Splatoon 3 is more Splatoon. That's it.
Is this the best version of Splatoon? Yeah
Does it add anything new or groundbreaking to the series? Absolutely not.
If you've never played Splatoon and you've always been curious, Splatoon 3 is the perfect place to jump in.
If you're a seasoned Splatoon player who just loves Splatoon and wants more. You will probably be thrilled with More Splatoon and will really appreciate the quality of life improvements they've made to the game.
However, if you are like me, and you were looking for a full, proper sequel to Splatoon 2 the way Nintendo usually does sequels, this ain't it. This is more similar to an annual Call of Duty release with some incremental improvements. It's got a new campaign, new MP maps, new guns, new outfits, and some quality of life improvements like matchmaking with friends (finally). But at its core, Splatoon 3 it's the same game as the games before it.
Splatoon was one of my favorite games on the Wii U. And when Splatoon 2 came out on Switch, I was delighted to have it on a new platform with some new modes to play. I put probably a couple hundred hours into those games combined. So when Splatoon 3 came out and it was just more of what I've already spent 200+ hours doing, I fell off pretty quickly. I finished the campaign, played some multiplayer, did Salmon Run, and tried the boring new card game, but I've already spent dozens of hours ranking up in multiplayer to get cool new outfits with the last two games. It's the same exact gameplay loop as before, and honestly, I'm good.
Even with the improvements they made to the game's multiplayer and other systems, the game still has Nintendo's baffling internet connectivity design. Multiple activities in the game require an internet connection, but the only place you can actually connect to the internet is the Multiplayer Lobby. So, if you load into Salmon Run offline, the game will instruct you that you need to be online to play. Instead of just simply connecting you to the internet then and there, you have to quit out of Salmon Run, go back to the Lobby, connect to the internet, and then go back to Salmon Run. Wild.
I've always thought Splatoon's campaigns were pretty underrated. Most folks ignored them and just played the multiplayer, but I've always really loved the single player content. This one hooked me quickly and I was having a blast, but it didn't take long for that excitement to wear off. The environments are boring, the gimmicks got stale, and the story is lacking.
Overall, Splatoon 3 is a solid game. It's not bad, I've just played it before.
+ Welcome quality of life improvements like matchmaking with friends
+ Overall multiplayer has been improved
+ Fun new characters
+ Some solid new maps, fun new weapons, and more ways to customize your squid kid
- It's the same game as Splatoon 2
- Single-player campaign gets stale quickly and relies heavily on gimmicks like bad on-rails levels
- Classic Nintendo terrible internet connectivity design
Is this the best version of Splatoon? Yeah
Does it add anything new or groundbreaking to the series? Absolutely not.
If you've never played Splatoon and you've always been curious, Splatoon 3 is the perfect place to jump in.
If you're a seasoned Splatoon player who just loves Splatoon and wants more. You will probably be thrilled with More Splatoon and will really appreciate the quality of life improvements they've made to the game.
However, if you are like me, and you were looking for a full, proper sequel to Splatoon 2 the way Nintendo usually does sequels, this ain't it. This is more similar to an annual Call of Duty release with some incremental improvements. It's got a new campaign, new MP maps, new guns, new outfits, and some quality of life improvements like matchmaking with friends (finally). But at its core, Splatoon 3 it's the same game as the games before it.
Splatoon was one of my favorite games on the Wii U. And when Splatoon 2 came out on Switch, I was delighted to have it on a new platform with some new modes to play. I put probably a couple hundred hours into those games combined. So when Splatoon 3 came out and it was just more of what I've already spent 200+ hours doing, I fell off pretty quickly. I finished the campaign, played some multiplayer, did Salmon Run, and tried the boring new card game, but I've already spent dozens of hours ranking up in multiplayer to get cool new outfits with the last two games. It's the same exact gameplay loop as before, and honestly, I'm good.
Even with the improvements they made to the game's multiplayer and other systems, the game still has Nintendo's baffling internet connectivity design. Multiple activities in the game require an internet connection, but the only place you can actually connect to the internet is the Multiplayer Lobby. So, if you load into Salmon Run offline, the game will instruct you that you need to be online to play. Instead of just simply connecting you to the internet then and there, you have to quit out of Salmon Run, go back to the Lobby, connect to the internet, and then go back to Salmon Run. Wild.
I've always thought Splatoon's campaigns were pretty underrated. Most folks ignored them and just played the multiplayer, but I've always really loved the single player content. This one hooked me quickly and I was having a blast, but it didn't take long for that excitement to wear off. The environments are boring, the gimmicks got stale, and the story is lacking.
Overall, Splatoon 3 is a solid game. It's not bad, I've just played it before.
+ Welcome quality of life improvements like matchmaking with friends
+ Overall multiplayer has been improved
+ Fun new characters
+ Some solid new maps, fun new weapons, and more ways to customize your squid kid
- It's the same game as Splatoon 2
- Single-player campaign gets stale quickly and relies heavily on gimmicks like bad on-rails levels
- Classic Nintendo terrible internet connectivity design