Splatoon Reviews
The virtue of shooters is a simple set of parameters creating interesting decisions, and the game's greatness is how it expands that matrix.
Splatoon is a unique new shooter from Nintendo that throws away any sense of violence and replaces it with colorful fun.
Splatoon is a vibrant, colourful and innovative competitive multiplayer shooter that's beautiful, addictive and undoubtedly fun - but a lack of maps and modes could hurts its lasting appeal.
Overall, I think Splatoon is a much needed shot in the arm or tentacle for a genre that could really use some new blood. With its fresh core mechanic, a solid campaign and an addicting and buttery online mode, Splatoon delivers a new and wonderful experience while adding Nintendo's trademark gameplay to the shooting formula. I give two thumbs — and nearly eight tentacles — up.
There are a few drawbacks and limitations, but Splatoon's frantic and addicting gameplay is a blast. This is Nintendo's best new IP in years.
Pure, joyous, unbridled fun. Nintendo's Splatoon is missing content, but what's here will keep you coming back again and again. "Just ONE more match!"
It shouldn't be as good as it is... but who am I to deny something this inkredible?
"Splatoon" is everything you could want out of a new Nintendo IP. It somehow manages to be both cute and cool. It freshens a well-traveled genre with a neat game mechanic. The only thing holding it back could be Nintendo: the Wii U Gamepad's battery life is weak, the online battle modes are presently limited by a rotation system that takes choice away from players and the overall amount of content is lacking outside of the weapons and gear customization. If the company supports "Splatoon" as they say they will, though, we could very well be talking about these Inklings for a long, long time.
Splatoon is not trying to corral unearned cool points with obscenity. Splatoon does not push us to accept its weirdness. Splatoon merely opens its suction-cupped palms to the sky and says, "Here," and we graciously accept, parched by the years of dusty, war-torn, bone-dry purveyors of damage masquerading as games. Each waterfall was in fact an oasis. Instead, Splatoon showers us with a heavy goop that feels amniotic. We emerge, new and refreshed. We are all squids now.
Sure, you won't find yourself blasting off headshots or shouting obscenities into headsets while playing Splatoon, but that's oddly refreshing and everything else is so rich and fun that you might not even notice.
Splatoon is the best game on the Wii U.
Splatoon isn't perfect, but despite the faults it's a wonderful game, both online and offline. There's some fantastic ideas here that can be built upon, but as it stands right now, it's already superb. A little rough around the edges, but in the heat of the moment during a good multiplayer match, it's a whale of a time.
Is it perfect? Not quite, but none of the flaws matter when you're 15 matches in and the promise of doing something productive with your night is all but forgotten.
I really like playing Splatoon online, and I'd love to give this game a higher score but I can't factor out the game's blemishes in its current form. You can't even perform basic actions like acquiring new weapons or outfits for your Inkling without being forced to go online, which is inconvenient if ever the servers are down. I really would have admired more modes for offline play, and I'm disappointed by a lack of content in the base game, but I am optimistic about future updates adding new content. But when Splatoon shines, it's a fantastic game. It's fun, it's competitive and above all, it's fresh.
Fun and colourful shooter but needs more content
Great style, refreshing gameplay, and lots of small, frequent updates, even if Nintendo's still squashing communication and hasn't learned everything about options and standard practices that make other online games successful.
Nintendo's newest cast of characters leaves their mark on the third-person shooter genre in Splatoon, one of the freshest and most exciting competitive multiplayer experiences so far this year. It's just a shame that we'll need to wait a few more months for some of the game's basic functions to be fully implemented.
Splatoon is vibrant, fun, and shaping up to be an enjoyable shooter the Wii U sorely need with all of its updates.
Splatoon may not be everyone's favorite fish in the sea, but for those looking for a fun multiplayer game on Wii U, this is a great catch.