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🎮 Multi-platformSplatoon Raiders Shows The Series Should Have Always Been A Looter Shooter
Splatoon is a Nintendo series that I've enjoyed well enough, but fleetingly. Even with solid shooting mechanics and a playful gimmick revolving around quickly traversing paint-soaked battlefields, the competitive multiplayer often failed to hold my interest beyond a few weeks. Splatoon Raiders isn't the first time the series has attempted single-player, as each previous game would have a brief story campaign. But it is the first time Nintendo has built a whole game around single-player, and the looter shooter approach works so well that I hope it marks a new beginning for Splatoon that can live alongside the multiplayer games. In a lot of ways, it's easy to imagine how Splatoon Raiders came together. It uses a lot of the basic structure of a regular Splatoon game, like varied weapon types and Salmonid enemies. Even its main heroes, the members of the band Deep Cut, hail from Splatoon 3. Yet Splatoon Raiders rearranges all these familiar parts into a new shape that is best summarized by a quote found near the beginning of the game: "All that matters now is the loot!" !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NintendoSwitch2SplatoonRaidersscrn08.jpg?w=1024) Splatoon Raiders Instead of splatting your fellow squid kids and competing to get the most ink coverage, you're taking on a series of PvE challenges. Some of these involve quickly gathering Power Eggs on a timer while others have you roaming a map gathering crystals to power your drilling machine, but the core goal remains the same: defeat Salmonids and get loot. It's simple but it works. Instead of competing to cover the ground with ink, your own ink color (and custom character accents) changes from stage to stage, while your Salmonid enemies are consistently spewing a sickly yellow-green goo. Returning Splatoon fans will find a lot of familiarity here. Your core weapons, like shooters, splatanas, and dualies, are all here, as well as some weapons that make less sense in this format. The roller was my mainstay in traditional competitive Splatoon games, when I would try to help my team with maximum ink coverage, but it's much less useful while fighting off hordes of superpowered fish. I mostly stuck with rapid-fire weapons like shooters and dualies, but occasionally changed it up with a shotgun-like slosher. The weapons you find have numbered levels that generally match your current experience level, so sometimes Raiders will gently push you to try something new. If you haven't found a new version of your preferred weapon type for a while, of course you'll try out a stronger but less familiar weapon. The real game-changer is the array of Gadgets. You have three Tank types--Speed, Power, and Tactical--which mostly define your Gadget selection. The Speed tank gives you access to the Booyarang, a spinning weapon that squirts some ink in a small radius, while the Power tank gives you Splatellites that circle around you, and the Tactical tank gives you the Shot Pot auto-turret. Each of the gadgets feel very different from each other, and you're able to develop new Gadgets as you progress through the game. I stuck mostly to the Power Tank and my favorite Gadget, the Splatellite, all throughout. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NintendoSwitch2SplatoonRaidersscrn04.jpg?w=1024) Big Man pilots the digger in Splatoon Raiders The game again encourages experimentation with Sampler Dungeons, short trial dungeons that let you test out with a Gadget you may not have tried, and rewards your curiosity with a bonus Skill Point. They're always worth doing because of the bonus, and the curated nature of the stages allows the game to walk you through a lot of the clever applications of the Gadgets. To get even more creative, each Gadget can also be modified by equipping parts. This is one of the aspects you can upgrade with your Skill Points and it's almost always worth it to do, as enhancing your Gadgets is a major part of finding your own strategy to take on the increasingly tough waves of Salmonids. The Gadget parts offer fairly simple upgrades initially, like enhancing their power or area of effect. But as you find and create more, you can add special effects like scorch damage for the Splatellites, or increased damage the further you fall for your ground-striking Meteor Mitt. The array of options leads to creative applications that I was still discovering late in the game. The Splatellites are primarily a defensive weapon, but eventually I had reduced their cooldown so much they could be used almost indefinitely, and they created such a large area of effect that they essentially laid down a track of swimmable ink in front of me while I was in squid form. That made it much easier to quickly traverse the battlefield without having to pause to shoot a swimming path. If I saw, say, a turret tower in the distance, I could just activate my Gadget and swim straight over to make quick work of it. That's just one application, and it feels like I could find many more for each piece of gear. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NintendoSwitch2SplatoonRaidersscrn11.jpg?w=1024) Splatellites circle you in Splatoon Raiders For emergencies, you also get to equip one Showstopper ability that is paired to which member of Deep Cut you bring along on your voyages. Those power up as well, but recharge much more slowly than your Gadgets, and fill with eggs from defeated enemies instead of a cooldown. However, these Showstoppers make up for their lengthier wait period by packing a serious punch and the ability to completely change the way a match is going. Shiver's ability, which spawns a massive shark to cut across the battlefield, bailed me out more than a few times. In both the case of the Power Tank and Showstopper, though, I eventually hit max level and plateaued. It's clear that Splatoon Raiders wants you to swap between them to power them up, but the stages kept ramping up in difficulty and I would feel underpowered when I tried switching to another. So rather than gain valuable experience for the Speed or Tactical Tank, or for the other two Showstoppers, I was just gaining useless experience points toward skills I had already mastered. It would have been nice if I could have applied this spillover experience to my lesser-used Tanks and Showstoppers to speed up their leveling, but instead I was forced to gain functionally nothing unless I wanted to feel underpowered. Keeping up with the level requirements of the stages was a must, because the array of Salmonids gets pretty tough. Like the weapons, these are mostly recognizable from past Splatoon games, but they're given new life here. Many of them are given overpowered "Seasoned" forms, identifiable by a thick layer of salt covering them that makes them extra-tough. Raiders gets a shocking amount of mileage out of rearranging the enemies across different compositions and battlefields, and near the end it starts to get incredibly hectic. Managing the battlefield and prioritizing threats is a harried thrill that never gets old, especially with the promise of sweet loot. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NintendoSwitch2SplatoonRaidersscrn33.jpg?w=1024) Shiver rides a shark in Splatoon Raiders The stages are usually around 10 minutes, which feels like the ideal length for a casual looter shooter like this. It's just enough time to hop in, take down some enemies, then go back to base to check out your new gear and ready-up to go again. But in the stages that required some level of crystal completion, I would often just hang around and keep taking down Salmonids even after fulfilling the requirement, simply because I was enjoying the satisfaction of taking down enemies. That feels like the mark of a great gameplay loop. Splatoon Raiders isn't entirely absent of multiplayer. You can group up and take part in co-op raids with enemies that scale up in difficulty, and you'll still get loot and experience from your co-op raids. It's a nice-to-have feature that worked well in my limited pre-release experience, but it's really not the focus here. You could play through the entirety of Splatoon Raiders as a single-player shooter, and it's better for it. I would be surprised if Splatoon Raiders supplants the main Splatoon titles. The series is a big success for Nintendo, so clearly the competitive ink-splattering multiplayer has found an audience. But Splatoon Raiders shows a new degree of flexibility for the franchise, with a single-player campaign that's much more satisfying than its past attempts to inject a story campaign into the main games. I hope this new looter shooter sub-series gets to live alongside the main series, because it's loads of fun already, and the concept could be pushed even further.
🖥 PC, Multi-platformThe wireless headset that gets hot-swappable batteries right
New gaming gear is always promising to shave milliseconds off latency or response time. The improvements usually aren't obvious. But the Glorious GHS InfinitePlay wireless headset, on the other hand, could save you far more than just milliseconds: It has the fastest hot-swap battery system I've ever used, and the headset doesn't die when you &8230;
🎮 Multi-platformNintendo keeps making shooters more friendly and approachable
Nintendo does a lot of weird things, but Splatoon might just be one of the strangest - or at least the boldest. The series started as an attempt to muscle into the ultra-competitive online shooter space, but in a way that feels a world away from the violence and bombast of Call of Duty or &8230;
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformThe Biggest Critics Of Xbox Game Pass May Be Inside Xbox
Xbox Game Pass used to be hailed as the "best deal" in gaming, but it started to lose its luster following a steep subscription price(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-game-pass-lost-millions-of-subscribers-after-massive-price-hike-in-2025/) increase several months back--that is still higher than what it used to be even after a decrease(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-pass-gets-price-drop-new-call-of-duty-games-no-longer-included/1100-6539523/)--and shifting membership tiers. Some of Xbox's leaders aren't too high on Game Pass either, especially after it proved to be a disruptive influence on Microsoft's biggest franchise, Call of Duty. According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, several people within Xbox see Game Pass as a "detriment" to the video game industry. "There are a lot of people out there in studio leadership within Xbox who absolutely detest Game Pass. They think it has destroyed the value of their games, think it has taken away the value from all games in general and has been a detriment to the games industry in those people's view, because of how it devalues games," Schreier said on the Triple Click podcast(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCwOK61Lf80). That statement was backed up by a former Xbox studio lead, who added that Game Pass had devalued their work. "Giving games away for 'free' in Game Pass from day one sends a message to consumers that the games don't have inherent market value. It almost creates an assumption that these titles could not sell on their own," the source said to Windows Central(https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/some-xbox-studio-leads-reportedly-detest-game-pass-so-why-did-xbox-push-ahead-with-it-it-felt-like-a-race-to-zero). "It felt like a race to zero." Another Xbox lead added that while Game Pass was designed to be a stable source of revenue for games in an era where live-service titles dominate, Microsoft's opaque engagement formula made it hard for studios to stay motivated. For a time, Game Pass was a lifeline for studios that would release titles that would often go under the radar of players, but things have changed recently for the subscription's business model. Forza Horizon 5 creative director Mike Brown also gave his thoughts on Game Pass(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-pass-was-a-good-idea-but-it-didnt-work-forza-horizon-5-creative-director-says/), saying that while it was a good idea, it failed to reach the lofty subscriber goals that it was aiming for. The biggest shift is that Call of Duty is no longer a day-one launch(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-promotes-call-of-duty-mw4-by-telling-you-its-not-on-game-pass/) through Game Pass, as the service took a bite out of direct sales. Schreier has speculated that Microsoft could make even more changes to the day-one model of Game Pass, especially at a time when Xbox is aiming to become a more profitable arm of the company. A new report also claimed that Game Pass has been an $80 billion gamble(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-spent-80-billion-on-its-bet-for-xbox-game-pass-it-did-not-work/) that hasn't panned out the way Microsoft envisioned, and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has said that decisions by the previous Xbox leadership did not help to grow the service(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-xbox-ceo-admits-game-pass-bet-has-not-worked-out/) meaningfully. The Best Xbox Game Pass Games In 2026 !4499283-game-pass-2025.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1601/16018044/4499283-game-pass-2025.jpg?w=1024) !4674631-absolum.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1601/16018044/4674631-absolum.jpg?w=1024) !4517812-the-alters.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1601/16018044/4517812-the-alters.jpg?w=1024) !4656146-avatar.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1601/16018044/4656146-avatar.jpg?w=1024) !4451894-4356216-avowedscreencombatkaixaurip.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1585/15855271/4451894-4356216-avowedscreencombatkaixaurip.jpg?w=1024) !4451893-4270078-sse32ac94d7d1d6be7dd015d78f2b52aeb4cc282ed.1920x1080.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1585/15855271/4451893-4270078-sse32ac94d7d1d6be7dd015d78f2b52aeb4cc282ed.1920x1080.jpg?w=1024) !4397033-batman-arkham-knight.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1601/16018044/4397033-batman-arkham-knight.jpg?w=1024) View Images(https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/best-xbox-game-pass-games/2900-4001/)
🎮 Multi-platformA new My Hero Academia story officially releases in 2 weeks
I am a hero too provides emotional closure for a beloved franchise character.
🎮 Multi-platformThe Guild reunion film smashes fundraising goals, earning $2.5 million in less than a day
The original cast will reunite for The Guild: Ren Faire'd, which will release in 2027.
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🖥 PC, Multi-platformNew ‘Evolving Card Game Silberheim’ – Extended beta available to test for free
This article was made in partnership with Beyond Worlds GmbH Silberheim Evolving Card Game is a collectible card game in which cards, lore, and player accounts evolve individually based on the player’s... The post New ‘Evolving Card Game Silberheim’ – Extended beta available to test for free(https://indiegamesplus.com/new-evolving-card-game-silberheim-extended-beta-available-to-test-for-free/) appeared first on Indie Games Plus(https://indiegamesplus.com).
🍄 Nintendo Switch, Multi-platformWhat time does Splatoon Raiders release in your time zone?
The Splatoon Raiders release time is just around the corner, and you can preload Splatoon Raiders if you pre-order it before launch
🎮 Multi-platformRidley Scott's $630 million sci-Fi masterpiece makes a comeback on streaming for 1 very obvious reason
Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey is already a huge success, which has led to The Martian, which also stars Matt Damon to spike on Prime Video
📱 Mobile, Multi-platformNew DC fighting game announced, but it's not Injustice 3
DC announced a new fighting game on Monday. It's not Injustice 3, but DCKO — which some people are already calling "Dicko"
🎮 Multi-platformFallout 5: Here are 10 adjustments Bethesda should make for an improved experience
Fallout 5 is coming, so here are a few ways to ensure our next trip around the wastelands is even more memorable and enjoyable.