Splatoon Raiders takes the movement and shooting the series is known for and builds a complete player-versus-environment (PvE) adventure around them. A difficult Raid can play very differently after changing a weapon or switching tanks, and that made me think about what to change before trying again instead of repeating the same plan.
Progression holds the campaign together. Replaying an earlier stage can give you equipment that changes how you approach the next Raid, and optional co-op adds another way through difficult encounters. Some objectives return too often, and the story doesn’t go much beyond the treasure hunt. I also expected its stages to be larger than what we’ve seen in earlier Splatoon games.
If you’ve wanted a Splatoon adventure with more room to explore and more ways to grow your character, Splatoon Raiders adds both without losing the quick ink-based combat. You can also bring a friend along without turning the adventure into an online-only game. But does Splatoon Raiders do enough with those ideas to stand on its own? Let’s take a closer look.
Splatoon Raiders details
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch 2
Developer(s): Nintendo
Publisher(s): Nintendo
Genre: Action, Shooter
Modes: Single-player with optional cooperative multiplayer
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)
Story brings Deep Cut into the Spirhalite Islands
Deep Cut heads to the Spirhalite Islands in search of Legendary Loot, but a storm brings down the group’s helicopter and leaves everyone stranded. You play as The Mechanic, who heads into the islands to fight Salmonids, gather materials, and find a way home. Salmonids are fish-like enemies from Salmon Run, the cooperative mode in Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3 where a team fights incoming waves and collects Golden Eggs. Splatoon Raiders moves those enemies into a full campaign and ties them directly to the mystery surrounding the islands.
Shiver, Frye, and Big Man have a much larger part than they did in Splatoon 3. Their conversations and animated scenes make them fun company between Raids, and they remain involved when The Mechanic heads back into danger. That extra time with Deep Cut adds personality to a treasure hunt that could have become a simple trip from one island to the next. Clues found across the archipelago gradually point toward its centre. Deep Cut also turns floating scrap into a makeshift base between trips into the islands, while Bot Buddy scans for treasure and drills crystals.
Campaigns in earlier Splatoon games often moved from one detached challenge to another. Splatoon Raiders still includes self-contained stages and smaller tests, but its beaches, caves, ruins, and base all belong to the same journey. The treasure-hunt story never tries to compete with the action, and the Raids and equipment progression do far more to pull the campaign forward.
Gameplay turns equipment choices into real decisions
Inking the ground affects almost everything The Mechanic does. Painted surfaces create faster paths across an area, open ways up walls, and provide an escape when several attacks overlap. The same shots used to damage Salmonids also prepare the surrounding area for movement and platforming.
Multi-floor Raids form the campaign’s central combat challenge. Each floor brings groups of Salmonids together, and defeating enough of them opens the way forward. Larger Salmonids make those encounters harder to control, so painted escape paths become just as important as direct attacks.
Between Raids, hidden paths, crystals, and smaller challenges encourage you to explore beyond the direct way forward. Some stages focus on straight action, and others use timers or require collecting enough crystals to continue. Crystal collection returns often enough to become repetitive.
Equipment changes reshape a difficult Raid
A tank is the backpack loadout that determines which Gadgets The Mechanic can use. Gadgets are combat or movement tools, and changing the Tank can alter the approach before a Raid begins. A movement-focused Tank can make it easier to escape a packed floor, and an offensive choice can shorten a dangerous encounter.
Switching weapons can also make a difficult combination of Salmonids easier to control. Gadget Parts and Relics alter abilities or improve part of the loadout, so equipment changes have a clear effect once the action starts. If you’ve played Salmon Run, you’ll recognize many of the enemies. Splatoon Raiders places those Salmonids inside a longer campaign where character growth and equipment choices affect each encounter. Familiar Boss Salmonids can appear together, forcing quick movement between painted areas.
The equipment drops and repeatable Raids borrow from looter shooters, but the action remains unmistakably Splatoon. You’re still painting the ground, swimming through ink, and looking for a safer attack angle.
Replaying earlier Raids prepares you for harder ones
Returning to a completed Raid can provide experience, materials, and equipment for later challenges. Harder variants and post-story Raids extend that progression beyond the first trip across the islands.
The campaign can push you toward extra levelling when the difficulty rises. That slows the pace when the next useful upgrade requires another attempt at an objective you already know. New equipment can change what happens next, but repeated goals remain the biggest problem in the gameplay.
The Spirhalite Islands look and sound distinctly Splatoon
You can still track the action when several Salmonids and large patches of ink cover the screen. Bright paint stands out against beaches, caves, ruins, and industrial areas, making it easier to see where The Mechanic can move when attacks cover the floor. I never ran into crashes or major slowdown during exploration or Raids. Distant enemies can animate at a lower rate, but it’s a minor visual issue and doesn’t affect control response or the pace of combat.
The island areas separate exploration from the enclosed Raid floors. Ink has more visible movement and thickness, particularly when several attacks cover the same area. Salmonids receive new details that suit their larger role, and altered designs keep later encounters from looking identical to earlier ones. Weapons are assembled from salvaged ocean materials, connecting their appearance to the beaches and ruins. Deep Cut’s animated scenes bring more expression to Shiver, Frye, and Big Man between stages.
The soundtrack draws from the harsher music associated with Salmon Run rather than the pop-focused music heard in other Splatoon games. It suits the danger surrounding the Salmonids and the mystery near the centre of the archipelago without losing the playful personality of the series.
As a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, Splatoon Raiders could have done more with the console. The lack of mouse controls was surprising, and the stages aren’t noticeably larger than what we’ve seen in earlier Splatoon games. The game looks clean in handheld and TV mode, but the campaign separates Splatoon Raiders from earlier entries more than the console does.
Multiplayer changes the pace of tougher Raids
The single-player campaign comes first, with co-op available across many Raids. Friends can join directly, and the public Call for Help option can bring online assistance into a difficult encounter. Call for Help can’t be used again right away, so you can’t rely on it for every Raid. When several Boss Salmonids attack at once, teammates draw them in different directions and make painted paths easier to maintain. That can create enough space to recover when attacks begin covering several parts of the area.
The same inking rules still apply when playing together. Painted paths, equipment choices, and quick movement decide whether the group can recover after losing control of a floor. Friend-based play works well if you want to move through several Raids together. Call for Help is useful when one difficult encounter is stopping your progress. Playing alone still provides the full adventure because Splatoon Raiders builds its progression and stage design around the single-player campaign.
Splatoon Raiders doesn’t include a new Turf War or competitive multiplayer component. Its multiplayer is focused entirely on bringing friends or online assistance into the PvE campaign. If competitive matches are what you want, Splatoon 3 is still your best bet. Families, friends, and Splatoon fans who want to explore the islands together can experience much of the campaign through co-op.
Splatoon Raiders builds a rewarding adventure around ink combat
Splatoon Raiders builds a full adventure around the series’ ink movement. Painting the floor affects how you attack, escape, and reach new areas. Changing one part of a loadout can turn a difficult Raid into something you can control.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Inking the ground makes movement, combat, and platforming work together | Some objectives repeat too often |
| Changing weapons and tanks can make a tough Raid much easier to manage | The story doesn’t go much deeper than the treasure hunt |
| Deep Cut plays a much bigger part in the adventure | Splatoon Raiders doesn’t do much with Nintendo Switch 2-specific features |
| Replaying Raids keeps paying off with useful equipment and upgrades | |
| Co-op makes crowded encounters easier to control | |
| Performance stays smooth and consistent |
If you’ve wanted a bigger Splatoon adventure built around PvE, Splatoon Raiders is probably what you’ve been waiting for. The equipment choices let you change how you approach tougher Raids, and co-op gives friends or family a way to join you through much of the campaign. If Turf War and competitive matches are still the main reason you play Splatoon, you’ll be better off sticking with Splatoon 3.
Overall assessment of Splatoon Raiders
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Graphics: 4.5/5
Sound: 4/5
Lasting appeal/Replayability: 4.5/5
Overall rating: 4.4/5 (88%)
If you’re picking up Splatoon Raiders, Best Buy Canada also carries the three new amiibo figures Shiver, Frye, and Big Man, with each one sold separately. Tapping one in Splatoon Raiders unlocks a stylish outfit for The Mechanic inspired by that member of Deep Cut. It’s a nice extra if you want to bring a bit more of Deep Cut into your adventure.
