fun (Switch)

Nintendo’s color filled sea of a shooter, Splatoon gets rough and tough in its latest entry, Splatoon 3. With new weapons, maps, gear and modes, it’s a fishing frenzy of Inktastic content. There have been tons of discussions about whether or not the game is just Splatoon “2.5”. Through this review I look to answer the question of whether or not the game is worth being its own thing. Spoilers it is!

Splatoon 3 is now available on Nintendo Switch for $59.99. The game will be receiving future updates in the near future so look forward to more inked content. If you’re looking for more on the ins-and-outs of splatting it up, check out some of our other Splatoon 3 content:

• Splatoon 3: Table Turf Battle Guide 
• Splatoon 3 Everything You Need To Know About Abilities 
• Splatoon 3: How To Get More Conch Shells And Shell-Out Machine Rewards

Story

Here I will cover the Hero Mode, Return of the Mammalians. In this part I will be going in-depth into the story. You should Super Jump past this if you have yet to finish it. As well as the sound section as some of the music in Hero Mode is too good to leave out!

SPOILERS AHEAD  

The “Epic Finale of the Splat-astic Saga” in the Nintendo Direct presentation, the Hero Mode sets out to be a grand yet dynamic way to teach new players basic mechanics and weapons. It all starts off with a section directly calling back to the kinds of Hero Modes 1 and 2 had. This was a great way to remove players’ worries that this would just be more of the same. Having DJ Octavio being the first boss rather than the final due to not having the power of the Great Zapfish is genius story and game design!

The New Squidbeak Splatoon!

The main draw of the Hero Mode to me is the puzzle/mini challenge-like levels. Each level uses the gameplay and weapons in such a creative and engaging way. Take for example the Zipcaster levels, these are designed specifically around the grappling hook ninja special. They are stand-out levels as they let you make use of what only that special can do.

I was worrying that the Hero Mode would be a cake walk due to how its goal is to teach the new players the game. Luckily the levels having a puzzle focus, it was still engaging for a veteran like me throughout the entire ride! One complaint I do have is that it does just feel like a sequel to the DLC Story Mode from Splatoon 2 level-wise. Although this is less of a complaint as just like that DLC, these levels are so innovative and interesting that I never wanted to stop playing them.

The Climax of Mammals VS Marines

The story side of Hero Mode has me a lot more mixed. While it is a good single player story mode, there’s just little bits of context that have loose ties and left me questioning what happened after. The Alterna Logs dish out the main lore. Despite these being very interesting, the lore that explains a lot of the story is locked behind a post-game level. The story consists of you just going from world to world with no real goal other than searching for Captain Cuttlefish and the Zapfish. This makes the narrative feel quite bland at times as you are just progressing for the opportunity to search more. Alternatively, due to how the levels have the incentive of getting rid of all the Fuzzy Ooze is what keeps you absorbed in the game. The level design and creative elements are imbued with fun.

The climax of the story is the best part of it all, they really pulled out all the stops. From climbing up a rocket to fighting a huge bear in outer space, I never could have predicted how strong the end would be. While Mr.Grizz being an actual bear is disappointing in once sence the lore behind it makes up for it, being some interesting information. So does the boss fight with him, where else will you fight a giant bear in space to decide the fate of the world? 

The addition of the Little Buddy Smallfry was exciting to see in the reveal trailer. In execution though, it kind of feels like something they tagged on at last minute. Lil’ Buddy is essentially a sub weapon that is used for albeit creative puzzles, other than this it adds basically nothing to the game. Even at the ending the story still could have worked without the Hugefry, the only thing Lil’ Buddy does is act cute. I’ll give Nintendo that, they did that well! I do always feel like a monster when that X death marker comes up.

Characters

The wacky world of the game wouldn’t be complete without its own wacky set of characters. From Jellyfish to Anemones the aquatic world of the game never disappoints with creative and well-designed characters. Some of the favorites are the new shopkeepers such as Harmony and Mr. Coco, and their designs are so contrasting, and I love that as it reflects how each one is a unique character selling unique things. It’s so refreshing to see something as simple as this as many modern games reuse the same generic character form. Whether that be human or not. 

The new idol group Deep Cut all have great personality and even better inspirations. I love the Brazilian Indian Japanese combination that Shiver, Frye and Big Man bring. Their music is already some of the series best due to the amount of culture behind it. Design-wise I also love each of them although sometimes I do feel like Shiver and Frye are just Pearl and Marina 2. But with a more family friends’ relationship. I love each one of them and the Hero Mode really helps in making them be amazing characters right out of the gate. Despite this being their first appearance they already have so much charm and background that makes them more than just this game’s idol group. 

Splatting It Up In Style

Gameplay

Having a focus of re-inventing the shooter genre with a kid friendly vibe has always been Splatoon’s strong point. The gameplay hasn’t changed much from Splatoon 2, it is now more refined and tweaked to fix the majority of issues. Inking turf and splatting opponents has never felt better, due to how such small changes like a smoother camera and better motion controls just add the extra topping to the squid cake.

Touching on the basics of Splatoon’s gameplay, the fun of 4v4 turf wars feels as chaotic as ever. On top of that chaos is a touch of everything being inked up to the max. The main goals are still just ink as much of the map as you can while claiming your opponent’s turf. It is such a refreshing mode in a shooter as you can be a complete pacifist and still win! Some modes have gotten improvements such as Rainmaker now having checkpoints which is a huge upgrade. While not a lot of the core gameplay has been changed this is for the better as this has now been refined over the course of 3 games.

The new mechanics: the Squid Surge and Roll while very situational add even more potential and depth to the gameplay. They give you the chance to have more movement options than ever before. Both of these feel intuitive to use and just fit with the gameplay so well. The new spawning mechanics are interesting with how you no longer are 100% safe in your spawn. However, from experience this leads spawn camping to be more common and much easier to do. This is due to the armor you get being very easy to shred, especially by the weapons that are usually pushing the spawn areas.

Stages and weapons from Splatoon 1 and 2 return and in their best forms yet. Some weapons do feel a bit overpowered in their current state such as the Sloshing Machine and certain weapons being able to hit below platforms. Tenta Missiles returning is concerning for the future and the REEF-LUX 450 being a missile spammer shows this. Certain maps such as Mahi-Mahi Resort need a little redesign due to how the respawning mechanics work in the smaller maps.

Looking Into The Bustling Horizon

What’s new?

There’s plenty of new stages and weapons, the Splatanas and Stringers are unique new classes. Unfortunately, the fact that the 2 Stringers and Splatanas are the only 4 new main weapons make the game feel like it’s lacking new ones. The special weapons in Splatoon 3 make up for this luckily! They feel so powerful and strong and each one has a lot of potential while still being so much inking fun to use! I love the Tri-zooka, despite being a shell of the power of what it used to be, it has tons of strategy behind it that makes landing those shots feel so satisfying.

The new stages are designed well for Turf War. In contrast, some of their Ranked layouts are “interesting” to say the least. An example is Scorch Gorge in Splat Zones, this map feels awful due to how hard it is to escape the middle area once you have dropped. Backing up is basically impossible here. This is a tiny gripe though as a majority of the new stages have designs that work well with the gameplay.

More stages are being added regularly which is nice to get rid of the repetitiveness the current rotations have. Something that feels a bit outdated is the map rotations. Every 2 hours each mode will have two maps rotated in and out. Which means that the player will only have those two maps to play on in that mode. This isn’t that big of a deal here in Splatoon 3, however, as there are currently 3 different rotations to choose from so players have lots of choice and options. Not to mention the plethora of other things that fills this game to the brim with content. That is one thing I personally love about the game, no matter what there will always be something for me to do!

There’s also a brand-new mode, Table Turf Battle! This card minigame version of Turf War is super addicting. You have to take up more squares on the map using your deck of cards. Each card has a shape of blocks that resembles the character, weapon or brand it is based on. This is just so cute! It adds even more for the player to do as it has its own set of unlockables and levels. It’s a mode that I found will leave you itching for more.

Speaking of Unlockables the game features a new reward system that is essentially a free battle pass, the Catalogue. By earning EXP from playing online, the Catalogue gives you a range of rewards every level for 100 levels. Even after finishing this, you will get a another that gives you 100 levels with 10 mystery boxes. That’s what is so great about playing is that there is so much unlock. The game isn’t shy about rewarding you for investing time into it! There are hundreds of customization options, from lockers to name tags to gear. The character you create will feel extra unique with how open the character customization is. Additionally, all the extra little bits that you can also customize just add that extra little personal flair.

The Surge Of Salmon

Salmon Run 

Being the best addition in Splatoon 2, it’s great to see Salmon Run is back for Splatoon 3. While it is kept mostly the same the new additions really offer even more strategy and test your teamwork to its limits. The Egg Throw mechanic is such a useful addition and shakes up the usual Salmon Run strategies. With new bosses having been added the frenzy of the chaos has ramped up a lot, with more to watch out for and keep under control.

As for these new bosses’ design-wise, I love how each of them adds something that the older bosses didn’t do, Flipper Flopper and Fish Stick paint turf, Big shots leave behind an Egg Cannon and the Slammin’ Lid spawns more Salmons and even can kill other bosses on defeat. The Xtrawave gimmick is a much-needed refresher to Salmon Run’s structure and the Cohozuna is extremely brutal on higher Hazard levels. Having Scales as a reward for fighting and defeating the King Salmonid adds that extra level of grinding for those die-hard Salmon Run fans.  Unfortunately, just like a real part-time job the pay is awful!

Speaking of difficulty, WHAT DID THEY DO? Salmon Run feels hellishly challenging with randoms currently. Things get overwhelming a lot more easily than they ever did before. The Glowflies event is now “We are done for” rather than “Woohoo free eggs”. Mainly due to how insane it now is to barely survive it. This difficulty I find to be refreshing! It spices up what was a pretty easy mode in Splatoon 2 and keeps you on your toes as surviving and managing everything is even more important than ever.

Overall, the additions make it so there’s seriously no need to ever go back to Splatoon 2‘s Salmon Run. Honestly if this game was just this mode it would be already a 9/10!

Half-finished Or Half-done?

Issues

Being a direct sequel to Splatoon 2 means that they should bring over everything fans loved from the previous title. Improving on it wherever they can, right? Well unfortunately this isn’t true for Splatoon 3… For example, in Anarchy Open you cannot switch weapons in-between matches which is very annoying for teams. If one player wants to change, the entire team has to stop and then re-open. Hopefully just like Splatoon 2 patches will fix any issues, especially with the online. Currently you cannot go more than 5 games without getting a communication error in the lobby or in game, either from you or someone else in the match.

It’s clear that something is going wrong with the networking of the game. This isn’t the only thing that feels unfinished. Many players have encountered bugs and issues from animations not playing properly, to players shooting themselves after playing the game for too long. Luckily some of the common and easy to do glitches have been patched as of V1.1.2. Showing us that the team will be working on making the game as stable as can be. It’s great to see every patch updates the online code in some way.

Another complaint is that with a lack of the Squid Beatz minigame, there is no in game way to listen to the amazing soundtrack. With how music-centered the world of Splatoon is and how praised the soundtracks always are, it’s a let-down that there’s no current way to listen to any track in game.

The Packed City Of Chaos

Graphics

Splatoon has always been about looking and sounding as fresh and unique as can be. This time there’s a mood of “angsty teen’s first apocalypse”. This pumps the aesthetics for this entry’s style and fashion to the max. The series’ world is evolving in real-time with the real-world. Take the player models for example, which have had a huge upgrade from Splatoon 2 with them being taller and more adult looking. Reflecting the player base that is growing up alongside the series. 

The environments of the game are so bright and pleasant to look at. With the ink colors popping dynamically even in comparison to the crystal clean colors . The color that swarms the world really makes the game look so detailed and alive. You can even tell slight ink color shade differences. It is also a major improvement from Splatoon 2’s visuals, take a look at this comparison of Splatoon 2 and 3 on Sturgeon Shipyard:

The colors used for the map in Splatoon 3 do look a bit washed out. On the contrary, the new sky box and better lighting really helps the world look more detailed. This works to create focus on the bright ink colors rather than the stages around the player. Making stages look a lot more dynamic and visually strong. The new stages such as Hagglefish Market also carry this bright pleasant sky box and lighting. Even indoor maps like Undertow Spillway are still very bright and full of color!

The world of Alterna in Hero Mode also has some of the best visuals from the series, thanks to a range of lighting and strange yet gorgeous backgrounds. While the gameplay may be similar to the other Hero Modes, the backgrounds make them feel that much more memorable. Not reusing stages as levels also helps with the immersion that Alterna really is its own place.

Eight-Legged Enchanting

Sound

Music is one of the most iconic parts of Splatoon and this entry does not disappoint. The beat pumping Rock and Techno focus goes so well with the gibberish lyrics. Each track is perfectly able to capture the mood it needs. The Splatfest battle tracks for an example, are great at getting you hyped up for the rush of anarchy inspiring you to have the determination to win.

Another one I want to mention is the track that plays on the Zipcaster levels that I mentioned earlier. This track has a cheesy 80’s superhero cartoon vibe to it. This music fits really well with the Zipcaster’s gameplay. It makes you feel like a superhero using it! The Happy Little Workers remix for the battle against Mr. Grizz will make you hyped for saving the world. It starts sounding weird at first but once you get to that third phase it all comes together. Providing an epic piece of music worthy of the intergalactic battle. 

Of course, a Splatoon game could not be complete without the iconic mind controlling jam that is Calamari Inkantation. The remix in Splatoon 3 is its best “Ink-arnation” yet. The lyrics being different and the instruments showing off Deep Cut’s participation is a great twist. 

Small details such as old battle tracks playing in the lobby makes the world feel alive. The music in Splatoon has always been diegetic music so seeing old music return makes sense in its world. We can even see some Jellyfish being DJs for the lobbies! Attention to detail like this is one thing Splatoon 3 does so well. If something exists it will have world building and story behind it as to why, how and what. 

Not only is the music as fresh as ever but so are the sound effects. Despite how much of the game is built off Splatoon 2, some of the sound effects feel heavier and more powerful. These sounds better fit the weapons, especially with those that should have that powerful feeling. The new sound effects for weapons such as the Splatana Stamper sound so satisfying.

Splatoon 3 was reviewed on Nintendo Switch