Seeing as I played/enjoyed Splatoon 1, and missed out on Spla2oon, Splatoon 3 is a fantastic return to, and evolution of, the series for me personally. I've seen much debate over the fact that 3 feels like nothing more than a 2.5, and that's fair for long term players. But for me, this is an absolute blast!

The single player campaign is slight, not much more than an overlong tutorial session for weapons and playstyles. But damn, it's still a fun and creative series of platforming and 3rd-person shooting challenges. The final run up to the end game boss is a satisfying gauntlet, and the final boss fight itself keeps you on your toes in a surprisingly cool way.

As for the multiplayer and online components: Everything added really streamlines the already terrific loop of the multiplayer modes. Short bursts of action with one core objective that lets you pursue victory in whatever way suits you best. I'm typically a Roller, but Splatoon 3's new weapons encouraged me to experiment with more weapon types. The way Ranked Mode also judges you on your individual results, as well as team results, doesn't make me feel like a complete n00b as well.

Salmon Run is the funniest horde mode I've ever played, and certainly the most fun I've had in a co-op wave survival run in some time. The escalation of "bosses" and the speed at which they emerge leaves no room for slacking off. When you have a full squad, it creates an intense and fun sense of urgency.

I'm hoping to put a lot more time into this game. But for now, with the main campaign complete, I'm happy to say Splatoon 3 is top-tier 2022 release in my book.

Yeah I think Splatoon is so fucking overrated. It’s so much better in concept than execution. It feels so slow, it’s barely changed, and what has isn’t any good. Like having to respawn then just hitting a button to go again just takes longer it’s not fun. The story mode in Splatoon is always bad (except Octo Expansion) and this is def the best of the main games. Actually unique bosses, and reusing the mission type in Octo Expansion. But I fucking hate Deep Cut. Their designs are are awful. Shiver got that big ass nose and Frye got that Big ass forehead. They aren’t funny or cute they’re just annoying. And their catchphrase (you lip synch, we drip ink) ISNT FUCKING CLEVER ALL YHE PEOPLE IN SPLATOON DRIP INK. FUCK. None of this applies to Big Man btw. He’s cool. I do enjoy Multiplayer enough to give this an ok review but this shit isn’t nearly as good as everyone says.

Considering the fact that this game has almost two years of support left, it's hard to say what Splatoon 3 is gonna be like when it's all said and done. Still, I believe playing this nearly nonstop for three months gives me enough to finally gather my thoughts for now (I think). I'll just go through each of the modes I played and go from there.

Turf War - Even after 7 years, I'm still surprised at just how great of a casual mode this is. The idea of covering every area in ink allows for noobs and sweats alike to feel like they're contributing towards victory, and it helps that most of the new Stages hearken back to the urban feel provided in the first Splatoon. I also feel like the old Stages have just enough changed to make them feel entirely new.

Salmon Run (Next Wave) - If you didn't enjoy the mode in Splatoon 2, I'm sorry to say that you probably won't enjoy it here. For me, Salmon Run is just fine. I usually play it a few times to collect whatever new Grizzco Gear is available for that month before never touching it again until the next one. And as always, fuck the Flyfish Boss Salmonid.

Hero Mode (Return of the Mammalians) - After the neat but overall underwhelming experiences of Octo Valley/Canyon, the Octo Expansion DLC in 2018 is exactly the challenge that I was looking for (and believe to be fitting of the Splatoon series). I'm more than happy to say that Return of the Mammalians exceeds anything that's come before it, all by combining the best elements of the prior three single-player modes. I was also surprised at just how insane the story got by the end, and I implore anyone considering this game to see it through to the end.

Anarchy Battles - With me only enjoying 2/4 of the battle modes, I was hoping that they would try and make new ones that hook me in. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Still, I really appreciate how your Rank is now the same for all modes and not a bunch of alphabet soup like in Splatoon 2.

Tableturf Battle - A nothing mode, seriously. I'm only grinding through the mind-numbing experience for just one Emote.

Overall - Get this: if you enjoyed Splatoon and Splatoon 2, you'll probably enjoy Splatoon 3. Crazy thought, right? But seriously, this will easily be the best game in the series by 2024. While the new stuff is all great for the most part, I can't help but still feel like there's more that could have been added. But alas, that's just a consequence of living in the age of Nintendo's "FREE UPDATE" model.

Somewhat Short Review:

As someone who didn't enjoy Splatoon 2 all that much, I'm a bit surprised I enjoyed Splatoon 3 game a ton. However, there still a lot of problems I have with this game and most of that has to do with the Multiplayer and Salmon Run.

Story Mode is very much improved overall. The hub areas are kinda fun to explore. There're tons of variety with the missions as well and they were a ton of fun minus some annoying missions that require me to aim. (Sorry I don't use motion controls lol.)

Multiplayer is pretty much the same as before, but at least you can do something while in matchmaking. Still don't like the whole schedule stuff and matchmaking takes too long sometimes. Oh yeah right... way too much connection errors. Come the fuck on Nintendo lmao. At the very least it can be fun with friends and gameplay feels more snappier than ever before with the addition of squid roll and faster respawn times.

Salmon Run is still very much the same except it's available 24/7 and you can throw eggs I guess. To be honest Salmon Run is just ok, but I don't like very much due to grinding for rewards feeling like a chore because you must rely on your teammates to collect as many eggs as possible before time runs out meanwhile you get spammed by so many bosses that come in like every direction. Yeah I hate this mode, but it's fine when I don't play it very often.

Overall, the game is pretty decent but Nintendo really need to get there shit together. There are a lot of minor inconveniences that really does turn me away for a bit. There's a lot I can list here, but that would take all day. Really do have a love-hate relationship with this game don't I? If you love Splatoon 2 enough, this game won't let you down for its improvements. As for me, it could honestly be a whole lot better, but it's a somewhat solid game in the series.