Splatoon Raiders review: An ink-soaked looter shooter

Splatoon Raiders is a new direction for Nintendo’s ink-based, third-person shooter, which shifts the focus to single-player gameplay with a co-op twist. As the series’ first spin-off and its debut on the Nintendo Switch 2, you won’t be battling other players — but taking on hordes of Salmonids feels just as fun and chaotic.

Instead of fighting through city-style courses in Splatsville, you’re scouring the Spirhalite Islands for treasure to fix up your hideout ship and return home. Along the way, you’re tasked with completing increasingly difficult, multi-stage raids.

I found the core loop — completing a raid and heading back to your ship to upgrade your gear — to be as rewarding as it was fun. There’s nothing quite like defeating a massive Salmonid, getting a new weapon, and heading back out to test it in combat. Some later islands and raids get a bit repetitive, but everything moves so fast that by the time you notice, you’re onto the next one.

Though it's a single-player experience, you can team up in 4-player co-op locally or online. Likewise, you’ll always have a member of Deep Cut by your side.

Is Splatoon Raiders the perfect way to get your fix before the next main entry? Read on for our full review.

Splatoon Raiders: The Basics

• What is it? A spin-off of the Splatoon series where you go on raids to collect treasure as well as unlock new weapons and abilities, playable solo or with up to 4 players.
• Who is it for? Fans of the series and those who enjoy third-person shooters as well as looter shooters.
• What’s the price? Splatoon Raiders costs $49 if you buy it digitally or $59 for a physical copy.
• What other games has the developer made? Splatoon Raiders is developed by the same internal Nintendo team responsible for the rest of the Splatoon series as well as Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
• What games is it similar to? With its ink-based shooting, Splatoon Raiders plays a lot like Splatoon 3’s Salmon Run mode. However, its expedition-based mission loop resembles Borderlands while its online co-op feels similar to Deep Rock Galactic.

Not quite an island getaway

Splatoon Raiders throws you right into the action with an opening scene depicting the three members of Deep Cut — Shiver, Frye, and Big Man — aboard a helicopter above the Spirhalite Islands. As they approach the center of the island chain, their chopper gets knocked out of the sky, forcing a crash landing.

After a month stranded at sea, Deep Cut and your playable character, The Mechanic, have built a makeshift hideout ship and are ready to start doing what they came for: hunting for treasure.

From tropical beaches lined with palm trees to snow-covered peaks, your trek toward the center of the archipelago takes you through all sorts of eye-catching locales. However, much like the waters surrounding the Splatlands, these islands are teeming with Salmonids.

While raiding is the game’s main focus, taking a breather between runs lets you learn more about Deep Cut and how their world is deeply tied to the Spirhalite Islands. Although some lingering questions remained by the time I hit the credits on my 15-plus hour playthrough, the big ones were answered in a satisfying fashion.

Ink, raid, repeat

As this is a Splatoon game, ink remains your primary tool for taking down the local Salmonid population. The enemy roster keeps you on your toes: airborne pests hover overhead, burrowing threats ambush you from below, and giant monstrosities rain heavy fire from across the arena.

Instead of a traditional single-player campaign, Splatoon Raiders pivots entirely to bite-sized raids. Objectives range from direct, single-stage boss fights to free-form salvage runs where you gather Power Eggs to drill into massive treasure hoards. This variety keeps the loop from getting stale as you bounce between islands.

Alongside standard shooters, brushes, and sloshers, The Mechanic can craft and deploy gadgets mid-combat. Every successful raid feeds directly into your gear progression, dropping higher-tier weapons, gadget components, and crafting materials.

Getting booted back to the ship after a failed raid threw off my rhythm initially, but I grew to love the forced pause. It forces you to rethink your strategy, tweak your loadout, or swap gadgets before diving back in. (And while I played solo for this review, you can also call in online backup when you're stuck.)

Most importantly, movement remains top-tier. Diving into your ink and popping out behind a Salmonid to hit its weak spot feels as slick as ever, especially with the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller in hand. If you love Splatoon's core gameplay, you’ll be right at home here.

Crafting for splatting

Unlike the members of Deep Cut, The Mechanic can fix just about anything — a handy skill considering you're responsible for upgrading the hideout ship as the story progresses. Beyond ship maintenance, your character can also craft new combat gadgets and the parts needed to improve them further.

When faced with a particularly brutal wave of Salmonids, your two equippable gadgets easily make or break a run. Since they operate on a cooldown, timing is everything. Fortunately, you can craft specific parts to shorten those wait times and keep your abilities cycling faster.

Your loadout options depend on which Ink Tank you currently have equipped: Speed, Power, or Tactical. Each tank caters to a different playstyle, comes with its own set of unique gadgets, and can be upgraded to boost core stats like maximum health and overall damage output.

As I made my way through the Spirhalite Islands, I often found myself hunting specific Salmonids just to farm the parts needed for a gear upgrade. You also gather Spirhalite Crystals along the way, which are used for both high-tier crafting and boosting weapon levels. Balancing whether to dump those crystals into upgrading my main shooter or building a shiny new gadget created a really satisfying gameplay loop.

The treasure you haul back isn't just for show, either. Certain artifacts grant unique Relic Powers, offering passive combat buffs that can completely turn the tide during a tough raid or boss fight.

Whether I was tinkering back on the hideout ship or blasting my way through a chaotic raid, the pacing never slowed down. Splatoon Raiders kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

Dripping with fidelity

Besides being the series’ first entry on the Switch 2, this is hands-down the best-looking Splatoon game yet. Everything runs at a buttery-smooth 60 fps in 4K, and during my playthrough, I didn’t experience a single performance hiccup. This held true even when the battlefield was so packed with Salmonids that I could barely make out my own character.

Nintendo’s decision to feature a range of distinct biomes as you venture toward the center of the Spirhalite Islands really pays off. From ink-soaked sand to snow-capped mountains changing color right before your eyes, there were plenty of moments where I had to stop just to take in the view.

In previous entries, the color of your ink depended on your team match-ups. In Splatoon Raiders, however, the color shifts every time you return to the hideout ship. Whenever I set out on a new raid, my ink tank sprayed a completely fresh hue. It’s a small detail, but it constantly mixed up the visual flair while showing off just how vibrant and impressive the game’s graphics truly are.

Splatoon Raiders review: Verdict

Splatoon Raiders takes the iconic combat and charm the series is known for and successfully adapts it into a single-player and co-op loop. The bite-sized raids are as addictive as ever, while the new crafting mechanics and loadout upgrades add welcome depth to the formula.

Although certain islands can feel slightly repetitive over longer sessions, the game's fast-paced momentum keeps your hands glued to the controller. And while competitive PvP takes a backseat this time around, robust co-op options easily soften the blow. Whether you’re a squid-kid veteran or a complete newcomer, Splatoon Raiders is an absolute joy and a fantastic addition to the Nintendo Switch 2 lineup.