Splatoon Raiders Review – An Inkredible New Direction

Splatoon Raiders Review

The Splatoon franchise has become one of Nintendo’s biggest success stories in recent years. Since its debut in 2015, the series has spawned three mainline entries, DLC and now, a spin-off: Splatoon Raiders. While previous titles focused on PvP chaos, Raiders shifts its attention to a single-player adventure. Will this new direction prove to be a fresh splash of ink, or does the series lose part of its identity by stepping away from the chaotic multiplayer action that made it so popular?

Travelling to the mysterious Spirhalite Islands in search of treasure, the Deep Cut’s helicopter is suddenly swept away when a vicious water tornado sends the group plummeting back to earth. Washed up on one of the recently resurfaced islands, your goal is to search the area for precious valuables while also finding a route back home. Although the story is simple, it provides a suitable premise to support the addictive gameplay loop.

Your mission is to find treasure, but the way you achieve it varies throughout. Some stages are traditional, action platforming levels, where you must take down any slimy beast in your path and collect Power Eggs on the way to your objective. It’s here where Splatoon Raiders shines, with some wonderful level designs that blend chaotic combat and free-flowing traversal. The fundamentals that popularised the franchise remain: covering the terrain with paint so you can swim through it and emerge in a different area. Not only does this add strategy during shootouts, allowing you to avoid shots and find new angles, but it also leads to momentum-based platforming. Diving into the paint and launching yourself towards a freshly created path is exhilarating, seamlessly blending platforming and combat into one cohesive system.

Making a Splash

Map-based stages require you to collect crystals from points scattered around the area until you have enough to activate a larger one. These sections flaunt the slick traversal options with segments where you can surf across the water and leap across wind tunnels. When you arrive at a gem, an onslaught begins. Luckily, Bot Buddy is there to support you during these intense encounters. Better yet, you can team up with a friend in co-op or call for assistance from other players online.

The difficulty ramps up when you take on missions that pit you against a gauntlet of enemies within a time limit. These multi-level stages test your skills, requiring you to consider many aspects, such as your loadout and build, to survive. Due to the claustrophobic level design, you must continually move and react to the array of enemies thrown in your direction. For some, you must attack in one direction before scurrying to another to finish them off, while others spew gunk, forcing you to weave in and out of danger to shoot their weak spot. Although it certainly gets tough, Nintendo includes options to alter the difficulty, or you can simply level up by taking on other challenges.

Missions across the islands are levelled, with a harder version unlocking once you complete the area. Revisiting stages rewards you with a range of materials and items that allow you to improve your build, adding an incentive to retrace your steps and tackle increasingly difficult challenges. Whereas certain levels require you to use a specific weapon, others force you to use a particular tank, which pushes you to experiment with builds and loadouts. There’s a nice variety on offer, but certain objectives are overused, which can make some moments feel too familiar.

Loot and Shoot!

After each mission, you return to your base with a plethora of goodies which you can use to improve your headquarters, weapons and much more. First, you must consider your tank. Choosing the Power variant gives you access to strong gadgets that inflict serious damage, whereas the Speed version provides abilities that boost your mobility. Finally, there’s the Tactical Tank, which allows you to send out a turret, build bombs and more. With two gadgets equipped, you can then customise their properties, balancing the slots available with boosts. While you can focus your efforts on one style, certain missions offer optional rewards for completion with multiple tanks. This encourages experimentation, helping you to grow in confidence with the various options available.

The sheer number of weapons available is breathtaking. Although there is a core set of weapons, there are more than 100 variations. These include different levels, rarity and boosts, which can help you to succeed on the battlefield. If you find the weapon you like, you can invest your resources into that one to level it up. You can also improve core stats for the Mechanic, such as their health and proficiency with weapons, or put your goodies into improving the base itself, which opens more options and stores in the area.

Tweak Your Build

Tinkering with your build feels fantastic. Due to the fast-paced gameplay, it’s exciting to jump back into a level you failed with a new loadout designed to take advantage of the situation. It feels even better when you conquer the challenge by using clever gear combinations and abilities that completely change how you approach the encounter. Nintendo balances depth with accessibility, ensuring the mechanics are easy to grasp without sacrificing complexity. This means you don’t spend half the game stuck in menus and can quickly dive back into missions to experiment with new strategies and enjoy the moment-to-moment action.

The islands feel connected and part of a larger world, which is partly due to the excellent art direction. Colourful paint quickly transforms serene sandy beaches into a Jackson Pollock painting, with clashes of colour standing out against the tranquil backdrop. Monsters are wonderfully animated, ambling across the terrain before striking with reckless abandon. The soundtrack further enhances the experience, shifting to suit the moment. At times, lively melodies keep your energy high, while elsewhere shrill compositions heighten the intensity of battle. Together, these elements converge to create a wonderful presentation.

Splatoon Raiders is exactly what I wanted from the franchise. As a fan of the single-player content from the previous entries, this builds on those foundations, elevating the experience. The addition of looter shooter mechanics adds replayability, urging you to experiment with the systems to create different builds. While some fans may miss the PvP aspect of the series, the PvE elements are excellent, providing plenty of ways to play together. More importantly, it proves that Splatoon can thrive beyond its competitive roots, creating an adventure that’s every bit as colourful, inventive and addictive as its multiplayer counterpart.

***Switch 2 code provided by the publisher for review***