Nintendo IPs are proof that no matter how popular a series might be, there’s always room to grow. Zelda sales doubled with Breath of the Wild, Star Fox is back for a new generation, and even Mario is bigger than ever, thanks to the movies.

Now it’s Splatoon’s turn to try to grow its fanbase with the upcoming arrival of Splatoon Raiders, the first single-player game in the series. The goal here is clearly to get more people playing Splatoon, those who might not typically give an online multiplayer game a second look. After taking the experimental new title for a spin, I think Raiders has a real chance of making that happen.

It’s The Core Elements Of Splatoon With A Fresh Coat Of Ink

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Aside from the whole shooting ink at your opponents and using that ink to mark your territory, everything from regular Splatoon is still here. Yes, those things are a huge part of Splatoon, but somehow, Raiders still feels fundamentally like Splatoon without the PvP elements on which the series is built.

That’s because everything else about the series remains intact in Raiders. You’re still shooting ink at stuff - just not other players. You’re also still covering its world in that same ink to help get around, and best of all, Raiders’ weapon and loadout options run incredibly deep.

Not only do you have a ton of painters and rollers to choose from, unlocking more as you progress, but you can tinker with them to make your loadout feel truly unique. Assign skill points to fire rate, power, HP - wherever you need it most or whatever suits your play style best.

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Using those weapons feels the same as it does in Splatoon, too. If anything, it feels even better than it ever has before, not only because Raiders looks more impressive than Splatoon has ever looked before - it’s the first game in the series to launch on Switch 2 - but because pumping an endless supply of paint into hordes of incoming Salmonids is incredibly satisfying.

Pacing And Variation Will Be Key To Raiders’ Success

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As good as that feeling is, it will get old fast if all you’re doing is island hopping and repeating the same thing over and over. There was a varied selection of enemies with different obstacles to overcome, and new mechanics were introduced as I progressed through the handful of levels open to us during the preview. If that pace is kept up throughout the game, and the game isn’t too long, then Nintendo might have cracked the single-player Splatoon formula at the first time of asking.

Even though this is a single-player Splatoon experience, there is a co-op option. No PvP, at least not one we were shown during the preview, but you will be able to play through Raiders with other people. The boss fights, in particular, are a lot of fun when there are lots of you working together, especially if you have a varied selection of loadouts, with each of you assuming different roles. This is particularly important if you up the difficulty, as the boss fights appear to be scaled depending on how many people are in your squad.

Even though there have been single player campaigns in Splatoon games before, they’ve never included much in the way of a story. Raiders does, but there’s not much to it. I can’t imagine many players, whether long-time Splatoon fans or the newbies Nintendo is trying to lure in, will be expecting a rich story with a deep narrative, but if you are, you’ll likely be left disappointed. A story exists, but it is far from the focus.

Raiders Is A Big Splatoon Swing Worth Taking

Nintendo

Nintendo could have introduced Splatoon to the Switch 2 by simply releasing Splatoon 4. It wouldn’t have needed to be all that different from Splatoon 3. Just more polished with a few extra features. A Splatoon for its next-gen console, easy-peasy.

In the interest of growing its player base across all of its biggest IPs, however, rather than simply catering to the players it already has, Nintendo is taking its next big swing with Splatoon via Raiders. It’s admirable, it makes sense, and I think there’s a real chance it could work.

Splatoon fans will turn up for Raiders. Even if what they really want is Splatoon 4, this is something new to fill the time until the series gets its next flagship title, and I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised. Those who have been Splatoon-curious, however, who like the look and premise of the series but not the online multiplayer elements, will see Raiders as being for them. Whether that convinces them to give the full Splatoon experience a try or sit, wait, and hope for a Raiders sequel, the game will have done its job by creating new Splatoon fans.

Splatoon Raiders feels like a Splatoon side quest, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. There’s meat on the bone here, a lot of it. By side quest, I mean that huge parts of the fundamental Splatoon experience have been lifted out of the core series and placed into a single player Splatoon adventure. If you just want to shoot ink at stuff in an all-new way, have at it. If you want to get lost in layers of customization to create the perfect loadout, that’s here, too. At the very least, if Raiders doesn’t live up to Nintendo’s lofty first-party sales standards and it never gets a sequel, I hope this framework is used to create story modes in future mainline Splatoon games.

Splatoon Raiders Like Follow Followed Action Adventure Systems OpenCritic Reviews Released July 23, 2026 ESRB Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence Developer(s) Nintendo EPD Publisher(s) Nintendo 5 Images Close
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