Splatoon has always been one of Nintendo’s more inventive franchises, but Splatoon Raiders marks its biggest departure yet. Rather than building another multiplayer-focused shooter, Nintendo has created a standalone action RPG that leans heavily into exploration, character progression and cooperative play. The familiar ink-based mechanics remain at the heart of the experience, but they’re wrapped inside a loot-driven adventure that feels closer to an extraction shooter than the competitive Turf Wars fans have grown accustomed to. Surprisingly, the transition works remarkably well, proving that the series has room to grow beyond its traditional formula.
The story itself remains fairly straightforward, with the Mechanic joining Deep Cut after an unfortunate crash leaves the group stranded on the mysterious Spirhalite Islands. While the central mystery surrounding the islands and the Salmonids keeps the campaign moving, it’s the interactions between Shiver, Frye and Big Man that give the adventure most of its personality. Nintendo finally gives these fan-favourite characters the spotlight they deserved after Splatoon 3, resulting in plenty of entertaining dialogue and some welcome character development. The overall narrative never becomes particularly complex, but it succeeds because of the chemistry between the cast rather than unexpected plot twists.
Gameplay is where Splatoon Raiders truly shines. The familiar movement system, with players constantly switching between shooting ink and swimming through it, remains as satisfying as ever, but the RPG mechanics add an entirely new layer of depth. Eleven weapon classes, three distinct tank archetypes and an extensive collection of gadgets encourage experimentation, allowing players to tailor builds around mobility, raw power or tactical utility. Unlocking upgrades, collecting loot and steadily improving both your character and your floating base creates an addictive gameplay loop that constantly offers another reason to head back out on another expedition. The variety of mission types, ranging from survival encounters and boss fights to resource extraction objectives, also helps keep the core formula engaging throughout much of the campaign.
Combat is wonderfully chaotic without becoming overwhelming. Massive Salmonid hordes fill the screen with enemies, ink and visual effects, yet the controls remain consistently responsive and readable. Every encounter asks players to balance mobility, positioning, gadget usage and resource management rather than simply holding down the fire button. Boss battles add another layer by demanding careful observation of attack patterns and encouraging players to make full use of their chosen builds. That said, the game’s structure does begin to reveal some repetition over longer sessions. While new enemies, gadgets and weapons continue to appear, the mission objectives eventually start to recycle familiar ideas, and some of the later encounters lose a little of the freshness found during the opening hours.
The cooperative component is another major highlight. Being able to tackle almost the entire adventure with up to three other players significantly enhances the experience, particularly as the escalating enemy counts make teamwork feel genuinely rewarding. Nintendo also deserves credit for scaling difficulty to accommodate players of different progression levels, ensuring that experienced players can still enjoy helping newcomers. Unfortunately, some of the multiplayer infrastructure feels surprisingly restrictive. Matchmaking options aren’t always as intuitive as they should be, certain online features unlock later than expected, and some limitations on public matchmaking interrupt what is otherwise an excellent cooperative experience.
Visually, Splatoon Raiders successfully preserves the unmistakable identity of the franchise while presenting a noticeably different atmosphere. The Spirhalite Islands replace the colorful urban environments of previous games with more subdued, abandoned landscapes that reinforce the game’s isolated setting. Although some players may miss the vibrant palette that traditionally defines Splatoon, the more restrained art direction fits the adventure remarkably well. Performance on Nintendo Switch 2 is consistently smooth, maintaining stable frame rates even during the busiest battles, while improved animations and subtle visual touches help make the game feel like a genuine step forward for the series. Audio is equally impressive, with satisfying weapon effects, energetic battle sounds and another memorable soundtrack that balances Deep Cut’s signature style with more unsettling themes suited to the mysterious islands. While not every musical track is as immediately memorable as previous entries, the overall presentation remains excellent.
Splatoon Raiders succeeds because it doesn’t simply transplant Splatoon into a different genre – it thoughtfully reimagines what makes the series enjoyable in the first place. The satisfying movement, inventive combat and endlessly rewarding progression system make for an adventure that’s easy to lose dozens of hours in, whether playing solo or alongside friends. The repetitive mission structure, occasionally awkward multiplayer systems and relatively simple story prevent it from reaching absolute greatness, but they never overshadow just how enjoyable the core experience is. More importantly, this spin-off demonstrates that Splatoon has a bright future beyond competitive multiplayer, making Splatoon Raiders one of Nintendo’s most successful experiments in expanding one of its modern flagship franchises.
Score: 8.3/10