On September 9th, 2022, Nintendo released its third installment of the Splatoon series. Splatoon 3 was  an instant success, selling 3.45 million copies within the first 3 days of launch. The game broke records, becoming the fastest  selling game ever in Japan as of November 9th, 2023.

Splatoon is a third-person shooter which features both multiplayer and single-player elements. The Splatoon series is set in a world of anthropomorphic cephalopods and other sea creatures. The game centers around the two playable species, inklings and octolings, who have the ability to transform between humans and cephalopods.

Splatoon 3 offers more exciting features including: new maps, weapons, and customization. The game also introduces a new mini game, Tableturf Battles, an in-game card game that’s based on Splatoon’s core gameplay mode, Turf War.

The launch of Splatoon 3 wasn’t without its drawbacks. Upon release due to high traffic to Nintendo servers, most players were unable to connect. This issue proceeded  throughout the week leaving players frustrated. Longtime Splatoon players know connection errors aren’t unusual for the franchise, but this may be a turn off for new players.

Another common complaint is the unfair team matching system. Splatoon 3’s matchmaking system is only based on team wins and losses, instead of an individual score. This causes inexperienced players who have lots of team wins to be matched against more experienced players unfairly. This makes leveling up very difficult for a lot of players and an unpleasant experience for everyone involved.

Splatoon 3’s single player game mode gives players a closer look into the in-game universe. In this game mode, players must complete different challenges to progress and unlock more lore. These challenges are both difficult and engaging for both new and experienced players.This campaign lasts for about 8 hours worth of gameplay. Though it is not advised to purchase Splatoon 3 for the sole purpose of the single player because the majority of the game features are online.

Not everyone is happy with story mode though. Emily Chaconas,a senior, shares, “It was a very underwhelming story for me. It felt predictable.” Chaconas elaborates that the challenges were very similar to those from the second game’s downloadable content and lacked creativity. But with the majority of Splatoon 3’s player base being completely new to the Splatoon brand, a reused storyline seems original. 

Overall, Splatoon 3 is a good choice for those who have played previous Splatoon installments and are brand new to the series. Although the game has its issues, glitches and balancing are subject to change when the game is updated.