Splatoon 3 Review – More Wonderful Same

There are few surprises in Splatoon 3’s multiplayer or campaign, but it’s by far the best Nintendo spectacular series.

When it comes to Nintendo’s most important release of the past 10 years, most people will – quite rightly – point to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as a huge achievement, even though for me there was one from a few years ago It’s just as important that the game came out. The Wii U era was Nintendo’s commercial low point, inspired by new things. The spooky splash of color is Splatoon, the long-awaited new IP from Building Mario’s House, and an impeccably delightful subversion of the modern shooter. For a company that may soon be unable to rely on familiarity, it offers a whole new level of shock.

What’s more, Splatoon was a huge success and has since become a phenomenon, with Tokyo’s convenience stores filled with official snacks and toys, and its knock-off brand of rambling third-person shooter action already seen by millions. accept.Maybe a little too successful, mind you; Splatoon 2 plays out in the Switch’s busy launch year, and it’s a quick sequel to the daring original that might feel a bit also familiar. That’s certainly how I felt at launch, though the hundreds of hours I’ve put into Splatoon 2 suggest that I might be wrong, or that they think more Splatoon isn’t a bad thing after all.

There was a feeling ahead of Splatoon 3’s release — it was five years ahead of its predecessor — that it only offered more of the same, and it’s only fair. It’s accurate, even; I’d understand if you couldn’t differentiate the lawn war game in Splatoon 2 from the game in Splatoon 3. They’re still fast, four-on-four, three-minute affairs in which you claim territory with your ink gun, spew tons of color across the map, and wipe out any enemies in your path, as you switch to fast-swimming squid form , dive in and out of the pool in a graceful arc. It’s a modern multiplayer shooter that’s as neat as pop art, and it’s as fun to play now as it was on the Wii U in 2015.

Turf Wars is still a staple of Splatoon 3, the casual mode you lock in until you reach level 10 and enter ranked mode – with the familiar flavors of Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker and Clam Blitz – and I still lean towards balance, composition And the brilliant pattern of execution. And the execution is neatly handled in some positive ways, adding two new actions to your mobile setup. There’s an ink roll that pulls away with a flick when you’re in squid form, giving you a brief window of invincibility when you spin out of the ink, and a squid surge that lets you speed up the surface and Pop the short-lived vertical dominance—the terrific additions are still slight enough that you’d be forgiven for not noticing they’re there.

Really, the biggest addition in Splatoon 3 isn’t the kind of thing to be applauded. It’s just that, seven years after its inception, it finally has some of the basic features you’d expect from a contemporary online multiplayer game. The lobby system introduced by Splatoon 3 has some quintessential Nintendo flair, while also offering a chance to remove some old frustrations.You no longer need to sit in the roll call for your current level every time you log in, you can Actually team up and play with friends And replays of ended matches can be loaded, while a locker system that showcases collectibles and badges you’ve unlocked through the game is a nice extension of the fashion obsession throughout Splatoon.

Salmon Run, a Horde-like mode that offers incredibly tense and increasingly challenging online co-op gameplay, is now available 24/7, while Splatfests, which debuted in a public demo late last month, is at The intro enjoyed a welcome tweak to three-way combat (given the balance issues encountered during the open beta, it looks like they might need to tweak themselves a bit, which is sure to happen before the periodic Splatfests return). There’s even something like a seasonal event, with a rewards catalog that lets you tweak your way through introductions every three months. The action itself may be familiar, but in Splatoon 3 it has the potential to feel downright modern in some ways.

It’s all rich, too, and a generosity that offsets that familiarity. Perhaps the best example is the one I’ve spent the least time with, a full-fledged 1v1 card battle game if you venture down one of the alleys of the new central world Splatsville. Here, you can bring and build your own deck in a clever sublimation of Splatoon’s Turf War mode. After the few times I’ve played it, it’s showing some neat depth and I’m eager to play more.

Or there was an event that gave me about 8 or more hours of intense challenge, and it was worth the price of entry alone. Single-player campaigns aren’t new to Splatoon — the first game was essentially its tutorial, and the second game fleshed it out even further, until the Octo expansion offered a full-fledged single-player experience as a paid download. Splatoon 3’s campaign is as fulfilling (and frustrating in some ways) as the Octo expansion, and if you’ve played it — or heard the enthusiastic response from players — you’ll know it’s a really good thing matter.

Re-entered by popping a drain hole in the main hub – an impressive entrance that turns out to be a rather grandiose mode – Splatoon 3’s campaign gives you a whole hub world to explore. Or six of them, even, split into six islands with the world of Alterna that provided the backdrop for Splatoon 3’s “Return of the Mammals.” You’ll gradually unlock these through your adventure, using the orbs you get from levels to blast away obstacles so you can get to the next set of levels or any secrets the overworld might be hiding.

This way it’s no different than some traditional Mario battles, and of course the Mario game that Splatoon gets the most attention is Super Mario Sunshine. These comparisons have been compared to Splatoon from the start, thanks to the fluid dynamics shared by the two games, though I think it’s a comparison that’s still useful; Nintendo brings the same subversion to the shooter’s staple The method, told in Splatoon in large, colorful ink, is a joy to watch.feel the same pleasure It has core mechanics to use them in more creative ways; in the dozens of levels of the Splatoon 3 campaign, you can find as many moments of surprise and joy as you can find in some of the best Mario games, which should tell Everything you need to know.

However, I should tell you more.Like Splatoon 3’s campaign, in essence, it still acts as a tutorial for you to learn about some of the new weapons and specials you’ll be using in multiplayer – but how! The new weapons introduced in Splatoon 3 are incredible.There’s the Tri-Stringer, a bow that’s also probably taken from the Rambo 3, its three arrows embedded in the surface when fully charged and exploding in a satisfying fashion snapexplores some things in detail with Target Run, which lets you line up tricks as you speed up on the ink track.

Or have new sub-weapons, like shooting grenades from angles bouncing off walls, for some clever, more puzzling levels. Or a new feature like Zipcaster, a grapple that throws you towards your target at exhilarating speed, for some dizzying vertical platforming levels. Or sometimes it’s fun to just go back to basics and color things, like in one level you just use a big bucket of paint to cover the Maui’s head with heavy ink. So yes, if you’re feeling mean, you can call it another extended tutorial, but only think of Mario games in the same way as an extended tutorial for plumber action.

The best workout for the player and Splatoon 3’s mobile setup is provided by boss encounters, which again provide the highlights as well as some of the most tense moments of the campaign. Sadly we can’t show you too much due to some pretty strict restrictions in the review embargo – although they are understandable as these boss fights are filled with wacky and constantly innovative attacks from some familiar characters and are worth it Experience first – hands-on.

There are other secrets too, such as the scrolls that delve into the Splatoon lore can be found in the central world – something that has been lightly outlined before and fully explored here, the series’ joyous apocalypse and its grim warning about global warming in the colorful Splashes and smiles, and is told here in eye-opening detail. There’s even an upgrade system that unlocks abilities as you mine upgrade points and salmon shards, which help increase your resistance to enemy ink, for example, in a full-fledged skill tree – if you want to stand in a In a mature skill tree, this is an essential investment to have a chance against some of the more difficult bosses later on.

By the end of the event, you should be satisfied enough, if not exhausted by the tests that later levels put you on. Splatoon 3’s campaign isn’t quite as challenging as Octo Expansion, which is perhaps the best view since it’s more suitable for new players than hardcore add-ons, but it does provide an exciting workout.

There are some valid criticisms to be made. Splatoon 3’s levels, like previous ones, are abstract things made of familiar parts, and they never have the coherence of a truly great Mario level. They often feel like little labs, or white-box levels that designers play with before they’re fully fleshed out – but on the flip side, you’ll see some of Nintendo’s best designers playing around, making little sketches for you to explore A newly expanded toolset for Splatoon 3.

It’s more like Splatoon, which I understand isn’t enough for many people. but also: its more like a splatoon, a generous new outing for one of the most polished, playable, and flawlessly executed series from Nintendo’s first-party developer team. It lacks new shocks, but in Splatoon 3, you get the feel of a special series that really takes its stride forward.