Lately, I have been playing Splatoon Raiders. Before its release, I thought it would be like a Splatoon Hero Mode with loot-driven action RPG elements. I also enjoyed playing ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN, so a game where I could grow stronger while picking up weapons and gear sounded like something I would enjoy.
That expectation was not wrong. But once I actually started playing, I found that growing stronger was not the only fun part. Combining weapons and gadgets lets me do things that were never possible in previous Splatoon games.
Splatoon Raiders
To explain it briefly, it is a game where you explore islands, defeat Salmonids, and upgrade your weapons and gadgets.
If you focus only on fighting Salmonids, it might bring to mind Salmon Run from Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3.
I played quite a lot of Salmon Run too.
I played until I reached the Eggsecutive VP rank, and I kept playing after that. Unlike in battles against other players, I would look at the Boss Salmonids that appeared and decide, “I need to take this one out first.” With another Salmonid, I might think, “This one can wait.” I enjoyed deciding those priorities and dealing with the enemies one by one.
That same appeal remains in Raiders, where you fight the same Salmonids.
But once I played it, I found it quite different from Salmon Run.
The biggest difference is that I can create my own way of fighting.
Combining Weapons and Gadgets
In previous Splatoon games, each weapon came with a fixed sub weapon. I often found myself thinking, “I like this weapon, but its sub weapon is not very flexible…”
In Raiders, there are some restrictions based on the type of tank, but weapons and gadgets can be combined fairly freely. You can also attach parts to gadgets and change how they work. Instead of merely adapting to combinations prepared by the game, I enjoy being able to think up my own way of fighting.
Gadgets can also be given effects that inflict status conditions on Salmonids. Scorch deals damage over time, Ferment increases the damage a Salmonid takes, and Freeze stops it from moving. These are all effects that previous Splatoon games did not have.
At the moment, I use a Power Tank with gadgets including:
- Splatellites
- Splatchet
- Blast Boot (originally a Speed Tank gadget)
I use Splatellites to keep the ground around me inked and make movement more reliable. I have also added Scorch, which deals a small amount of damage over time.
The Splatchet is my high-damage attack. I added Freeze to it, so I also use it to freeze Salmonids. It can break me out when I am surrounded by lesser Salmonids, and its damage reduction lets me force my way through attacks.
I use the Blast Boot both to attack and to move around. I added Freeze to this gadget too.
My main weapon is a Splatana. I gave it close-range damage, reduced ink consumption, and Ice Breaker as its Weapon Powers.
My favorite part of this setup is the combination of Freeze and Ice Breaker. I freeze a Salmonid with a gadget, then shatter it with my weapon. The Ice Breaker multiplier is applied to the weapon’s damage, producing a huge hit.
It is obviously overpowered.
I did partly make this build because I heard it could deal a lot of damage. Social media is a wonderful thing.
You Know When Something Amazing Drops
Since this is a loot-driven game, finding weapons and gadget parts is also fun. I especially like the presentation when a rare weapon or gadget part drops. The colors and sounds do not merely make me think, “Oh, this is rare.” They make me feel that something amazing has dropped.
In a loot-driven game, getting something powerful is important in itself. But I also think the moment when you feel you have pulled something amazing matters. Raiders makes that moment properly satisfying.
I also appreciate that everything that drops is collected for you after clearing a stage. I never have to wonder in the middle of a fight, “Did I pick that up?” I can enjoy seeing the drop and keep fighting Salmonids without worrying that I will leave it behind. It is a small detail, but never having to groan over something I missed is very nice.
Getting Stronger Is Fun, But…
There are a great many combinations of gadgets and weapons. Early in the game, experimenting with them is simply fun. When I find a new gadget part, I try attaching it. I wonder, “Would combining this with that be interesting?” and take the result into battle. Even if it is a little weak, being able to do something new makes it fun. As I experiment this way, the levels of the weapons that drop also rise, and I gradually become stronger.
But things change a little as the game progresses. I defeated the bosses and saw the ending. While playing the Bottomless Buffet, which seems to be the endgame content, I also finished collecting all the remaining relics. I even defeated the secret boss.
But the Bottomless Buffet keeps going.
What remains is to hunt for better weapons and strengthen my gadgets. At that point, I start looking for powerful combinations rather than interesting ones. There are countless possible combinations of gadgets and weapons. But it feels as though only a limited number of them are exceptionally strong in practice.
Early on, I enjoyed discovering that “I can make a combination like this too!” By the endgame, that becomes, “This is the strongest one anyway, so I might as well keep using it…” Before I know it, I am always using the same combination.
For me, much of the appeal of Raiders comes from creating my own way of fighting from so many options. That is exactly why it is a little disappointing to see those options narrow as I pursue more strength.
I defeat Salmonids, pick up weapons, and modify gadgets. Then I go back to defeating Salmonids. That loop is still fun.
But even when I get a new weapon or gadget, I now find myself thinking only about whether it is stronger than my current Freeze and Ice Breaker build.
Now that the game has given me so many more things I can do, I want more combinations to become exceptionally strong in their own distinct ways.
All that remains is to hope for more content.