Splatoon 3 (Switch)

Powah Dunk | September 28, 2022 | Review | No Comments

Splatoon is one of those series that oozes that undeniable “Nintendo” style, brought to life initially on the WiiU. We are now on the series’ second outing on the Nintendo Switch, we have an “Inkling” that could be good, cheesy pun or accurate prediction?.

Splatoon is primarily an online multiplayer experience, Nintendo decided to jump into the world of team based shooters and the Inklings were that way of making the genre family friendly. Rather than bullets and gore you have children who cover the world in coloured ink, it’s a compromise that actually works quite well for those unfamiliar with the series.

Two teams of four face down in a match to see who can cover the arena in as much of their coloured ink as possible, cover more of the stage and you’ll build a meter which allows you to perform your weapons special ability, different weapons handle quite differently from the dual-wield pistols for quick kills to the devastating area covering roller which kills quick but makes you a slow moving and reacting target.

Arenas are randomly decided between 2 which swap over every hour with others, this is shown to you in the devilishly stylish Splatcast which shows you all the news for the online portion of the game, oozing in a style reminiscent of Jet Set Radio, something this game has in ink filled buckets.

Other modes include Salmon Run which is a horde based mode and Anarchy Battle which is a series of 4 game modes like Capture the Flag, King of the Hill and other modes in a ranked setting, there is plenty to be going on for the online lovers out there.

You’ll get EXP, tokens and in game money as you play matches, these allow you to buy new guns, new clothes with improve stats and give you passive abilities and totally customize your inkling.

Yes the explorable hub is also back and with this the many pictures and messages left by other players can also be viewed reminding us oldies about the long forgotten MiiVerse feature.

Visually and gameplay wise Splatoon 3 is a tweaked and expanded upon version of Splatoon 2, visually there isn’t a whole lot of difference, safe to say if you have played 2 this is just an expansion rather than a full blown sequel in terms of additions and graphics.

Controls are again tight and make the best use yet of the Gyro controls which are as close to mouse aiming as you can have on a console.

The online connectivity was slightly hit and miss with around every 2 matches in 10 hitting a disconnect but nothing particularly horrid when you think of Switch nightmare stories.

Splatoon 3 is a very visually appealing game and just as fun to play from its single player designed to teach you the ropes to your first well deserved splat. The issue lies in that it doesn’t REALLY do enough to justify it being a full priced sequel if I’m perfectly honest, the upgrade is purely for a stronger playerbase and the latest content rather than it being a fresh yet familiar outing.