Splatoon 3: A unique, vibrant, and colorful experience

Posted on October 7, 2022

The Nintendo Switch continues to be an extremely unique console. You can play it at home, on
your TV or you detach it from the home console and take it with you on the road or when visiting
friends or family. Staples such as Mario, Zelda, and even Animal Crossing are accessible and
easy games to get into. That’s what makes Nintendo unique in this landscape. First Party Games
(Games directly created by Nintendo and not licensed out). One game I didn’t think I’d be adding
to this list is a fun “Turf War” game called Splatoon 3. Which completely turns the traditional Call
of Duty genre on its head by creating a fun painting Action Adventure Game. In this article, I’ll be
summarizing why Splatoon 3 is unique and exhilarating and why you might want to check it out.

When you first boot up Splatoon 3, you’re greeted with its avatar creation system. You see what
appears to be a human character with unique hair and can select options to customize them. Hair,
eye color, and even a little buddy that you’ll take along with you during story mode. Next comes
the tutorial and you quickly realize that the avatar you created isn’t exactly human. The game
prompts you to swim through colorful paint called Ink. By Pressing ZR your character turns into
“Squid Form” and can swim through the Ink. After completing a few other small objectives, the
game hands you a “Splatter Shot” which looks exactly like those Nerf Super Soakers. But instead
of spraying water, you’re spraying Ink. By dispensing Ink from that item, you’re able to paint the
ground with more Ink, and that essentially is the objective of Splatoon 3. Utilize your super
soakers, paint the ground and work on completing tasks the game lays out for you.

While Splatoon 3 has a single-player story mode, the main meat of the game is playing Online.
You can either play with friends or by yourself in a variety of modes. One called Tower Control
has your character board a tower, attempting to ride it to a goalpost on the map. Another is called
Clam Blitz, where you collect clams and try to score goals in the opposing team’s basket. But my
favorite is a mode called Turf War. In Turf War, the objective is simple you and your team attempt
to paint the arena with your super soakers or other weapons that can be a paint roller, Washing
Machine, or buckets that dispenses Ink. The team that covers the most turf is the winner, and
unlike games like Call of Duty or Overwatch, you don’t have to beat anyone to win against the
opposing team. All you have to do is paint and that turns a traditionally competitive genre into a
fun and vibrant game mode.

At it’s core Splatoon 3 is an extremely safe and approachable game. The characters you play as;
Squidlings and Octolings are just out to have a good time. Unlike the aforementioned Call of Duty
it’s not violent but there still is a competitive vibe if that’s your thing. I never thought painting
could be such a unique and fun game but leave it to Nintendo to surprise us. I’d recommend
Picking up Splatoon 3 if you want a game that is action-packed.