REVIEW: ‘Splatoon Raiders’ Shoots From The Paint

Splatoon Raiders, the latest paint-infused shooter from Nintendo, finally made me get Splatoon. The series has been one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises over the last decade. Splatoon is known for creative weapon design and a gameplay loop that made the ground as important as the enemy in front of you. I’ve tried to get into them more than a few times, but the series never really held me for long. 

Splatoon Raiders changed that. Taking the electric gunplay and shifting the focus towards a single-player looter shooter, Splatoon Raiders is a blast that doesn’t hold your hand and challenges you to find the right loadout for the mission ahead. 

Splatoon Raiders sees the player as the Mechanic, a squid kid who gets stuck in the Spirhalite Islands after a helicopter crash. Initially hired by Shiver, Fry, and Big Man, collectively known as Deep Cut, they all band together to get to the heart of the mysterious islands, find their way home, and find enough loot to make them rich and pay off all of Splatsville’s debt at the same time. It’s a fun narrative that doesn’t take itself too seriously, while also dropping enough moments of intrigue to keep the player island hopping. 

Splatoon Raiders is changing up the franchise’s formula, and it works.

The star of the show in Splatoon Raiders is the newfound looter shooter formula. You’ll set your loadout, pick a partner, and head out to the islands to fight through every Salmonid between you and your treasure. The levels are never longer than 10 minutes at most, but they’re constantly creative.

Whether it’s just making it to the end of the level, or running around a more open area to get enough Power Eggs to crack a giant crystal, each space feels different than the one before. Differing heights and sight lines, a giant enemy pool, and plenty of weapon options marry with the level design to push the player to find the perfect approach; otherwise, failure awaits.

Splatoon Raiders’ gunplay and weapon variety are fantastic, with each new loadout offering a totally different play style. At the heart of the combat kit is the tank, with three options that change your gadgets. The Power Tank is offensively focused, with gadgets that hit the enemy hard.

The Speed Tank keeps you moving, where the gadgets are more focused on getting in and out of the fray quickly. Traps and deployable gadgets are the bread and butter of the Tactical Tank, controlling the battlefield to let your inner tactician fly. They all level up and get better as you progress, with the max upgrades actually pushing the player to use other tanks as well.

The gadgets go hand in hand with the tanks, with two parts of each loadout. The Speed Tank ended up being my go-to, with a gadget that has you jumping into the fray and causing an explosion where you land, and another that sends out a boomerang that does damage on the way out and back in. The Tactical tank, on the other hand, drops turrets to take out enemies while you keep your distance. It gives you plenty of agency to kit out to match your guns and relics, choosing the right tools for the level ahead.

Guns have a ton of variety as well, keeping up the creative options the Splatoon series is known for. You have your standard assault rifle and minigun offerings, but then you can also take a giant roller brush and roll enemies into oblivion.

A bow and arrow is as effective as a bucket of paint, where one gives you distance and precision and the other covers everything in front of you in fluorescent colors. Rounding out your combat kit are relics, offering different boons like faster swim speeds and a double jump. 

In most looter shooters, finding the right weapon is like stepping into the right pair of shoes. They feel right and help the player fight through whatever challenge is next. You wear them for long enough until you find the next new shiny pair of shoes, switch them out, and continue. Splatoon Raiders doesn’t give you the luxury of wearing the same pair for long. Each level is a different challenge, layout, and varying enemies – bring the wrong tools, and you’ll be back in the hub before long.

For example, one enemy type is shielded from the front, sides, and top. Trying to smack it with a paintbrush won’t do much; wailing away will result in a totally overwhelming situation as enemies close in. On the other hand, slipping around them and blasting them with a mini-gun makes short work of them. Another level may need you to take out enemies coming from multiple directions, making the Tactical tank and a bow a great pairing. 

Splatoon Raiders pushes back against the player constantly, quickly becoming overwhelming if the right strategies aren’t used. That’s what makes it so much fun, with every piece of new loot being a potentially game-changing inclusion.

A level that you may have skipped before because you couldn’t finish in time becomes more manageable thanks to something new you pick up, nailing the looter shooter philosophy. It’s not just that it’s hard or that the enemies are overly spongy; every level is a puzzle in its own right that you’re challenged to find the solution to. 

Splatoon Raiders continues Nintendo’s hot streak with its Switch 2 first-party titles.

That extends to the bosses and bonus levels too. The boss fights are huge and loud, paint flying everywhere as you try to deal with the large foe in front of you and the mobs everywhere around. The bonus levels task you with getting to the end with a specific gadget or kit, limiting you in what you can bring but forcing you to think creatively with your options.

Each level feels designed to be more than just shoot and run, even though shooting and running feels great. You can even bring in friends for co-op or hop into other people’s games to help out, which is always fun.

Overall, Splatoon Raiders is a fun twist on the multiplayer-centric series. The level design and gunplay are fantastic, with the combat kits being deep and varied. It constantly pushes back at you, challenging you to find the right tools for the job in a way that keeps the player on their toes. The story is a fun ride too, one that had me interested to see what was waiting on the next island. Splatoon Raiders continues Nintendo’s hot streak on the Switch 2 and, for the first time, I’m excited about whatever comes next in the world of Splatoon. 

Splatoon Raiders is out now on the Nintendo Switch 2.