# Nintendo’s single-player Splatoon spin-off feels flat despite fun weapon tinkering

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/splatoon-raiders-review-nintendos-inky-shooter-fades-to-grey/
- Published: 2026-07-21T13:16:53+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-21T19:32:26+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/jul/21/splatoon-raiders-review-nintendo-switch-2
- Topics: Americas, Cricket, Culture, Sport, Technology, World

## Key points

- Splatoon Raiders review calls the Switch 2 spinoff disappointingly generic
- Best played co-op; solo play feels lesser and less puzzly
- Gear customisation shines, but story and originality fall flat

## Summary

Splatoon Raiders, Nintendo's first single-player-focused spinoff from its inventive multiplayer shooter series, has launched on Switch 2 to a disappointingly ordinary reception, according to the Guardian's review. While the game can be completed solo, it is designed around cooperative play with up to three others, sending players out from a hideout ship on repeatable missions to upgrade gear and build their character, and in doing so it loses much of the original series' quirky, puzzle-like charm.

The review praises the inventive weapon and gadget customisation, which brings genuine enjoyment as players unlock new combinations and tackle escalating challenges, but criticises the thin story, involving an unnamed mechanic stranded with the returning band Deep Cut, for lacking the imaginative world-building fans expect. The reviewer concludes that the game feels like Nintendo softening one of its more eccentric creations into a conventional cooperative action title, ultimately falling short of the charm that defines the main Splatoon series. Splatoon Raiders is out on 23 July, priced at £41.99.

## Coverage

- [The Guardian: Nintendo’s single-player Splatoon spin-off feels flat despite fun weapon tinkering](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/jul/21/splatoon-raiders-review-nintendo-switch-2)
- [Eurogamer: Splatoon Raiders review](https://www.eurogamer.net/splatoon-raiders-review)
- [Polygon: Splatoon Raiders review: Nintendo's take on Borderlands is a delightful mess](https://www.polygon.com/splatoon-raiders-review/)
- [GameSpot: Splatoon Raiders Video Review](https://www.gamespot.com/videos/splatoon-raiders-video-review/)
- [Destructoid: Splatoon Raiders review – Loot, paint, shoot, enjoy](https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/splatoon-raiders-review/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.