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I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical when I first saw Splatoon Raiders. Despite being CGM’s biggest Splatoon fan, I wondered how a “single-player focused Splatoon experience” would work for a game whose central hook is its multiplayer experience. But the more I saw of it, the more I began to think, “this is so crazy, it just might work!”
And heck if it doesn’t work! Splatoon Raiders essentially takes the best parts of Salmon Run and Side Order and smushes them together for an experience that feels both familiar and new for the franchise. And while it still attaches some weird “Nintendo Rules” restrictions to the game, it addresses so much of what I’ve complained about in the past that it’s hard not to get sucked in.
As was touched on briefly in the Splatoon Raiders Direct, the story involves Deep Cut—the pop stars from Splatoon 3—travelling to the mysterious Spirhalite Islands in search of treasure in order to pay off the massive debt that the entirety of Splatsville has found itself in. After a freak storm downs their helicopter, the trio (alongside their pilot/mechanic) find themselves forced onto a makeshift barge for several months.
Determined to return home with the funds they need, the four begin exploring the Spirhalite Island, slowly getting embroiled in a mystery involving the islands, the Salmonids and themselves. What I really like about Splatoon Raiders’ story is how well developed and well delivered it feels. Out of the three groups, I didn’t really care much for Deep Cut (Off The Hook 4eva), but the game does a really good job of fleshing the three out and making them incredibly endearing.
Not only that, but Splatoon Raiders features more animated cutscenes than any other Splatoon game, giving the story a much grander and more dynamic feel than ever before. Furthermore, I really like how the Spirhalite Island actually function as an area that is cohesive to the narrative. You’ll recall from my Splatoon 3 review that one of my complaints was how both the Octo Expansion and the ending of the third game’s story mode had “proven that they could structure a whole campaign around the game’s unique movement and combat mechanics,” and it’s amazing to finally see that vision realized.
Areas feel dynamic and connected to the narrative, rather than just being little pocket dimensions that happen alongside the plot. Furthermore, I like how much more the Salmonids have been fleshed out in this game. The Octarians were never really great enemies—lacking visual diversity and being pretty forgettable. Choosing to take the already crazy designs of the Salmonids and not only add more, but give them a deeper backstory creates unique antagonists that actually feel more connected to the Splatoon universe.
“Splatoon Raiders essentially takes the best parts of Salmon Run and Side Order and smushes them together for an experience that feels both familiar and new for the franchise.”
Similar to its mainline counterpart, what Splatoon Raiders really stands out in is its gameplay. Some people may see it and think it’s a roguelike, and I’m going to put those thoughts to bed—it’s not. It’s a fairly straightforward Splatoon experience that utilizes more dungeon-crawler elements than roguelike. Levels typically have three flavours—a linear sequence, an open endurance round, and a multi-floor dungeon, culminating in a boss fight; as well as some little challenge areas thrown in to keep things interesting.
Of course, the Splatoon Direct did showcase a lot of how players can approach each level. As they defeat Salmonids and clear “Raids,” they’ll find new weapons, crafting materials and upgrades to attach to their Gadgets. Players gain experience from splatting Salmonids, and each level up grants not only a minor health and damage bump, but a Skill Point that can be used to upgrade stats further—allowing players to focus upgrades depending on their playstyle.
And while Gadgets are limited by their Tank type (i.e. Power, Speed or Tactics), you do get a lot of versatility through them that, when combined with a particular weapon, can create really interesting builds. And this is where the gameplay excels over its predecessors lies in another element I mentioned in my Splatoon 3 review—namely how players should’ve been given the option to create custom sub-weapon loadouts to better fit the game’s Anarchy theme, and better suit their playstyles.
Well, that complaint has been addressed, mostly, in spades! Splatoon Raiders not only offers players a plethora of options for building their weapons and sub-weapons, but they encourage it, as certain Raids can be achieved more effectively with different weapons or tools. And while I can’t specify something that I REALLY liked because of embargo restrictions, I will say that Splatoon Raiders offers a level of freedom that really goes beyond what one might expect. Seriously, if this doesn’t become the standard for Splatoon 4, it will be a monumental disappointment.
But of course, it wouldn’t be Splatoon without some weirdly restrictive Nintendo Rules. Honestly, despite a decent amount of versatility, I do wish Gadgets weren’t tied to specific Tank types, because it doesn’t really make any sense in the context of this game. It’s a single-player focused experience, so what does it matter if players want to use a combination of Gadgets from different types?
I also can’t for the life of me understand why the “Call For Help” feature has an arbitrary time limit attached to it. There are no limits to how much players can play online with friends—safe for the players not being able to access raids the Leader hasn’t—but if a player is having difficulty with the game, or doesn’t have four friends to squad up with, why restrict how often they can play online? If Splatoon Raiders was meant to be a single-player spinoff, then you should’ve committed all the way.
Perhaps most bizarrely, despite being a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, the game doesn’t really do anything to take advantage of the hardware. Levels aren’t noticeably bigger than the ones from its three predecessors, so it doesn’t seem like it’s taking advantage of the system’s power; it doesn’t even include mouse controls. You would at least think that the “first” Splatoon on the Switch 2—one that’s primarily single-player—would give players mouse controls, but they’re just absent, which seems like a weird choice.
Visually, Splatoon Raiders looks on par with previous entries in the series with some enhancements. There are a lot of fine details that are a lot more pronounced in this game, and the paint is goopier and more animated than ever. Similar to its predecessors, it uses a lot of muted colours for environments so the ink really pops when sprayed on the ground. The visual theming of weapons being made out of trash pulled from the ocean is a nice touch, and the new Salmonid styles are distinct and incredibly menacing.
Although it’s not completely perfect. There’s a noticeable framerate drop for enemies in the distance, and I did notice how Wall Dashing seems to be missing both its sound effect and animation, and there are a lot of Gadgets that lack distinct animations altogether. The Burst Dash just kinda pushes the player forward, and things like the Splatarang or Shot Pot just kind of come out of the player. How hard would it have been to have a unique little forward dash animation, or a throw animation for these Gadgets? I’m just saying, a little polish goes a long way.
In the audio department, Splatoon Raiders borrows much of its musical theming from Salmon Run, giving the soundtrack a tense, almost horror-like feel. It’s not as poppy or jovial as previous games, instead embracing the sense of eeriness that surrounds these mysterious islands and the danger its inhabitants represent. It creates a unique juxtaposition for a game that’s constantly dripping—quite literally—with bright colours and childlike whimsy.
Despite a few minor complaints, Splatoon Raiders checks off almost every box I’ve had for the series and finds an interesting and genuinely fun way to adapt its unique gameplay to a more focused experience. I really hope this proves to be a testing ground for new and interesting ideas that can be carried over not just to more single-player narrative experience, but the mainline multiplayer games as well.
Splatoon Raiders releases on July 23, 2026, for $49.99 USD/69.99 CAD for the digital edition and $59.99 USD/84.99 CAD for the physical copy.
