Like so many communities, the Splatoon fanbase is divisive, fanatical and hyperbolic. The number of folk who have jumped on the Squid Kid hype train since the Wii U kicked out a new IP eleven years ago is incredible. Starting from a fairly simple but enjoyable concept, this series has evolved into a wide reaching community of eSports competitions, fan fashion and unhinged investment in who the best idol of the series is (Marina, incidentally). So it’s sometimes hard to take the reviews and accolades of the games’ various iterations seriously due to the rose tinted frames. Splatoon Raiders is an attempt from Nintendo to take the game and boil it down to something single player-focused with replay value, strong mechanics and visual confidence. The result is, to date, the best the franchise has to offer.

Surfing through onion rings, collecting gems, just like Matthew McConaughey.

If you missed out on Splatoon 3, I don’t blame you. Splatoon 2 was already a bigger departure from the first game, with more investment in higher level caps, wider clothing variety and rewards for those who spent excessive time getting good. Splatoon 3 was a massive expansion into this concept, with new weapons and ideas seemingly rolling out every week after the game’s launch, making it hard to keep up if you weren’t playing almost every day. It also expanded heavily on the storyline of Splatoon, giving more information about the Salmonoids, the dark secret of Mr. Grizz and what happens when Marina is left to her own devices. Incidentally, what is it with Nintendo and post-apocalyptic settings for their otherwise cute games? I think Big N cannot wait for the world to end so they can sell unironic merch that depicts which of their scenarios they properly foretold.

At the advent of Splatoon Raiders, it seems that the main cities are in debt due to all the reconstruction that came from multiple turf battles and defense of the Great Zap Fish, and it’s time to look into less-than-conventional means of getting funding. This means treasure hunting, which is so wildly flawed, because if no one has money, who is going to pay premium prices for priceless relics? All logic aside, the idol group of Splatoon 3, Deep Cut, sets off to the mysterious Spirhalite Islands to search for loot that can save the day. They’re accompanied by the silent protagonist, The Mechanic, who is nothing like Jason Statham and everything like the androgynous characters of Splatoon that we’ve come to know and love. You and the crew go to island after island, discovering truths about the past and what ancient civilizations may have been hiding.

I realize that I’ve glossed over so many terms and story beats that make no sense, and I’m sorry. If you’ve ever just played Splatoon for the fun of the online ink battles (called Turf Wars), then you probably didn’t invest too much time in the single player campaigns other than unlocking various weapons and outfits for use online. The lore is important in the case of Splatoon Raiders, but it’s also really easy to get on board even if you have no idea what’s happening. You, either a squid or octopus (very malleable protagonist), are paired up with a trio of oddball singers and dancers who irreverently quip and are constantly surprised by their own competence. You go to different spots throughout the islands, shoot everything, get the loot and get out. It is, without flinching, a looter shooter built in the Splatoon universe.

Yes, of the floor. Keen eye, Frye.

For fans who are aware of all Splatoon is and was, a lot of the mechanics will be straightforward, but it could be rather novel and unwieldy for newcomers. Your ammunition is tied to ink, which exists on a tank strapped to your back. In Raiders, you have a choice of three different tanks with different advantages and powerups, but the core mechanic is the same. You can replenish ink by turning into a squid or octopus and swimming in the ink puddles you’ve created. This both makes ammunition effectively infinite and also allows you to traverse certain areas with cleverly placed ink splotches, such as between chain link fences or vertically up sheer surfaces. I know this is old hat, but Splatoon Raiders has caused quite a stir, and it’s important for newbies to also know the ropes.

Each of the different areas you can visit lets you pair up with one of the three Deep Cut members, each of whom brings both colorful dialogue during the exploration and a Showerstopper attack that comes after being powered up from eggs dropped by the baddies. These attacks vary in style and have their own preferred means of use depending on the player and arena, and this rings true of many other elements to the game. The weapons, powerups and abilities are versatile and pull from the deep catalog of items rolled out in previous games. For players who’ve invested countless hours with Dualies, Rollers or the newer Splatanas (yes, ink spraying swords), you’ve got a decent edge in utilizing existing knowledge to propel you forward to greatness within the game.

At the time, bumping this gun up to level 7 seemed important. It would not be.

Having said that, it will behoove players to experiment with different tools regardless of their previous affinities. You’ll constantly be getting new weapons dropped when you’re out on missions, and the in house upgrade options can buff the level of the tool by five, but won’t add any passive abilities. Therefore, you might not feel great about using a Charger initially, but, when you find a four star Splatterscope with a three star Speed Swim passive, you might change your mind. There’s not a pressing need to upgrade your game in such a way, but it’s genuinely more fun to play around and get outside your wheelhouse. I’m still not great with the Brellas, but I’m seeing the appeal thanks to Raiders and I can appreciate that.

Interestingly, a majority of the Gadgets (secondary weapons) that we see are brand new for Splatoon Raiders, and are hands down the most interesting and creative combat aspect of the game. While some are certainly familiar looking (Meteor Mitt is just Splashdown), most are quite original, like a massive hatchet you swing at enemies or a series of ink satellites that circle you for protection and offensive capabilities. These can be tinkered and improved with both manufactured and found upgrades, though purchasing can be expensive and finding them is a little rare. If you’re seeking a perfect build (or at least a powerful one), it’s going to take a ton of grinding to get your level, the raw materials and to also find what you like the best in terms of offensive approaches.

I really like that Nintendo decided to take a page from the recent Legend of Zelda series and put Shrines in the game. Occasionally, hidden in the levels, you’ll find compasses that lead to testing grounds where you have to accomplish the zone using only the weapon(s) given to you, with the reward being a stat boost you can assign to one of four categories. These testing grounds are the perfect excuse to experiment with weapons and Gadgets you wouldn’t normally use, and are ideal breeding grounds for streamers to see how fast they can accomplish tasks in game breaking ways. The biggest disappointment are the compasses themselves, which are sometimes frustratingly hard to read to find these hidden zone. Seriously, we already perfected the compass over a hundred years ago, Nintendo didn’t need to reinvent it to frustrate my Inkling.

Huh, so, if I put Rev-Up Moonshine in a clay container with an additional Hob-Lobber…

However, Nintendo is not a fool when it comes to creating and maintaining fan engagement with their titles. Splatoon Raiders allows you to choose a difficulty level from the very beginning that challenges players to the degree they feel comfortable, and then flushes that out to the nth degree. You have a good variety of different maps where loot can be dropped: single room timed events, multi floor time attacks, expanding zones of ostentatious looting and confined, focused levels where there’s a more clear objective. All of these have the potential to net you some great gear, and there’s incentive to re-dive on higher difficulty levels to get even more stuff, including finding Relics (limited equippables with passive effects). The longer you play, the more stuff drops, and you’ll find yourself awash with weapons that you can gleefully recycle for currency and more odd crafting items than you can imagine.

People looked at the graphical quality of Splatoon Raiders and raised the question: why only Switch 2? From their standpoint, the design just looked like the Salmon Run levels from Splatoon 3, perhaps with a bit more polish and variety. Why couldn’t this game that removes some of the more complex ideas – online matchmaking, multiplayer battles, two separate game modes – be placed on the Switch hardware? The answer, besides giving Switch 2 a Splatoon of its own, is the sheer degree of hell the game can rain down on you without skipping a beat or losing its focus. As the Switch has aged, it’s begun showing wear and tear as it attempts to keep up with some titles, showing frame drops and stutters here and there. While Nintendo are wizards with their own hardware, Splatoon 3 players have reported some serious issues when Salmon Run gets intense.

Objective: destroy everything. With pleasure.

I can say, with utter confidence, that I have had the most pleasant, smoothest degree of chaotic hell with Splatoon Raiders. I’m a player who suffers from severe motion sickness when it comes to fast camera work, particularly with first person titles. My time with Immortal Redneck leaving me prone on the floor for a half hour after playing is burned into my memory, and there have been a ton of other titles where the world starts to get bubbly after a bit of play. With Raiders, I am whipping the camera around like crazy, looking at enemies coming from literally all angles, and firing weapon after weapon, swimming and jumping and generally losing my mind as I try to collect eggs and stay alive even under the Tourist difficulty level. I screamed, I yelled, I nearly threw my Switch 2, but I at no point wanted to vomit.

As you can imagine, this degree of frenetic gameplay might not be for everyone, but it’s hitting upon an important Venn diagram of players who are children and adults, who both want challenge and excitement without over exerting themselves. The ceiling for completion of Splatoon Raiders isn’t terrifically high, maybe fifteen hours or so, and you really feel like you get your money’s worth in terms of storytelling, soundtrack, excitement and some uncomfortably suggestive body language from one of the Deep Cut members. If you decide to keep playing for completionism, though, you can easily double or maybe triple that time as you max out your level and stats, find all the hidden relics available, and complete Spicy raids that start dealing and receiving damage that get into Disgaea degrees of exorbitant. And, if you get bored, Raiders takes a page out of Elden Ring and lets you help others.

Because this is from Nintendo and not Naughty Dog, this story ends without a horrifying lesson.

The biggest obstacle for Splatoon Raiders’ success, aside from the current Switch 2 userbase, is the community appeal. Players who are deeply entrenched in Splatoon want the fourth game, not a standalone solo title. People who’ve never jumped into Splatoon for whatever reason might be hesitant to try out something that’s arguably new and drenched in lore, two imposing elements for first experiences. But I firmly believe that this is the best Splatoon title since the very first. It’s got degrees of complexity and madness that the most hardened minmaxer can appreciate, but it’s also crazy approachable in presentation, explanation and fun. It lets you focus on what you want: what weapons, how your base looks, your fashion and your burgeoning relationship with Shiver. This becomes your game. And, as such, it’s easily one of my favorites of the year.

Splatoon Raiders is available now on Nintendo Switch 2.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2.