Before I begin, I want to clarify that while story mode is great, I’m focusing on multiplayer here.
I adore this game. Splatoon 3 is a blast to play with friends, with the game housing a strong community, creative art style, unique gameplay and a lot of weapon variety. Each game mode offers something fun and interesting while offering gameplay variety, and the number of different weapons with different play styles means there’s something for all kinds of people and most people can find at least one weapon they enjoy. but in fairness, a lot of that goes for splatoon in general. splatoon 3 added stringers and splatanas along with some new main weapons, but those points apply to splatoon as a whole.
But 3 builds on 1 and 2 in ways that make the game so much more enjoyable. Slight reworks to Rainmaker and Clam Blitz, for example (checkpoints and decreased clams needed for a football respectively), do wonders for the two modes. And on the subject of ranked, open ranked is a fantastic addition. It makes ranked easier to play with friends and allows for a less stressful setting to play ranked, without the higher stakes of series mode. Getting into ranked modes is so much less daunting in 3 compared to 1 and 2, and I think that’s a great thing. Salmon Run is also always open rather than the weird schedule system used in 2, which… okay, that shouldn’t have been a thing to begin with but still an improvement. Stylistically, 3 almost has a more matured look compared to 1 and 2 that makes the game look so much better than its predecessors. Squid rolling is such a nice movement technique that, for being just one new change, makes movement and gameplay feel a lot better when you know how to use it. And as a Range Blaster main I am obligated to point out that Intensify Action improving jump RNG is a blessing for blasters, it makes me so happy. This only scratches the surface of the great things 3 adds that make it so much fun to play.
I think 3 has a lot of double-edged swords though. For one, 3 has a whopping 19 possible specials for a weapon to have. On one hand, it means there’s room for a lot more kit variety, but in execution it means that specials end up being way more limited since fewer weapons get each special, and sometimes a special will go several seasons without getting a new kit. While I think the variety is great, there’s just too many specials. This problem is made worse by the other big double-edged sword for me of seasons. 3 does big updates every three months, adding new weapons, gear, and stages. There are some ways where this is cool, it makes updates feel more exciting, the catalog that comes with each season is fun to fill, and it’s fun to get together with friends when a new season drops to mess around with the new weapons and stages. In execution, however, I despise seasons. Updates feel way slower, and it ends up feeling way worse when a weapon you were waiting to see a new kit for has to wait another three months before it has a chance to get a new kit. Not to mention, the amount of weapons released each season has dropped a notable amount each season compared to launch, which has made weapon releases feel even slower than they already are.
And for the straight up bad, jesus christ Splatoon 3 stage design is just not good. There aren’t many truly great stages, and many of the really good stages from earlier games became worse in 3. They’re smaller, often lacking flank routes, and a lot of maps end up being completely shut down by snipers who can reach the majority of the map without leaving spawn. And there are some maps that are genuinely atrocious in certain modes, like Hammerhead Bridge in Clam Blitz. Maps in 3 shouldn’t be for every mode, because some maps don’t translate well into every mode, and need to be bigger and offer more flank routes and options. There’s also some balancing decisions (AHEM zero startup lag for Trizooka) that just… don’t feel great to play, especially as a casual. And for the weapons themselves, Nintendo seems to want to balance the game around shooters being the best class, and they also really like to make gimmick kits for weapons?? Like, Undercover Brella's base kit is designed around the gimmick of being a spy, but the kit is absolutely atrocious for the weapon. It's... not a great balancing philosophy.
There’s a lot more I haven’t said for both Splatoon 3’s strengths and weaknesses. Like I haven’t even touched on Splatfests and Salmon Run all that much (especially Big Run oh my god there’s a lot of praise I can sing for Big Run). Splatoon 3 is a big, complicated game. And I adore it to bits. While Splatoon 3 is certainly one of my favorite games and is a 5/5 in my heart, the bad map design makes me lower my grade if I look at the game objectively. I just adore this game a lot, and it means a lot to me. The game’s issues aside, 3 is fantastic and is a very important game to me.
I adore this game. Splatoon 3 is a blast to play with friends, with the game housing a strong community, creative art style, unique gameplay and a lot of weapon variety. Each game mode offers something fun and interesting while offering gameplay variety, and the number of different weapons with different play styles means there’s something for all kinds of people and most people can find at least one weapon they enjoy. but in fairness, a lot of that goes for splatoon in general. splatoon 3 added stringers and splatanas along with some new main weapons, but those points apply to splatoon as a whole.
But 3 builds on 1 and 2 in ways that make the game so much more enjoyable. Slight reworks to Rainmaker and Clam Blitz, for example (checkpoints and decreased clams needed for a football respectively), do wonders for the two modes. And on the subject of ranked, open ranked is a fantastic addition. It makes ranked easier to play with friends and allows for a less stressful setting to play ranked, without the higher stakes of series mode. Getting into ranked modes is so much less daunting in 3 compared to 1 and 2, and I think that’s a great thing. Salmon Run is also always open rather than the weird schedule system used in 2, which… okay, that shouldn’t have been a thing to begin with but still an improvement. Stylistically, 3 almost has a more matured look compared to 1 and 2 that makes the game look so much better than its predecessors. Squid rolling is such a nice movement technique that, for being just one new change, makes movement and gameplay feel a lot better when you know how to use it. And as a Range Blaster main I am obligated to point out that Intensify Action improving jump RNG is a blessing for blasters, it makes me so happy. This only scratches the surface of the great things 3 adds that make it so much fun to play.
I think 3 has a lot of double-edged swords though. For one, 3 has a whopping 19 possible specials for a weapon to have. On one hand, it means there’s room for a lot more kit variety, but in execution it means that specials end up being way more limited since fewer weapons get each special, and sometimes a special will go several seasons without getting a new kit. While I think the variety is great, there’s just too many specials. This problem is made worse by the other big double-edged sword for me of seasons. 3 does big updates every three months, adding new weapons, gear, and stages. There are some ways where this is cool, it makes updates feel more exciting, the catalog that comes with each season is fun to fill, and it’s fun to get together with friends when a new season drops to mess around with the new weapons and stages. In execution, however, I despise seasons. Updates feel way slower, and it ends up feeling way worse when a weapon you were waiting to see a new kit for has to wait another three months before it has a chance to get a new kit. Not to mention, the amount of weapons released each season has dropped a notable amount each season compared to launch, which has made weapon releases feel even slower than they already are.
And for the straight up bad, jesus christ Splatoon 3 stage design is just not good. There aren’t many truly great stages, and many of the really good stages from earlier games became worse in 3. They’re smaller, often lacking flank routes, and a lot of maps end up being completely shut down by snipers who can reach the majority of the map without leaving spawn. And there are some maps that are genuinely atrocious in certain modes, like Hammerhead Bridge in Clam Blitz. Maps in 3 shouldn’t be for every mode, because some maps don’t translate well into every mode, and need to be bigger and offer more flank routes and options. There’s also some balancing decisions (AHEM zero startup lag for Trizooka) that just… don’t feel great to play, especially as a casual. And for the weapons themselves, Nintendo seems to want to balance the game around shooters being the best class, and they also really like to make gimmick kits for weapons?? Like, Undercover Brella's base kit is designed around the gimmick of being a spy, but the kit is absolutely atrocious for the weapon. It's... not a great balancing philosophy.
There’s a lot more I haven’t said for both Splatoon 3’s strengths and weaknesses. Like I haven’t even touched on Splatfests and Salmon Run all that much (especially Big Run oh my god there’s a lot of praise I can sing for Big Run). Splatoon 3 is a big, complicated game. And I adore it to bits. While Splatoon 3 is certainly one of my favorite games and is a 5/5 in my heart, the bad map design makes me lower my grade if I look at the game objectively. I just adore this game a lot, and it means a lot to me. The game’s issues aside, 3 is fantastic and is a very important game to me.