Splatoon 3
Review Information Time played: 16 hours Platform: Nintendo Switch Splatoon 2 was – for all intents and purposes – no more than a port of the original Wii U squid shooter to the Nintendo Switch. Its single-player campaign was a marginal improvement over the first game’s glorified tutorial, but its multiplayer suite still didn’t allow you to team up with friends outside of ranked play. And while the newly added Salmon Run was buckets of fun, it was kneecapped by arbitrary time gating. Until the release of its excellent Octo Expansion campaign, Splatoon 2 felt more like a cautious step forward where a real Squid Surge was needed. Splatoon 3, by comparison, is the ‘eel’ deal. Nintendo has clearly focused on ironing out all the issues fans have had since the 2015 original. While the game’s main draw – its competitive multiplayer – remains largely familiar, it’s benefited from all sorts of quality-of-life upgrades. Improvements so welcome they caused me to audibly shout – mainly v...