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A Review of Splatoon 3: A Shooter Game Unlike any Other
A Review of Splatoon 3: A Shooter Game Unlike any Other
By: Jake Gigantelli / October 21, 2022
By: Jake Gigantelli / October 21, 2022
Imagine the typical shooter. Everything is focused on one aspect: gameplay. Who are you? Don't care, have a rifle and have at it. While the world may look "realistic" and "High-quality," it is just… boring. Some may have some colors, but generally, the graphics are one of the last priorities of this genre. Now, what if, hear me out, we took the graphics and made it critical to gameplay?
(Splatoon 3's promotion art)
"One day, the marine organisms began to feel something. Something… fresh."
- Splatoon 3
Enter Splatoon 3, exclusive to the Nintendo Switch and appropriate for all ages. One of the first things players will notice is that this game takes the genre and puts it on its head. This is done by fundamentally altering how the Splatoon series' weapons function compared to other shooters. When you fire your weapon, instead of having normal bullets, the bullets are made of ink. Not just black ink, like normal squids, but vibrant, neon colors which make everything stand out. Yellows, reds, blues and all of that. It just… works.
It makes it easy to differentiate between your team's and the enemy team's control, since the bullets cover the ground with ink as they travel. Even if all the color was removed, the difference in shade would still allow the player to know which teams controls which areas. There is even a "color lock" mode for colorblind individuals to allow them to play the game just as easily as others by making all the color selections contrasting to one another.
Speaking of accessibility, one new feature the third installment brings is more customization. In Splatoon (1) and Splatoon 2, the player's hair choice depended on their gender. In Splatoon 3, however, all hairstyles are allowed for all genders, and the only change is the voice of the player's character. The only barrier for hairstyles is based on the player's choice of species, being either a shapeshifting humanoid squid or shapeshifting humanoid octopus. The different hairstyles do not affect gameplay; save for being able to maybe see a little more with some hairstyles. What does affect gameplay, however, is the clothing.
Splatoon 3 made a slight change to how the ability-toting clothing works. Instead of the abilities on a piece of clothing being fixed, such as in Splatoon and Splatoon 2, the abilities can be swapped around for a small in-game fee. Abilities give the player a small boost in matches, and can range from being able to swim without being easily detectable, to simple things like more run speed, swim speed, or less ink used when firing your weapon.
The clothing store in Splatoon 3. This shirt has "Ink Recovery Up", letting the player recover ink faster when reloading.
Wait, swim?
Well, yeah. The ink that the player's weapon fires can be swimmed through for a large speed bonus, small stealth bonus, and also being the primary way to reload ink. This swimming lets Splatoon 3 be more fluid compared to other games, as fights are often a duck-in, duck-out scenario. Quickly defeat your target, then go back to do… whatever you were doing. Splatoon 3 also adds two new movement options: the Squid Roll and Squid Surge. Squid Rolls are either an easy way to turn around while keeping your speed, or a wall jump. Squid Surges allow for easy climbing of walls, as most walls can be inked. These two allowed the already diverse gameplay of Splatoon 3 to be even more diverse. Even if the player dies, they can "super jump" to teammates to get right back into the action. Players are zipping around the map, quickly defeating foes, and the game is a total blast to play due to its movement.
The Ballpoint Splatling: Living proof that the pen IS mightier than the sword!
Splatoon 3 features many classes of weapons, and here is another thing amazing about this game…its creativity. The weapons are not just your normal guns for a shooter, but instead cover all kinds of bases. Fancy bottles, fire hydrants, fishing lines, windshield wipers, brushes, umbrellas, sinks, and even pens are all used as weapons. The clothing store is called "Man-o'-Wardrobe," and is run by a jellyfish. The shoe store has a similar pun in its name too – "Crush Station" when the owner is, aptly, a crustacean. The dialogue in the single-player mode is also charming to the point where an entire level is designed around enemies who get enraged through the player's helpers making puns about them. The game oozes personality, and it takes that in stride while not relenting on much else.
All of the weapons even have their own playstyle – aggressive players may enjoy the "Dualies," which can perform dodge rolls to fake out their opponents or travel faster. Players who want to play a backline sniper weapon may enjoy the "E-Liter 4K" – a weapon which excels at picking off opponents from vantage points. Even players who cannot decide on their playstyle have weapons for them – a common answer to the playstyle question is "why not both?" The Ballpoint Splatling changes its role from a short-range painter to a long-range sniper during its charge, and the Splatana's ink slashes can damage opponents from a moderate distance, while maintaining its impressive melee power. There's a weapon for everyone! Bundled in with these weapons are a sub and a special – subs are independent, smaller weapons, such as a Splat Bomb (ink grenade). Specials are flashy finishers, such as Tenta Missiles, which reveal the entire enemy team no matter what, displaces them, and can be used at any range. This special is comedically unbalanced.
The Sub/Special Weapon UI. This weapon has Curling Bomb (Sub) and Tenta Missiles (Special)
This game has so much to it, so much so that it cannot be covered in this review alone – the best way to experience something is to do it yourself, after all. Players who enjoy shooters, but want a new kind of shooter should choose Splatoon 3.
Rating: 8.5/10
Rating: 8.5/10
Pros
The game is incredibly vibrant.
Movement feels wonderful.
Great playstyle diversity.
Diverse customization options.
Most game modes are fair to all players.
Cons
Connection issues appear regularly enough to be annoying.
Tenta Missiles.
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