The storymode is fine, though incredibly repetitive if going for hero weapon completion. Going for 9 instead the 3 from the first game (not mentioning that the first game only required 4 levels instead of the entire story mode) is absolutely ridiculous.
The levels themselves are fine, if not a bit underwhelming, though the final boss steals the show
The multiplayer was pretty alright too, though it is hard to get matchmaking these days. The Splatfests were fantastic with all of the gimmick stages

the best of the (so far) 3 splatoon games, and by extension probably my favourite shooter ever made. i was a fan of sp1 but since this was the first splatoon i played thanks to it being the first switch game i ever owned, this was the game that properly introduced me to the world of splatoon, a world which feels like the backdrop to my own psyche at this point. the systems behind the multiplayer are flawed, but when the game actually fucking works it feels phenomenal. there really hasn't been any multiplayer shooter that has felt better before or after this game's release. the visual style that the game provides is also my favourite of the 3 games; it expands on splatoon 1's aesthetics in every way imaginable, and totally rocks the shit out of anything that splatoon 3 can muster thanks to that game's stupid chaos theme and the fact that sp3's ui is minimalistic in the most fucking boring way imaginable. it has the best backing tracks of any of the 3 games, with the best bands both in terms of sound and just the characters that comprise said bands, which helps to add to the world. the hero mode is nothing special, but i like it more than sp3's because atleast in this one i get to have a P90 that shoots so much ink that the shots unify and basically become an instant death laser. all of this, plus other aspects that i haven't bothered to delve into, alongside Octo Expansion, which is tied for my favourite videogame ever propels this game to peak kino status. as a whole it's honestly probably the best first party game nintendo has ever made

It sure is the first Splatoon game on the Switch! We're not including Octo Expansion in this, so we're just left with the basegame. And fortunately, while it's still a little jank, you could do far worse in our opinion. Sucks ass that the plaza posting is gonna break because of the Twitter API. And also, Octo Canyon is actually surprisingly fun and we enjoyed chipping away for 1001% SUPERFRESH!!, but please, NEVER grind out for it.

Let's be honest, though--nowadays, it's more of a 3-star. Unless you're buying Octo Expansion (AND YOU SHOULD), there's not much "objective" reason to play this again aside from curiosity.

...Unfortunately, screw objectivism.