Spatoon Raiders | Nintendo Switch 2 | REVIEW

''A PIRATES LIFE FOR ME?''

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Developed: Nintendo

Published: Nintendo

Genre: Looter Shooter

Release Date: July 23rd, 2026

Platforms: Switch 2

GAME PROVIDED TO ME BY NINTENDO

Splatoon Raiders is a spin off third person looter shooter of the Splatoon franchise and it is developed and published by Nintendo. With Splatoon rising up to massive fame and fans eagerly awaiting the next mainline entry, Nintendo decided, hmm, lets make a spin off and create something entirely different. However, was a looter shooter the correct route to go in? or did the franchise finally live up to its literal name and go SPLAT. Only one way to find out, so lets ink!

''SHE TRYING TO BE THE RIZZLER''

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GAMEPLAY:

Never in a million years would I have guessed that the juggernaut of a franchise known as Splatoon would become as big of a household name for the Nintendo library alongside iconic franchises like The Super Mario Bros series, Donkey Kong, Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda. But here were are in the big ol 2026 and Splatoon is just as popular as its ever been since its first release on Wii U back in 2015. Watching Splatoon grow over the last decade and also enjoying every entry, even if I'm not very good at main series titles, has been a really fun time, especially watching the tournaments that have been held with people playing competitively against another, it just made me realize, dang, I really am not built for this, but... hey look guys! I can go bloop in the ink!. Yes, that is the extent of my skill, slow bloops and hops in ink and pretend I'm actually contributing and doing my part. My lack of skill aside, while we anticipated the announcement of Splatoon 4, instead we were treated to a brand new spin off title, this time in the vein of a looter shooter with Splatoon Raiders. Honestly, this announcement shocked me at first, it seemed such a weird pivot, but at the same time, the mechanics behind Splatoon itself, truthfully seemed like it would fit perfectly with the genre too. But while the concept overall makes sense mechanically, the tough sell was always going to be taking the fun and fast gameplay of the main series which has always been a single player focused franchise and this time throw in things like looter shooter elements, training galleries for shooting and testing out the controls, obstacles to take part in via varied courses, gameplay elements to solve and a good amount of boss fights to take on. For me personally, on paper, that sounds pretty dang great, but if you're a hardcore Splatoon fan that only wants your traditional gameplay the series is known for, then you might be a tad bit disappointed that the shift in mechanics this time becomes more so a PvE looter shooter, and if that isn't your fancy, then this game might be a bit of a ''iffy'' pick up. Unless the fear of missing out on the brand new entry becomes too much for you to bare and you end up like the squid on Finding Nemo and going ''Aww you made me Ink!'' and then rush straight away to buy it anyways. Trust me, it happens, and to be quite frank with ya, I think the game will win people over, regardless of their stance on it initially. However, even if you dont rush to buy it immediately, I know the regret of not doing so will eat at you and torment you, because missing out on the potential of Splatoon Raiders is like eating a spoonful of Drano, sure it will clean you out, but it will leave you hollow inside.

Focusing more so on PvE over competitive multiplayer this go around allows the franchise to get a breath of fresh air and a new lease on life in my personal opinion and keeps the franchise from becoming predictable, bland or even repetitive by recycling the same format time and time again. But just because the competitive multiplayer is not present here, does not mean the title has lost all the charm of the main series, not even close, in fact, its probably even more lively with its new gameplay elements and even its visuals then the main series itself, and that's saying a lot for it. Gliding through your ink colored splats remains a key component here in Raiders, offering smooth and fluid gameplay that you are used to, mixed alongside with new weapons and even new abilities to unleash on your foes to defeat them faster or to gain a quick advantage over them should you try focusing on watching their attack patterns and be strategic about your next move. Whats that, what am I doing? huh? me? nothing, just hangin around. That is until I do my very own Leeroy Jenkins and just rush an enemy with no prepping, no strategy, no idea of how the mechanics go. Yeah.. obviously it didnt all come to pass like it did in my head, but oh well. So as I was saying, what? OK GUYS LETS DO THIS, LEEROY JENKINS!. Oh ya we did it a second time and... same results. Were moving on and never speaking on this again. One of the issues I noticed right at the start is that things do come off as very unbalanced, at least at first because its not multiplayer, its all about custom loadouts for your Inkling or Octoling created character. By using this loadout system for your character, its your job to pick and choose which weapons benefit your play style and which ones hinder you, and that might take a little bit to get used to if you aren't up for experimenting, which I can see being an issue to for someone that doesn't want to take the time to test everything out. Having said that, It would benefit you greatly to actually test out varied loadouts since one loadout with specific weapons could be what's exactly needed for different challenges or be what stops you from completing challenges at the same time. Just don't try to act cool like me and do 360 spin inking trying to skill shot because.. it aint going to work.. either that or I'm just as much of a screw up as Slippy. Gee I've got the same skills as Slippy, HOW SWELL.

Since this a looter shooter as stated, and it has a loadout system, that means there are various ways to play beyond just your weapon use, such as this games version of a class system. Here in Raiders, you will be tasked on picking between multiple upgradable tanks and each one having a different ability tied to their use. For example a tank like Speed Tank will offer you the chance to pull out your Freddy Krueger and FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED, as you act like a hyper dog doing zoomies through an area and also given the option to use ranged attacks to be more strategic about getting close to an enemy you may be a bit weary of. Your Power Tank acts as your rage indicator, not in the literal sense, but using this tank will make attacks stronger and more aggressive, hence the name, Power, DUH, but if you're in a ticked off mood while playing this game, then hey, using Power Tank is a lot better than smashing your own PC or kicking over someones cart at the grocery store. Not that I would know about doing that of course..... uhh... moving on. Tactical Tank works like an engineer in Team Fortress Classic or for you modern kiddos out there, Team Fortress 2, where in those games you set down a sentry gun to track enemies, but here in Raiders, you take that concept and it allows you to strategically place turrets around an area you want to defend or lure an enemy into and even lay down some mines. What's great about all of these tanks is the fact that EVERYTHING is customizable and upgradeable so that mix and matching feels unique to your character and never makes you feel like you're just recycling the same play format or style on a constant bases when its in conjunction with your layered loadouts. Story however is not as layered as its gameplay counter part. It is still fun, don't get me wrong and it still has all the charm and goofiness that you'd come to expect from the franchise in a story about treasure hunting and even gets you in-tune with how to partake in raids, but still, its not something you'll focus on compared to the plethora of gameplay elements thrown at you. Through the games story you partake in missions that include timed battles, stages full of enemies that you have to clear out and even more free roam areas where you have a higher rate of mobility to screw around in. This is also where you learn about how to charge your Ultimate meter, how to use enemy parts you collected for upgrading and crafting, using your Shards, not cash, for currency and figuring out which gadgets you need to customize. Its all great and all but if you play it in long bursts, you might feel a bit of repetitiveness seep into your soul because the mission types and tasks you partake in, a lot of them require similar or same tasks to complete, so doing the same mission type like 4 times in a row for hours might swing a bit to the realm of tedium. Its like watching me try to drive the Warthog in Halo, in your mind you want to see me get over a ridge or to my objective fast, but sadly, you forgot, its me, and I suck at driving so I'll get there when I get there... which could be in an hour, thus, your tedium after watching me. Honestly though, while repetitive gameplay can be a downer, item collection, fun and intense battles against a variety of creators and bosses, killing all Salmonoid types who use unique traits and patterns, more than makes up for the pacing in the long run to push those feelings aside, at least for me.

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''DONT TALK ABOUT THEIR PET FISH''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day, Splatoon Raiders manages to breathe new life into the franchise that many of us never saw coming, especially in relation to the looter shooter genre. Granted I know it wont be everyone's cup of tea due to the missing puzzle and platforming aspects in favor of the PvE gameplay, but still, with the fun loadout system that allows you as the player to find which weapons and abilities fit best for your play style, item collection, powerful variants of enemies and bosses, ability to co-op with your friends should you be having a troublesome time on a section of the game you just cant pass, rare loot as reward for beating harder missions, fast and fluid gameplay, it all just ends up as a fantastic time and a game that's hard to put down, even with repetitiveness at times. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW.

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