Splatoon 3 is the newest entry in the Splatoon franchise and manages to improve on almost everything the previous two entries did. The game is an online 3rd-person shooter that is set in the “Splatlands.” You can either play as an Inkling or an Octoling though choosing either one only affects your appearance and not the gameplay. The main mode of the game is “Turf Battle” in which 8 players are divided into two teams and compete to see who can cover the most amount of the map in their team’s respective ink color. Unlike other shooter games, taking out opposing players doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of the match, as all that matters is inking more of the map than the other team can. Players can also sink into their ink to swim through it by turning into their “swim form.” Swimming through the ink is generally faster than walking, though players can’t swim through enemy ink. A new addition to this game comes in the form of new mechanics while swimming. Now you can perform an evasive dodge while in squid form and charge up a jump while swimming up walls win squid form.
Another mode that you’ll find is the returning ranked mode, now known as “Anarchy Battles,” which features several different battle types. There’s “Splat Zones” in which two teams compete to see who can control an area for a set amount of time. “Tower Control” sees two teams try to take control of a tower as it moves closer to the team’s goal line. “Rainmaker” is a “capture the flag” type of game in which two teams attempt to obtain a weapon known as “The Rainmaker” and carry it to the opposing team’s pedestal. And then there’s “Clam Blitz” which has players collect golden clams to deposit them in the opposing team’s goal. The team who deposits the most clams is declared the winner. You can unlock this mode by reaching level 10 from playing normal Turf Battle matches or gain access to it earlier by transferring save data from Splatoon 2.
Another mode of sorts only happens every couple of months. There are really no patterns as to when these occur, but they happen fairly often. Splatfests are events that previously featured players choosing between two teams. Players would choose a subject that they wanted to fight for (ex: Rock or Pop, Mayonnaise or Ketchup, Rollercoasters or Waterslides, etc.) In Splatoon 3 though, players can now choose between three teams. For example, before the game was released there was a Splatfest held with the teams being Rock vs Paper vs Scissors. Also new to this game are the Tri-Color Battles, which are exclusive to the Splatfest. Tri-Color Battles will only take place halfway through the Splatfest and features three teams. The team in the lead has four members and then the other two teams have two members each. The team in the lead plays a defensive role as they try to prevent the other two teams from taking control of the “Ultra Signal” in the center of the map.
There are a total of 12 stages that battles can take place online. 3 returning from Splatoon, 4 returning from Splatoon 2, and 5 new stages. Each of these stages also have nighttime variations for when Splatfests take place. There are also a variety of different weapon types to choose from. Some of these weapons include the standard “Splattershot” (the default weapon of the game). The dualies which are basically splattershots that allow you to dodge roll. Rollers which are meant for covering the ground in your team’s ink color but is a bit slow when it comes to being used as a weapon. Chargers are sniper-rifle like weapons that are good for attacking opponents from a distance but aren’t as good for covering turf or close-range combat. A new type of weapon introduced in this game is the “Splatana”, a weapon that excels in close-combat confrontations with other players, can be used at a range, but isn’t as good when it comes to inking turf as other weapons are. All weapons though only have a limited amount of ink before players will have to submerge into their own team’s ink to replenish the weapon’s ink quickly. Each weapon comes with a preset of additional weapons, sub and special weapons. Sub weapons are additional ways of attacking and consist of things such as bombs, curlers, mines, and more but cost more ink to use than your main weapon. And Special weapons can only be used when they have covered enough ground in their own ink. These special weapons are typically stronger than both your main and sub weapon and can cover a larger radius. These special weapons can do things such as give the player a jetpack, unleash a missile strike, or use a tank in the shape of a crab.
Another game mode that wasn’t mentioned earlier is “Salmon Run: Next Wave”, the game’s co-op PvE mode. This game mode was originally introduced in Splatoon 2 but features new enemies and new mechanics. The game mode was only open during certain times of the day in Splatoon 2 but Splatoon 3 changes that by making it open all the time, 24/7. The mode has players working shifts for an unknown employer who goes by the name of “Mr. Grizz” and speaks through a Kibori Kuma statue. The goal of the game mode is to work with other players or friends as a team of four and collect enough golden eggs to meet your quota while defending yourselves from enemies known as “Salmanoids.” You can get these golden eggs from defeating certain salmanoids during the waves. There are a total of three waves per shift, with an additional fourth wave known as “Xtra Wave” which will sometimes occur. In the Xtra wave, players face off against the king salmanoid, “Cohozuna.” During this wave, players will defend themselves from an onslaught of salmanoids and gather golden eggs to throw them at Cohozuna for extra damage. A new addition to this game mode is the ability to throw golden eggs, allowing players to toss the eggs to one another from long distances and is a required mechanic when fighting Cohozuna. “Known Occurrence” events can also take place during shifts. These events can cause things like lowering or raising the tide which can make the stage larger or smaller. Salmanoids can rush players in large numbers while moving at faster speeds and doing more damage than usual. Fog can descend upon the stage, making it harder to see incoming enemies. Or a mothership may appear and try to steal all of the golden eggs you’ve acquired during your shift. Another new addition to the mode is the “Big Run”, an event where Salmanoids invade the city. This event turns the stages you would normally play in Turf Battles Salmon Run stages, with lower elevated areas of the stages flooding. This event has yet to occur in game but was said to take place every few months.
Another new mode is “Tableturf”, a card game based on Turf battles. In the game, you can collect cards from leveling up your catalogue, finding them in the game’s campaign mode, or by using a gacha machine. In this game mode, you’ll build a deck of cards, each card has a different pattern on it, these patterns can be used to cover the surface of the board in game. Whoever covers most of the board wins. As you level up your rank for this mode, you’ll unlock more characters to face off against, each with their own decks and strategies.
There are also lockers, which seems to be Nintendo’s response to players asking for apartments ever since the first game. You’ll get your own personal locker that you can customize however you want. You can place your weapons, pictures, artifacts, clothes, even Moai statues!
And then there’s the story mode, “Return of the Mammalians.” Splatoon 3’s story mode is different from the previous two games mainly because it opts for level design more reminiscent of Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion DLC rather than the main campaigns of those previous two games. The previous games campaign had level design that was meant to accommodate 5 weapons that the player could use throughout the entire campaign. Because of this, the level design felt more like halls with a few enemies and platforming challenges. This game takes inspiration from the Octo Expansion, in which you’re thrown into a stage and forced to choose between one of three weapons to complete the stage with. The stages are also a lot more varied in their themes and level designs. There are stages where you shoot targets while grinding on rails, survive an onslaught of enemy fire for one minute, sneak past enemies without being seen, or even paint the entirety of a Moai statue! A new addition to the campaign though is Smallfry, otherwise known as “Little Buddy.” It’s a small salmanoid that serves as your companion throughout the campaign and works similar to a bomb projectile with the difference being he does deals out damage over a small period of time rather than dealing damage instantaneously. They can be helpful during certain levels and even be used to distract enemies. The campaign takes place in a new location known as “Alterna”, and if you know anything about the insanely deep lore behind Splatoon, then you’d know this area was created and once inhabited by humans. Most areas in Alterna are blocked off by “Fuzzy Ooze” which will halt your progress. In order to clear the fuzzy ooze, you’ll need a certain amount of “power eggs”, which are collectibles found throughout the various stages. With enough power eggs, you can have Smallfry eat the fuzzy ooze, thus clearing a path. Clearing fuzzy ooze may not always lead to a new stage though, sometimes it will lead you to a secret collectable, but most times it will lead to a stage or an alternate path to help get around Alterna easier.
The story of the campaign sees the return of characters from past entries such as Callie and Marie (The idols from the first Splatoon game) and even DJ Octavio (The main antagonist from both previous Splatoon games). Alongside these old characters, the story introduces the new Idol trio for Splatoon 3, Shiver, Frye, and Big Man. They play a minor role in the story and serve as antagonizing figures for a majority of it. As the name “Return of the Mammalians” suggests, the main story of the game focuses on the mysterious return of mammals, as they were believed to be extinct. The main villain is revealed very early on in the campaign, and it was pretty obvious who the villain would be to players who’ve previously played Splatoon 2, but the suspense never was who the villain was, but rather what they were. Upon beating the final boss though, there is an easter egg you may notice when returning to some of the game’s online modes, though I won’t spoil them here.
Something also needs to be commented on is the game’s music. Just like previous entries in the series, the music is fantastic. There’s Splattack! (Remix), Sea Me Now, Candy-Coated Rocks, Tentacle to the Metal, a remix of Happy Little Workers, the songs that play in the overworld of Alterna, I Am Octavio (Remix), Fins in the Air, and Anarchy Rainbow. Calimari Inkantation makes a return as Calimari Inkantation 3Mix which is an amazing remix of the song. Anarchy Rainbow is also a really good song performed by Splatoon 3’s main idols, Deep Cut (Shiver, Fyre, and Big Man.)
Everything about this game is great. The music, the characters, gameplay, everything comes together to make this an absolutely fantastic online game for the Switch. They didn’t need to make a card game, but they did it anyways and its incredibly fun and addicting to boot! The new mechanics introduced makes it somewhat difficult to return to the previous games in the series. I had very few connection issues with the game during my time playing, which is incredible for a Nintendo game. The splatfests were tons of fun and customizing my locker with a Moai statue only to see that millions of others did the exact same thing was hilarious. It was also really cool when the game was first revealed with how it showed the final splatfest from Splatoon 2 directly affected this game’s setting and makes me wonder what the game would’ve looked like if the other team had won that final splatfest. There was also the really cool concert that took place not too long ago which featured Deep Cut live in Tokyo. But with all that extra nonsense aside, this game is definitely a must-play if you’re a Nintendo Switch owner and I would definitely recommend that you play this game the second you get a chance to.
Big Man is obviously the best thing to happen to this game though.
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.
The Squeeble Site 