DISCLAIMER: I do not spoil any of the campaign/main story mode in my review here. I only talk about my personal critiques of the story in a vague way so as to not spoil anything for anyone who has not beaten it. No boss spoilers or story spoilers were involved in the writing of this review.
My experience with the Splatoon franchise is probably a little unorthodox. I really enjoyed the first Splatoon when it first came out on the Wii U but when it came time for the Switch to get a Splatoon entry I wasn't all that interested. Even when the first reveal trailer for Splatoon 3 came out I wasn't really sold on it even though I knew I would probably end up playing it anyways. Then I played the Splatfest demo in late August and I knew I had to play this game. It has quickly become my most played game this year, even behind Elden Ring, and my love for this game, and acknowledgment of its flaws, are why I sit here writing this review today.
The very first thing I noticed about this game when playing is just how good it all feels. Movement feels fluid, menus are organized and stylized in such a unique way. The game controls well, and it just feels great to shoot, swim and play. Each weapon feels distinct and it really feels special when you find your selection of weapons that works well for you. Dualies are your quick, mid-range fighter guns. Sloshers make for excellent support weapons, while still giving you plenty of power within close quarters. Blasters are nice mid-range alternatives if you need something with a little more support to it. Snipers are effective long-range without ever feeling busted. The unique weapons like the roller, splatana, and splatbrella are all fun in their own way and allow players to really fit their own niche in how they choose to approach the shooter genre. In terms of how it looks, I think the game does really well for being a Switch game that prioritizes fps and fast internet connection. The world is unique, beautiful and allows writers and composers a chance at creating new, unique creative opportunities. Textures and UI look like they really got that "first-party Nintendo game" polish to them. The ink in particular kept impressing me with how good it looked and how realistic it looked. However, the music really added a whole other level to this immersion. The music all fits with the post-apocalyptic theme that the game has, and reuses familiar Splatoon motifs in a way that even a casual fan will recognize. The whole game has a very punk-rock, rebellious feel to it that really makes the Splatoon franchise feel like it's "grown-up" in a way.
Honestly, I ended up enjoying far more of Splatoon's single-player than I had in previous Splatoon entries, and part of that was the overhaul in the single-player hub world and the addition of TableTurf battles. The singleplayer in this game is fantastic. It provides a better context for the world while giving more creative freedom for the team to expand the world, and really immerse you in the idea that this world has a full culture and scientific history that justifies its existence. As for the actual gameplay within the single-player, it is more akin to a gauntlet of challenges that need to be completed. On one hand, this is great as it allows for a greater focus on the weapons and introduces players to new ways the weapons, sub-weapons, and specials can be used. On the other hand, with a greater focus on broadening the Splatoon narrative, and an overworld similar to that of Super Mario 3D World, I would have liked to have seen greater theming to the world. While most of the levels are designed incredibly well, they do not leave much of an impact on the player outside of a simple "Huh, that was a cool concept. On with my day." Nothing about these levels or this world really stand out to me and it left me wishing for just a little bit more. I was planning on collecting everything in the campaign and 100%ing the story mode, but the main game was unfortunately just not compelling enough for me to want to do so. After the very first playable section in the game, nothing really screams "post-apocalypse" to me when it comes to the story mode. While I did enjoy Alterna and the setting itself is rather creative, it did not feel like the story mode connected to the main game thematically, regardless of how many mentions of the idols it throws your way.
Tableturf battle was a smaller section of the game that I felt deserved its own paragraph for simply how creative, unique, and thematically appropriate it felt. This small side mode was genuinely one of my favorite parts of the game. Including a small, turn-based, strategy card game that mimics the main turf war mode while including its own unique rules and strategy made for an excellent way to kill time and even get some cool gear to use in the rest of the game. My only complaint is how they limited it to a single-player mode. It baffles me that they would think through such a novel concept only to make it so you can only play against CPUs. I am sure that there will one day be an update added where you can play online but if you were going to include this, it really should have been ready with online play at launch.
Finally, we come to the main game and what I personally played the most: turf war, anarchy battles, and salmon run. I suppose I should preface that I have played in two Splatfests and achieved a B+ rank after approximately 3 weeks of play. I personally love everything about this online experience and it is genuinely the most fun I have had playing an online game in a long time. First up, the Splatfests, which I have always thought was an ingenious way to keep your player base engaged, certainly more than something like a double XP weekend. People love arguing about useless stuff on the internet and turning that into an actual mode for your game where people can defend their option by representing their team in turf wars is absolutely ingenious and I could not praise the Splatoon team more for their decision to continue this tradition and expand upon it by introducing a third option into the Splatfest. What I dislike about the current Splatfest system is how points are currently divided, and the now-infamous Tri-Color Turf Wars. Splatfest points are divided into three categories in this game: the number of battles you win for your team before the Splatfest begins, the number of people that joined your team and the amount of "clout" attained during the Splatfest, of which winning Tri-Color Turf War battles will net you significantly more clout. This system sounds good on paper but when applied to the actual game it just turns out an absolute mess as it means effectively all a team has to do is win the popularity contest. The team with the most votes and the most amount of players to play open battles gets the victory automatically. Creating a new Splatfest system had to be hard on the developers but the two Splatfests have gone the exact same with Big Man taking an early lead, only to be absolutely crushed by the popularity of Shiver (and everybody on Team Big Man avoiding Tri-Color battles), with Frye getting absolutely nothing. Honestly, though, the voting system would not be this bad if it were not for the horrid maps the Splatoon team is picking for these Tri-Color matches. As someone who has now played them from both Attacker and Defender perspectives, they just always seem to be biased in favor of the attackers. Defenders spawn in the middle of the map with that middle typically being incredibly small and are forced to simultaneously take space and defend the Ultra Signal, which pretty much gives Attackers the win if they get it early enough. This means that maps that have hard-to-reach spawn areas are near-impossible to win as defense. This problem, unfortunately, lead to me not being able to play many Tri-Color turf battles at all and lead to my Splatfest experiences feeling like I was just queueing up for some normal Turf War. However, I will throw in some final praise for the Turf Wars as they give quite a bit of extra equipment bonuses, further incentivizing players to play on those weekends.
Analyzing the remaining online features for the game is significantly less scrutinizing, simply due to how fun all of the main modes are. The online modes are what the game truly revolves around and they all feel great. Turf War is fun and chaotic but a great way to boost gear or just hang out and play a fun casual shooter. The competitive ranked modes are great and each mode type allows for the unique use of weapons that may not normally get played in regular turf wars. Splat Zones was my personal favorite because the "King of the Hill" style gameplay works so well with the Splatoon formula. Finally, Salmon Run is a fun alternative to the main online modes which focuses on more of a PvE element that I love. I do wish that Salmon Run was a little more connected to the main game because I definitely would have liked to level up and use my unique gear for the game mode but players will still find a lot of value in the mode as is. I found the way the gear system interacted with the main modes incredibly fun when it was connected. I loved leveling up gear, swapping out gear chunks, and designing a build that worked just right for me. This is definitely the type of game you can grind for hours and still discover something new about how a certain piece of gear interacts with the rest of the game.
To end off this review, I would like to acknowledge the large "Communication error has occurred"-shaped elephant in the room. The online connection can be truly awful sometimes and it just goes to show how underdeveloped Nintendo's online infrastructure can be. I would sit in lobbies, disconnect from those lobbies if too many players from the previous game left, and then get thrown out, and put into new lobbies only for players to disconnect a minute into the game. I would genuinely wait 10 minutes just to solo queue an unranked mode and it would seriously kill my desire to grind. It's not the worst Nintendo online game, but it could absolutely be improved upon.
That about wraps up my extensive thoughts on Splatoon 3. All in all, it's a really solid game and an incredibly full $60 package that I think just about anyone will enjoy. This game is absolutely amazing and if you are a Splatoon fan, you will love the game. If you want an unconventional shooter game with tons of content, weapons, character, and charm, this is your game. If you just want something fun to play and you have a few friends that already own it, absolutely play this. I wish I could give this game a perfect score but each almost perfect element has just a tiny asterisk on it that the game as a whole just barely feels like it misses the mark as a "perfect game." I still think the game is incredibly solid, a good buy, and all-around one of the best multiplayer third-person shooter experiences out there.
My experience with the Splatoon franchise is probably a little unorthodox. I really enjoyed the first Splatoon when it first came out on the Wii U but when it came time for the Switch to get a Splatoon entry I wasn't all that interested. Even when the first reveal trailer for Splatoon 3 came out I wasn't really sold on it even though I knew I would probably end up playing it anyways. Then I played the Splatfest demo in late August and I knew I had to play this game. It has quickly become my most played game this year, even behind Elden Ring, and my love for this game, and acknowledgment of its flaws, are why I sit here writing this review today.
The very first thing I noticed about this game when playing is just how good it all feels. Movement feels fluid, menus are organized and stylized in such a unique way. The game controls well, and it just feels great to shoot, swim and play. Each weapon feels distinct and it really feels special when you find your selection of weapons that works well for you. Dualies are your quick, mid-range fighter guns. Sloshers make for excellent support weapons, while still giving you plenty of power within close quarters. Blasters are nice mid-range alternatives if you need something with a little more support to it. Snipers are effective long-range without ever feeling busted. The unique weapons like the roller, splatana, and splatbrella are all fun in their own way and allow players to really fit their own niche in how they choose to approach the shooter genre. In terms of how it looks, I think the game does really well for being a Switch game that prioritizes fps and fast internet connection. The world is unique, beautiful and allows writers and composers a chance at creating new, unique creative opportunities. Textures and UI look like they really got that "first-party Nintendo game" polish to them. The ink in particular kept impressing me with how good it looked and how realistic it looked. However, the music really added a whole other level to this immersion. The music all fits with the post-apocalyptic theme that the game has, and reuses familiar Splatoon motifs in a way that even a casual fan will recognize. The whole game has a very punk-rock, rebellious feel to it that really makes the Splatoon franchise feel like it's "grown-up" in a way.
Honestly, I ended up enjoying far more of Splatoon's single-player than I had in previous Splatoon entries, and part of that was the overhaul in the single-player hub world and the addition of TableTurf battles. The singleplayer in this game is fantastic. It provides a better context for the world while giving more creative freedom for the team to expand the world, and really immerse you in the idea that this world has a full culture and scientific history that justifies its existence. As for the actual gameplay within the single-player, it is more akin to a gauntlet of challenges that need to be completed. On one hand, this is great as it allows for a greater focus on the weapons and introduces players to new ways the weapons, sub-weapons, and specials can be used. On the other hand, with a greater focus on broadening the Splatoon narrative, and an overworld similar to that of Super Mario 3D World, I would have liked to have seen greater theming to the world. While most of the levels are designed incredibly well, they do not leave much of an impact on the player outside of a simple "Huh, that was a cool concept. On with my day." Nothing about these levels or this world really stand out to me and it left me wishing for just a little bit more. I was planning on collecting everything in the campaign and 100%ing the story mode, but the main game was unfortunately just not compelling enough for me to want to do so. After the very first playable section in the game, nothing really screams "post-apocalypse" to me when it comes to the story mode. While I did enjoy Alterna and the setting itself is rather creative, it did not feel like the story mode connected to the main game thematically, regardless of how many mentions of the idols it throws your way.
Tableturf battle was a smaller section of the game that I felt deserved its own paragraph for simply how creative, unique, and thematically appropriate it felt. This small side mode was genuinely one of my favorite parts of the game. Including a small, turn-based, strategy card game that mimics the main turf war mode while including its own unique rules and strategy made for an excellent way to kill time and even get some cool gear to use in the rest of the game. My only complaint is how they limited it to a single-player mode. It baffles me that they would think through such a novel concept only to make it so you can only play against CPUs. I am sure that there will one day be an update added where you can play online but if you were going to include this, it really should have been ready with online play at launch.
Finally, we come to the main game and what I personally played the most: turf war, anarchy battles, and salmon run. I suppose I should preface that I have played in two Splatfests and achieved a B+ rank after approximately 3 weeks of play. I personally love everything about this online experience and it is genuinely the most fun I have had playing an online game in a long time. First up, the Splatfests, which I have always thought was an ingenious way to keep your player base engaged, certainly more than something like a double XP weekend. People love arguing about useless stuff on the internet and turning that into an actual mode for your game where people can defend their option by representing their team in turf wars is absolutely ingenious and I could not praise the Splatoon team more for their decision to continue this tradition and expand upon it by introducing a third option into the Splatfest. What I dislike about the current Splatfest system is how points are currently divided, and the now-infamous Tri-Color Turf Wars. Splatfest points are divided into three categories in this game: the number of battles you win for your team before the Splatfest begins, the number of people that joined your team and the amount of "clout" attained during the Splatfest, of which winning Tri-Color Turf War battles will net you significantly more clout. This system sounds good on paper but when applied to the actual game it just turns out an absolute mess as it means effectively all a team has to do is win the popularity contest. The team with the most votes and the most amount of players to play open battles gets the victory automatically. Creating a new Splatfest system had to be hard on the developers but the two Splatfests have gone the exact same with Big Man taking an early lead, only to be absolutely crushed by the popularity of Shiver (and everybody on Team Big Man avoiding Tri-Color battles), with Frye getting absolutely nothing. Honestly, though, the voting system would not be this bad if it were not for the horrid maps the Splatoon team is picking for these Tri-Color matches. As someone who has now played them from both Attacker and Defender perspectives, they just always seem to be biased in favor of the attackers. Defenders spawn in the middle of the map with that middle typically being incredibly small and are forced to simultaneously take space and defend the Ultra Signal, which pretty much gives Attackers the win if they get it early enough. This means that maps that have hard-to-reach spawn areas are near-impossible to win as defense. This problem, unfortunately, lead to me not being able to play many Tri-Color turf battles at all and lead to my Splatfest experiences feeling like I was just queueing up for some normal Turf War. However, I will throw in some final praise for the Turf Wars as they give quite a bit of extra equipment bonuses, further incentivizing players to play on those weekends.
Analyzing the remaining online features for the game is significantly less scrutinizing, simply due to how fun all of the main modes are. The online modes are what the game truly revolves around and they all feel great. Turf War is fun and chaotic but a great way to boost gear or just hang out and play a fun casual shooter. The competitive ranked modes are great and each mode type allows for the unique use of weapons that may not normally get played in regular turf wars. Splat Zones was my personal favorite because the "King of the Hill" style gameplay works so well with the Splatoon formula. Finally, Salmon Run is a fun alternative to the main online modes which focuses on more of a PvE element that I love. I do wish that Salmon Run was a little more connected to the main game because I definitely would have liked to level up and use my unique gear for the game mode but players will still find a lot of value in the mode as is. I found the way the gear system interacted with the main modes incredibly fun when it was connected. I loved leveling up gear, swapping out gear chunks, and designing a build that worked just right for me. This is definitely the type of game you can grind for hours and still discover something new about how a certain piece of gear interacts with the rest of the game.
To end off this review, I would like to acknowledge the large "Communication error has occurred"-shaped elephant in the room. The online connection can be truly awful sometimes and it just goes to show how underdeveloped Nintendo's online infrastructure can be. I would sit in lobbies, disconnect from those lobbies if too many players from the previous game left, and then get thrown out, and put into new lobbies only for players to disconnect a minute into the game. I would genuinely wait 10 minutes just to solo queue an unranked mode and it would seriously kill my desire to grind. It's not the worst Nintendo online game, but it could absolutely be improved upon.
That about wraps up my extensive thoughts on Splatoon 3. All in all, it's a really solid game and an incredibly full $60 package that I think just about anyone will enjoy. This game is absolutely amazing and if you are a Splatoon fan, you will love the game. If you want an unconventional shooter game with tons of content, weapons, character, and charm, this is your game. If you just want something fun to play and you have a few friends that already own it, absolutely play this. I wish I could give this game a perfect score but each almost perfect element has just a tiny asterisk on it that the game as a whole just barely feels like it misses the mark as a "perfect game." I still think the game is incredibly solid, a good buy, and all-around one of the best multiplayer third-person shooter experiences out there.