I've completed story mode and played enough of the various online modes and minigames to get a feel for them, and...wow. Everything about the story mode blew me away - it's a MASSIVE improvement over Hero Mode from the first two games, and in many ways it's an improvement over Octo Expansion as well. I'll avoid details to keep this review spoiler-free, but the story mode really is incredible, and well-worth a play. Maybe even a replay or two, as well.
Turf War battles feel more fluid than ever, partially because of the improvements to the lobby system and partially because of new movement options and less frustrating specials. The controls work great, and the weapons are impressively well-balanced for a game that hasn't had any patches yet. It's easy to join up with friends in their battles, too, which can save a lot of hassle.
Salmon Run is better than it was in Splatoon 2, for sure. It's largely the same, but the new bosses add some variety and the egg throwing mechanic makes things so much more bearable. Where was that mechanic in Splatoon 2???
The other stuff to do is great, too - decorating lockers is fun, getting the right abilities on gear is a lot less annoying, Tableturf Battle is a fun mini-CCG...really the only thing I miss from previous games is Squid Beatz, but its omission is a non-issue with so much extra stuff to do.
Basically, this game is a huge improvement over Splatoon 2 in just about every way, and I already loved Splatoon 2. This is almost certainly my game of the year, and it could even end up my game of the decade. I could easily see myself playing this for 500 or 1000 hours.
[Review written after approximately 30 hours of gameplay, about 10 of which were in the Splatfest World Premiere. Contents subject to change.]
Turf War battles feel more fluid than ever, partially because of the improvements to the lobby system and partially because of new movement options and less frustrating specials. The controls work great, and the weapons are impressively well-balanced for a game that hasn't had any patches yet. It's easy to join up with friends in their battles, too, which can save a lot of hassle.
Salmon Run is better than it was in Splatoon 2, for sure. It's largely the same, but the new bosses add some variety and the egg throwing mechanic makes things so much more bearable. Where was that mechanic in Splatoon 2???
The other stuff to do is great, too - decorating lockers is fun, getting the right abilities on gear is a lot less annoying, Tableturf Battle is a fun mini-CCG...really the only thing I miss from previous games is Squid Beatz, but its omission is a non-issue with so much extra stuff to do.
Basically, this game is a huge improvement over Splatoon 2 in just about every way, and I already loved Splatoon 2. This is almost certainly my game of the year, and it could even end up my game of the decade. I could easily see myself playing this for 500 or 1000 hours.
[Review written after approximately 30 hours of gameplay, about 10 of which were in the Splatfest World Premiere. Contents subject to change.]