Splatoon Raiders Is a Simplistic Looter Shooter That Doesn’t Do Enough New to Stand Out (Review)

Since its introduction in 2015, Splatoon has become one of Nintendo’s most successful new franchises of the 21st century. With each new installment, Nintendo has continued to expand upon Splatoon’s core multiplayer gameplay while also deepening the number of different modes and game types available. Now, with Splatoon Raiders, Nintendo has abandoned the PvP roots of the series in favor of a predominantly single-player, PvE experience that is all about leveling up, collecting loot, and expanding your home base.

As the first spin-off in the Splatoon franchise, Raiders does a great job of adapting the mechanics of the series into a new format. Its core gameplay loop is one that is initially quite engaging, as you always feel like you’re making progress in some manner toward a new unlock. Unfortunately, Raiders ends up feeling pretty bare-bones the more time that you spend with it, as it fails to do anything interesting or fresh within its new genre.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Pros	Cons
Core gameplay loop is satisfying and engaging	One of the worst-looking Switch 2 exclusives yet
Missions are typically short, making for a perfect game to play in brief bursts	Doesn’t bring much of anything new to the looter shooter genre
Later levels are particularly chaotic and fast-paced	Storyline and characters are uninteresting
Boss fights are a ton of fun

Splatoon’s Gameplay Remains Incredibly Fun in Raiders

If you’ve played a Splatoon game before, then you’ll immediately know what to expect from Raiders on a gameplay front. Many of the weapon types seen in Splatoon 3 are back here in Raiders, as is the ability to turn from a kid into a squid with the press of a button. Covering levels with ink and zipping your way in and out between enemies is a staple of Splatoon Raiders, just as it has been in every other entry.

The obvious big departure with Raiders is that you’re primarily taking on various Salmonid enemies rather than battling other players. Splatoon Raiders is filled with a great variety of Salmonids to fight off, and it sends these baddies after you in great number. The game’s later stages, and some of its challenge levels, prove to be particularly hectic, as the entire screen will often be filled with Salmonids attacking you from both the ground and air. All of this leads to Splatoon Raiders being the most fast-paced experience in the series yet, which makes for a lot of fun.

Outside of blasting Salmonids with your primary weapon, Raiders also equips you with different gadgets that can be used. These abilities can only be utilized when off cooldown and belong to three different categories: Speed, Power, and Tactical. These gadgets, along with the “Showstopper” attacks that can be used at certain points, provide a greater level of customization when it comes to determining your own playstyle in Splatoon Raiders. It also allows for more variety, meaning that if you ever grow tired of running gadgets that belong to the Power tank, for example, you can quickly tweak your loadout to alter the way you’re playing.

Raiders Is All About Loot, Loot, and More Loot

While the gameplay of Splatoon Raiders is the star of the show, the game’s main objective is centered entirely around gathering loot that can be used to upgrade various items. After becoming stranded on the Spirhalite Islands, your character, simply known as the Mechanic, sets out on a number of bite-sized missions in pursuit of treasure, new weapons, and crafting materials. Everything that you collect in Raiders will allow you to improve your character, develop new gadgets, or power-up weapons, while also expanding the confines of your home base.

In this way, Splatoon Raiders does a great job of making you feel like you’re constantly unlocking something new. Even if you happen to fail a mission, you’ll often find that your character may have leveled up or earned enough of a certain crafting material that will allow you to immediately improve your stats and jump back in for another run.

The longer I played Splatoon Raiders, however, the more I grew tired of this loop. Raiders often feels like you’re never building toward anything substantial, with the satisfaction of its loop mainly deriving from the fact that you get to see your character level, health, and damage numbers simply increasing over time. Although this is more or less how many other looter shooters operate, Raiders doesn’t feature a compelling narrative or characters that help offset the focus on this constant, repeating loop. As much as I would enjoy the gameplay of Raiders, I had greatly tired of its cyclical format as time went on.

Splatoon Raiders Might Be the Most Visually Disappointing Switch 2 Exclusive Yet

Up until this point, most of Nintendo’s Switch 2 exclusives have taken a big leap forward in terms of fidelity and performance. Games like Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Star Fox have all looked excellent, making it clear that they couldn’t have worked on previous Switch hardware. Instead of impressing in this same manner, though, Splatoon Raiders doesn’t make as great a use of the Switch 2.

Although the game performs well, Splatoon Raiders isn’t very graphically impressive in the slightest. This underwhelming level of fidelity is paired with an art style that occasionally looks washed out or overly grey. Although some of the character designs (particularly for the Salmonids) are strong, the various levels seen throughout Raiders are quite bland, to say the least.

In spite of some drawbacks, there’s still plenty of enjoyment to be had with Splatoon Raiders. Its fast-paced combat and short levels make Raiders a great game to play in brief bursts, which is particularly ideal for those who play Switch 2 while on the go. Nintendo has found with Raiders that it can absolutely expand the Splatoon IP outside of its trappings as a competitive multiplayer series with ease, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement and ingenuity if this spin-off were to get a sequel of its own in the future.

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Splatoon Raiders is set to release later this week on June 23rd, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2. An advance copy of the game was provided by Nintendo for the purpose of this review.