MGC Reviews: Splatoon 3

YOU. SHOULD. BE. PLAYING. SPLATOON. 3. Why are you reading this and not playing Splatoon??

I have loved the idea of Splatoon since the original Global Testfire that was held in May of 2015. It’s such an interesting and fresh take on the shooter genre that was 100% Nintendo. Every aspect of this game series just oozed cool from the characters to the weapon designs. It was unique and didn’t focus on intensive accuracy and the game modes were just pure fun that was easy for anyone to pick up.

As the game series has evolved, there have been some great quality of life improvements made from the addition of new game modes to an… interesting voice chat feature with Splatoon 2 that used Nintendo’s phone app. Everything about the experience of playing Splatoon just makes you want more. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but overall the game rewards you for playing and not just for being “good” at it. The user experience is fluid and snappy and it makes you feel awesome when you win and want to go another round when you lose. I have rarely in my gaming life been back to a single game as much as I go back to Splatoon 3. It’s not because there’s a ton of new content I want to play. It’s not because all my friends are playing Splatoon. It is because the game is a genuinely fun time when you play without fail. My daughter picked up a controller this past week when it was idly playing on a screen at our Summer Camp and just started throwing ink around the screen and couldn’t get enough.

I want to say that this game speaks to everyone in a different way, but overall really brings out the kid in you when you play. With Turf War, the entire premise isn’t to kill your enemy or blow up an objective. It’s just to color the ground in your color of ink. That’s it! It’s so simple, but can be more complex at higher levels of play. The game caters to what the player wants in a way that makes it almost feel personal at times. Want to play a more objective based mode? There are competitive modes like Rainmaker where you or one of your teammates have to carry a heavy weapon that takes a while to charge and use over to pedestals on your enemies side. I’ve won this game mode without ever firing the weapon once when I have a great team around me to escort me. Or if you would rather play a cooperative game mode, there’s Salmon Run where you and your team defend an area against a horde of fish to gather golden eggs for your grizzly benefactor. It’s chaotic and hectic and just a ton of fun!

My only gripe with Splatoon 3 and why I’m not giving it a perfect 10/10 is it seemed to take a step backwards as far as accessibility is concerned. One of our coaches is fully color blind and has a hard time differentiating between colors. Splatoon 2 had an amazing color blind mode that not only locked colors, but added patterns to the ink as it lays on the ground so it’s easier to see which is yours and which is your enemies. For whatever reason Splatoon 3 went back to just locked colors with no patterns. It seems like a weird step in the wrong direction as far as making the game playable by Everyone and I would be lying if I said it didn’t bother me.

Overall, this game is wonderful. I have never not enjoyed playing this game and I could talk about it for hours! (Please talk to me about Splatoon 3 at events!) I cannot recommend this game enough to new players or veterans. It’s really awesome when I get a chance to see people enjoying the game as much as I do in person. So, join us on October 26th for our next Splatoon Tournament!!

Rating: 9/10

-Andrew