The ink-stained battlegrounds of Splatoon have long been defined by chaotic four-on-four turf wars, but Nintendo is charting a bold new course with Splatoon Raiders, a title that repositions the franchise into cooperative PvE territory. Instead of facing off against rival Inklings and Octolings, players will band together to fight swarms of Salmonids in a treasure-hunting adventure that retains the series’ signature third-person ink mechanics while introducing a loadout-driven progression system, a hub-based headquarters, and full co-op support for up to four players. Hands-on with the game’s opening segment reveals a familiar yet refreshingly retooled experience that could expand the Splatoon audience beyond its competitive core.
What Is Splatoon Raiders? A PvE Co-Op Pivot for Nintendo’s Ink-Shooter Franchise
Splatoon Raiders is a single-player-focused game that supports online and local wireless co-op for up to four players. The core loop sends players on raids against Salmonid enemies — fish-like creatures that first appeared in Splatoon 2’s Salmon Run mode — but now serve as the primary antagonists across a full campaign. The game opens with a character creation sequence, followed by a cutscene that shipwrecks the player alongside the members of Deep Cut (Frye, Shiver, and Big Man) in an uncharted land. From there, the party embarks on a treasure-hunting expedition that serves as the narrative backbone of the experience.
Gameplay and Combat: Familiar Ink Mechanics With a Traversal Emphasis
Anyone who has played Splatoon 3 will feel immediately at home with the controls and combat in Splatoon Raiders. Players use ink to damage enemies and cover terrain, but the design places a stronger emphasis on traversal and mobility. When ammunition runs low, the familiar solution remains: swim through your own ink in squid form to resupply. The core loop of shoot, swim, and repeat is intact, but the enemy composition and encounter design have been reworked to support cooperative play against AI opponents rather than human players.
Salmonids appear in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, each with distinct attack patterns. Smaller grunt-type Salmonids can be eliminated in seconds, while larger and more formidable variants — such as the Minced Scrapper or the Thick-Cut Salty Tongue — require sustained fire, strategic gadget use, and evasive maneuvers to bring down. These larger enemies function almost as mini-bosses within individual raids, demanding coordination between team members when playing in co-op.
Headquarters and Progression: The Ship as a Persistent Hub
After completing a raid, players are awarded experience and loot based on their performance. They then return to their ship, which functions as a persistent headquarters. This hub is where all progression and customization take place. Frye operates a weapon upgrade station, allowing players to improve the effectiveness of their arsenal. Several weapons from previous Splatoon games return, and a handful of new additions have been introduced specifically for this title.
Big Man serves a different but equally important role: he gathers intelligence on raids and the creatures encountered, effectively functioning as an in-game encyclopedia that players can consult to learn about enemy behavior, loot sources, and stage details. The headquarters also includes a dedicated testing area where players can experiment with weapons and gadgets before committing to a loadout.
The Gadget System and Tank-Based Loadouts
One of the most significant structural changes in Splatoon Raiders is the gadget system, which is tied directly to the player’s choice of tank. To equip a gadget, the player must first equip its corresponding tank. This creates a meaningful trade-off in loadout design, as each tank type grants access to a specific subset of gadgets.
- Speed Tank: Unlocks gadgets such as the Blast Boot and Dash Bomb, favoring mobility and quick engagements.
- Power Tank: Compatible with the Splatchet and Spinwheel, emphasizing raw damage and area control.
- Tactical Tank: Allows the use of Bombloons and the Shot Pot, supporting area denial and utility-based play.
Gadgets themselves can be further customized using Gadget Parts, which modify attributes such as damage output, stock capacity, and area of effect. This modular system introduces a layer of strategic depth that extends beyond weapon choice, encouraging players to tailor their loadouts to specific raid compositions or enemy types.
Co-Op and Multiplayer: Shared Progression Without Shared Loot Conflict
Although Splatoon Raiders is designed as a single-player experience, the entire campaign can be played cooperatively with up to three other players. The available levels are determined by the least-progressed member of the party, which means that veteran players can drop into less experienced friends’ sessions without leaving them behind, but also cannot steamroll ahead in someone else’s world. This design choice ensures that co-op sessions remain balanced and accessible regardless of individual progression.
Loot drops are instanced per player, meaning that each participant receives their own rewards. This eliminates the friction of competing over coveted gear and allows each player to progress at their own pace without feeling penalized for playing with others. For players who get stuck on a particularly difficult raid, the game includes a “call for help” feature that opens the session for another player to join, assist in completing the objective, and then return to their own game. The same system allows players to answer help requests from others, fostering a cooperative community layer without requiring persistent matchmaking.
Difficulty Settings and Scaling in Splatoon Raiders
Splatoon Raiders offers three difficulty settings: Tourist, Raider, and Survivalist. These settings adjust the strength and aggressiveness of enemies but do not affect the quality or quantity of rewards. This is an important design decision — it means that players who prefer a more relaxed experience are not penalized in terms of progression, while those seeking a greater challenge are rewarded with a tougher fight rather than better loot. When playing in co-op, the game performs behind-the-scenes calculations to find an appropriate difficulty balance for all party members, ensuring that the experience remains engaging without becoming frustrating or trivial.
First Impressions: A Refreshing New Direction for the Franchise
After three mainline Splatoon installments that largely iterated on the same competitive PvP formula, Splatoon Raiders feels like a genuine departure — not just in mode selection, but in design philosophy. The shift to PvE co-op against Salmonids opens the door for a wider range of players who may have been intimidated by the competitive scene or who simply prefer cooperative experiences. The gadget and tank system adds a layer of buildcrafting that the series has never fully explored, and the hub-based progression gives the game a structure that rewards long-term investment.
The treasure-hunting premise, combined with the personality of Deep Cut and the expanded enemy roster, gives the campaign a distinct identity separate from the Turf War loop. Whether Nintendo plans to support Splatoon Raiders with post-launch content or treat it as a standalone spin-off remains unconfirmed, but the foundation shown in this early demo suggests a title that understands what makes Splatoon enjoyable while having the confidence to try something genuinely different. For longtime fans and newcomers alike, Splatoon Raiders is shaping up to be an inky adventure worth watching closely.
