First non-PC game on the list. So Splatoon is Nintendo’s entry into the shooter genre, and you might just think “oh Nintendo is a kids company this must be a kids game,” but no, stop doing that, this game is frankly extremely solid. Hell the amount of emphasis on movement, positioning and map awareness puts this on par with games like Ultrakill, Doom Etternal and Titanfall in terms of it’s skill cap.
Splatoon 3 has a single player mode, which unlike Splatoon 1 and 2 is more than just an extended weapons tutorial. There are thoughtful challenges included here that really try to push your mastery over certain weapons, movement mechanics, and just general mechanical skill. That being said, it is still worth playing through the single player, especially if you’re new to the franchies or to console shooters in general like I was. It’s the perfect place to learn how to use Splatoon’s motion aiming controls.
That’s right, motion controlled aiming. This is the closest a console shooter is going to get to mouse and keyboard in terms of how the controls work. WASD = Left stick, Mouse = Motion. The right stick can still be used for wide turns, and the Y button will recenter the camera to whatever direction you’re facing, so turning around and tapping Y will immediately snap the camera to behind you.
Nintendo likes to claim that the main mode is Turf War, which is basically an area control mode, where you win by having the most ink on the floor in your colour. It’s certainly a good place to try out new weapons, practice aiming at opponents or maneuvering around them in battles, as well as just generally getting used to the feel of the game. The real meat though is Anarchy Battles, where there is an objective such as Splat Zones, which is the king of the hill mode, or Rainmaker, which is like a reverse capture the flag. No hostage or defuse equivalents yet though but I doubt Nintendo plans on adding asymetric modes anyway unfortunately.
We’re still in the early months of the game’s lifecycle, so we’re expecting new weapons, maps, gear and events to drop for at least another 18 months before things settle down.
Switch: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-games/Splatoon-3-1924751.html £49.99
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