Splatoon 3 Reviews

Splatoon 3 is ranked in the 89th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
IGN
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Sep 7, 2022

Splatoon 3’s campaign features a fresh take on an open hub world design, mixing in short but satisfying missions to let you experiment with different weapons and abilities.

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IGN
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Sep 7, 2022

Splatoon 3 has done a great job anticipating the needs of returning players.

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Recommended
Sep 7, 2022

There are few surprises to be found in Splatoon 3's multiplayer or campaign, but it is the best Nintendo's spectacular series has been to date.

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Sep 7, 2022

Splatoon 3 won't change anyone's mind on the series, but several smart changes to the formula make it unarguably the best game in the trilogy.

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8.5 / 10.0
Oct 22, 2022
Splatoon 3 - Easy Allies Review - YouTube video thumbnail
Sep 7, 2022

There's excellence in Splatoon 3 – it just doesn't quite hold for the campaign.

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8 / 10
Sep 7, 2022

Technically this is the best Splatoon ever, but the complete lack of anything approaching a new idea is profoundly disappointing.

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8.5 / 10.0
Sep 7, 2022

Splatoon 3 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, nor does it need to. Instead, it improves nearly every franchise element in sometimes small but meaningful ways. With an already-robust set of content available at launch and at least two years of free and premium content on the horizon, Splatoon 3 is simultaneously the series’ best entry to date and its most promising.

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GameSpot
Top Critic
7 / 10
Sep 19, 2022

Splatoon 3 isn't quite as novel the third time around, but a great campaign, tons of multiplayer options, and a few new surprises make it much more of a good thing.

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Polygon
Top Critic
Unscored
Sep 7, 2022

Splatoon 3 exudes polish, but lacks ambition

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9 / 10.0
Sep 7, 2022

Given that Splatoon 3 shores up nearly everything already present in the series and adds a few extras like Tableturf Battle, it’s safe to say that the magic of the series is still alive.

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8 / 10
Sep 7, 2022

Splatoon 3 is a bit like your mum making your favourite meal when you head home for the holidays. It's been a few years since the last game - while there have been some great improvements and additions, it's the same old Splatoon we know and love, and that's still pretty great.

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83 / 100
Sep 7, 2022

Splatoon 3 is better than Splatoon 2: the new lobbies and catalogs make for a more rewarding experiencie... but essentially, is exactly the same, as there are no new modes within the competitive or co-op play. It's very fun but also very conservative, although it is elevated by a great single player mode, longer and similar to the Octo Expansion.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

9 / 10
Sep 7, 2022

While I wouldn't call Splatoon 2 old and busted by any means, there's no denying that Splatoon 3 does feel like the new hotness.

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8.2 / 10.0
Sep 7, 2022

A fun shooter that shines thanks to a few tweaks to the original formula, as well as some new weapons, maps, and customization options that make Splatoon 3 the best chapter in the saga.

Review in Italian | Read full review

Alex Donaldson
Top Critic
Sep 7, 2022

Splatoon 3 feels quite samey, but a high level of polish and the series’ best single-player offering to date elevate this sequel.

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Unscored
Sep 7, 2022

Similarly, boss battles feel woefully undertested and suffer from agonizing spikes of challenge and confusion. There's also an overworld aspect of spending in-game money to unlock new paths, though many of the unlocks don't actually lead to new levels; instead, they only dole out cosmetics used to decorate a "locker" interface that is tucked into the very back corner of a single multiplayer lobby. (Decorating your tiny Splatoon 3 locker is perhaps the utter opposite of trimming a bonsai tree; the act of putting objects into your virtual locker is a nightmare of physics collisions and red Xs indicating that, no, you can't decorate your locker the way you want.)

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3.5 / 5.0
Sep 13, 2022

Splatoon 3 is basically exactly what it set out to be: a third entry in the Splatoon series.

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Sep 12, 2022

Splatoon 3 makes many fantastic improvements and changes to the games before it. These minor additions will surely go a long way in retaining a large number of players, even if most of the brand-new content feels somewhat lacking. Splatoon 3 is the best game to start with for newcomers to the franchise. It might be tougher to convince die-hard fans of its merit, but future updates and changes will likely sway their opinions as well.

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9 / 10.0
Sep 7, 2022

Splatoon 3 isn't the most exciting release on the calendar, but it is the best the game has been. As a standalone game it's a rip-roaring success, and perhaps the game that fans wanted all along.

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