Pretzel Jones Splatoon Raiders Review

Splatoon Raiders totally nails the switch (no pun intended) from competitive chaos to focused single-player loot-and-splat action, giving me thirty-plus hours of Spirhalite Islands raiding without ever feeling grindy. Deep Cut carrying the story is a genius move since Shiver, Frye, and Big Man have way more personality than any silent protagonist ever could, and having one of them fight alongside you in the Bot Buddy makes every raid feel like an actual buddy mission instead of a solo slog. The weapon and gadget customization is deep enough to reward experimentation and keeps every raid feeling fresh. I’m docking half a star only because I wanted a bit more variety in the later-game boss encounters, but that’s a nitpick on an otherwise fantastic spin-off that proves Splatoon can carry a game without turf wars.