I Don’t Know What It Is About Splatoon 3, But Even After A Switch 2 Upgrade, It’s Just Not Quite As Good As Splatoon 2

Splatoon 3 now has a fresh new update for the Nintendo Switch 2, but despite my love for the series, I still can’t find myself enjoying it in the ways I did Splatoon 2.

The Nintendo Switch launch in 2017 was wonderful. We had Zelda: Breath of the Wild on day one, a port of the Wii U’s Mario Kart 8 soon after, Splatoon 2 a couple months later, and a few more months of patience brought Super Mario Odyssey. There was something for everyone.

I distinctly remember Splatoon 2 launching, as I was so excited to get stuck into a fun, colourful, multiplayer shooter on what had quickly become my new favourite console. I never owned a Wii U, so Splatoon 2 was my first dive into the kid-now-squid-now franchise, and needless to say, the line was cast and I was well and truly hooked.

But in 2022, we got Splatoon 3, and something about it just didn’t feel right. Not that it was necessarily a worse game, but I just didn’t have a desire to keep going back to it in the same way I did Splatoon 2.

It Felt The Same; It Felt Different

New Agent 3 and Smallfry in space in Splatoon 3

It’s really hard to put into words what exactly I struggled with when it comes to Splatoon 3, because I still haven’t figured that out myself. In some ways, it felt ever so slightly different to play. Not just because of the completely refreshed weapons, abilities, and brand new additions alongside them, but the actual feel of playing it was… off. I don’t think it’s actually any different, but I couldn’t get past the inkling that controls had been ever-so-slightly changed in a way that was noticeable enough.

It wasn’t just me, either. Both my sister and my friend are fellow Splatoon 2 enjoyers, and it seems that none of us really got stuck in this time around. We played for a while, sure, but it didn’t hold our interest, even with the updates, DLC, and numerous Splatfests.

I’d Hoped The Switch 2 Update Would Give Me What I Needed

Key art for Splatoon 3 showing the Inklings covered in ink.

With Splatoon 3 version 10.0.0, the game has received performance and visual enhancements to make use of the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, along with a bunch of new weapons and a returning map. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to give the game another whirl, in these not-so-exciting early days of the Switch 2, to see if I could finally find that appreciation for it again, especially after a long break away from the series.

But still, after trying a couple of matches, I just wasn’t feeling it. I still miss something about Splatoon 2, whatever that ‘something’ actually is. Maybe I’ll give Splatoon 3 another shot with a friend, but I can’t see myself turning my impressions around at this point.

Maybe the newly announced Splatoon Raiders is what I need to get stuck back into the series. A single-player spin-off to this series actually sounds pretty great to me, especially after how much I enjoyed playing Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion. With Splatoon 3 now optimised for the Nintendo Switch 2 and still failing to grab my fading attention, Raiders might be the last chance for me to find my love for this series again. Sadly, I’m not a kid now, nor am I a squid now.