Preview: Splatoon Raiders is a shore-fire hit

Domagoj Belancic

30.6.2026

Translation: Natalie McKay

Splatoon’s single-player spin-off had me hooked from the very first play. This hard-hitting shooter set on an idyllic island could be a dream come true for weapon geeks and creative minds.

A stunning beach. Chaos, gunfire, explosions. Fish-like enemies everywhere, attacking me in a wild frenzy. I defend myself with my Oil Blaster – a makeshift weapon cobbled together from scraps of rubbish. This junk gun fires ink that’s deadly to the fish monsters. But more opponents appear all the time. I’m surrounded and about to be overpowered.

Game over. Again.

Alright, back to base I go. Even though I died in the game, I was able to collect resources for upgrades. This boosts my weapon’s power. Maybe I’ll unlock another special attack. I wouldn’t say no to better armour either.

Yep, that should work. Let’s give it another go.

This is the typical gameplay loop in Nintendo’s colourful shooter Splatoon Raiders – blast your way through brutal levels, find loot, upgrade your weapons and gear and repeat.

I played this Splatoon spin-off for two hours and found myself completely enthralled by the whirlwind of wacky guns, upgrades and gadgets.

Eradicating Salmonids

Unlike the previous Splatoon games, Raiders is essentially a single-player experience. The story’s just an excuse to blast thousands of Salmonids – that’s the name of the fish-like enemies – to smithereens.

Taking on the role of a mechanic, I crash-land on a tropical island alongside TV stars Big Man, Frye and Shiver. Fans will recognise this musical trio from Splatoon 3.

To repair their wrecked helicopter, the four decide to scour the surrounding islands forscrap treasure, and, while they’re at it, commit genocide against the local Salmonid population.

I’ll admit it – this feels like a blatant attempt at setting up encounters with the Salmonids. But I can live with it. Splatoon Raiders doesn’t aim to win players over with a profound story or lore, instead letting its chaotic gameplay do the heavy lifting. And that’s highly addictive.

A dream come true for weapon geeks and creative minds

The core gameplay of Splatoon Raiders leans heavily into the Salmon Run mode from the mainline titles. In other words, as I progress through levels, I’m attacked by ever-larger hordes of Salmonids, which I defeat with splashes of ink in order to progress and collect treasure – sometimes under time pressure. I replenish my ammunition and health by diving into splashes of ink I’ve previously splattered.

As a Splatoon veteran, I immediately feel right at home.

Because Raiders isn’t a competitive multiplayer game, Nintendo doesn’t have to worry about balancing weapons the way it does in the mainline releases. On the contrary, the game encourages me to cobble together my own overpowered build to wipe out those nasty Salmonids as efficiently as possible.

My build consists of five elements. The primary weapon defines my basic strategy. Do I attack from a distance with sniper rifles, or do I go into close combat with a giant brush? On missions, I’m always finding new guns, brushes or other wacky weapons, and I collect resources to level them up.

To shoot, I need ammunition. I store it in various ink tanks that I carry on my back like a backpack.

Depending on which tank I choose, I can add various gadgets that cause even more chaos. Drones, bombs, boomerangs and other crazy contraptions help me on the battlefield with additional ink attacks. I customise the gadgets with an array of badges to suit my tastes. This is how I increase the attack range or boost the damage caused by my fiendish machines.

The Relic Powers offer even greater scope for experimentation. These badges give me passive or active bonuses in combat.

For instance, I can activate a double jump – a real game-changer! – or unlock an ability to use less ink when shooting.

My gear is rounded out by a robot that participates in combat without any input from me. With the push of a button, this metal figure can be strategically positioned on the battlefield. So I use it as a makeshift shield or a launch pad to take down flying enemies.

Before a mission, I decide whether Big Man, Frye or Shiver will control the robot. Depending on the pilot, I can unlock various devastating special attacks.

The build system is incredibly customisable. I would’ve liked to spend even more time with Splatoon Raiders to fully explore the many upgrade options. It’s fun to discover synergies – like those between gadgets and Relic Powers – and to see how they pay off on the battlefield.

Once the game’s complete, I’m looking forward to the Sampler Levels – special sections where the game dictates what equipment I have to use. This will force me to try out new approaches. That’s exciting, because I’m the kind of gamer who sticks to a build that works and is reluctant to change anything about it.

Brutal

The build system isn’t an optional extra – it’s a central part of the gaming experience. Splatoon Raiders is a brutal game – the opponents I come up against as I progress through the preview session kick my butt. But I never get frustrated, because even after I die in the game, I don’t lose the resources I’ve collected. So with every trip, I get a little stronger and take my revenge on the Salmonids.

There’s also the option to play Splatoon Raiders in online co-op mode with up to three friends. But this doesn’t make the game any easier. Quite the opposite – the difficulty increases significantly with each additional player.

In the preview session, we get stuck on a level where we have to complete three consecutive arenas under time pressure. Sometimes we run out of time, and other times the boss crushes us in the final arena.

I’m already looking forward to heated discussions and finger-pointing when I play this game with my friends.

Beautiful islands, solid performance, lacklustre graphics?

I’m a big fan of the tropical island setting in Splatoon Raiders. It’s perfect for summer and really gets you in the mood for a beach holiday. So it’s a shame that the graphics fall short, as they prevent the idyllic game world from reaching its full potential.

In the preview, Splatoon Raiders looks like an upscaled Switch 1 game. Blocky character models, low-detail environments, blurry textures. Compared to the incredibly beautiful Star Fox remake that just came out, Splatoon Raiders seems like a relic from the last or second-to-last generation of consoles.

It’s a shame, but at least the performance makes up for it. During my preview session, the game ran at a smooth 60 fps without a single hitch. Even a four-player co-op match featuring dozens of Salmonids and hundreds of shots and particle effects isn’t a problem for Splatoon Raiders.

Despite the underwhelming graphics, I can’t wait for the upcoming release. I have no doubt that the gameplay loop will keep me glued to the controller for a long time.

Splatoon Raiders will be released on 23 July for the Switch 2. Nintendo invited me to play the game at a preview event.

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Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

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