I have adored the Splatoon franchise since it first sailed onto the Nintendo Wii U way back in 2015. Since that time, I’ve played every game, acquired an impressive number of Splatoon amiibo and pieces of related merch, and even read the manga.
Still, for the last decade, Splatoon as a game has remained a singular experience, a quirky online third-person squad-based shooter. There have been wisps of single-player content too, but these story modes have focused more on convoluted lore dumps than any actual character or even genuine plot development.
Splatoon Raiders, arriving on the Switch 2 later this summer, promises to be something different, something more. Players take on the role of the Mechanic, who, aided by the members of Deep Cut, explore the exciting (but predictably hostile) Spirhalite Islands in search of treasure in a single-player, story-focused adventure.
From your home base of the Hideout Ship, the Mechanic and one of Deep Cut’s charismatic trio (Shiver, Frye, or Big Man) inside a mechanized Exploration Bot will conduct raids on island sites, following glowing beacons to locate valuable Spirhalite… and more! You will, of course, encounter resistance from the local Salmonids, some of which represent brand new forms never encountered before.
With your trusty weapon and the backup of your Bot Buddy, you stand at least a fighting chance, but you’ll need to rely on all those splatting skills you’ve developed over the past three Splatoon titles. This time around, though, sub-weapons have been replaced by gadgets, pieces of independent tech that attach to one of three specially-designed ink tanks.
The Speed, Power, and Tactical Tanks each offer a different experience tailored to a broad play style, but there’s no need to restrict yourself to just one. It’s easy (and encouraged) to experiment with different tank, weapon, and partner styles, which, just like switching up your character’s wardrobe, is easily done aboard the Hideout Ship between raids.
Helpfully mapped to the trigger buttons, the aforementioned gadgets can be strictly offensive, like a slashing melee attack (Splatchet) or deployable turrets (Shot Pot), more geared toward crowd control, like a spinning vortex of ink that helps keep Salmonids at bay (Splatellites) or a boomerang that deals damage coming and going (Booyahrang), or even environmental traps like exploding ink balloons (Bombloons). Your gadgets have a cool-down period, though, so you won’t just be able to spam your way to victory, no matter how perfectly paired your selection is.
Using these gadgets, your weapons, and your wits, you’ll collect Salmonid eggs that can be used to power up special attacks for your Deep Cut companion just like you amass Spirhalite shards to complete raids. You’ll also level up your character, pick up other materials to upgrade your gear, and find sweet treasures (Salmonid Relics that can do things like increase HP recovery or decrease ink consumption) and loot drops as you battle your way across the island chain.
Difficulty only affects enemy damage, meaning you can uncover the same relics, weapons, and gadgets even if you prefer to play on the lowest setting. Also, drops and experience are retained even if you die before completing a raid, which helps prevent a lot of frustration when faced with massive enemies like a whole new breed of ferocious special Salmonids.
How do I know all this? Well, earlier this month, I was given the chance to spend some early hands-on time with Splatoon Raiders, and it was all I’d hoped for and more. Obviously, the title sticks close to gameplay techniques it’s cultivated over the franchise’s history—you’ll fire ink, transform into your squid/octopus form to traverse said ink quickly as well as replenish your supply, and repeat—but it’s a pure action game rather than a zone-control shooter.
Between the hordes of enemies and the crazy loot drops, I couldn’t help but be reminded of other beloved series, like Borderlands and Diablo, as I made my way across exotic islands and plumbed subterranean caverns all in the name of bigger, better, and more stuff. But Raiders had yet another trick up its sleeve that I never saw coming; should you prefer, you can play the game in co-op with up to three other players, thus bringing the classic Splatoon setup full circle into this new and distinct game.
You can learn more—including lots of spoilery stuff I didn’t go into—by watching today’s Splatoon Raiders Direct, which should be dropping at the same time as this written preview!
The long and short of it, though, is that Splatoon Raiders is already shaping up to be a spectacular spinoff entry. It completely nails the traditional Splatoon aesthetic, which looks gorgeous on the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, but it tweaks the structure just enough to appeal to those put off by the very nature of a competitive online shooter.
If you’re in the market for more Splatoon action on your new Switch 2 console, this game is for you. If you’ve always longed for a single-player Splatoon experience that was the main course rather than a separate add-on, this game is for you. And if you’re simply looking for an unusual, unassuming game of the summer to come along and blow you out of the proverbial water, Splatoon Raiders is definitely for you!
Travel and accommodations were provided by Nintendo of America so that I could participate in this invite-only media event. This post contains affiliate links. Unsurprisingly, my go-tos are the Power Tank, Big Man, and the most powerful rapidfire gun available.
