First-Timer Approved: Why Splatoon Raiders Respects Your Time | Couch Soup
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First-Timer Approved: Why Splatoon Raiders Respects Your Time
by:
hello world!
Jordan JurkowskiJordan Jurkowski
| August 14, 2026
| Nintendo , Reviews , Video Games
hello world!
Splatoon Raidersis here, andNintendowas kind enough to provide a code for coverage here on Couch Soup! I was super eager to check this out, and since this is my first entry into the series, I was a bit intimidated.
Full disclosure right off the bat: I haven’t hit the end credits on Splatoon Raiders yet. But as a busy dad who usually has to squeeze gaming into small, chaotic windows, I can tell you with complete confidence that I love this game—and it is well worth your time.
Since this was my first Splatoon game, I went into this totally unsure of what to expect. This was mainly because I’ve stayed away from the franchise in the past due to how intimidated I was by high-sweat, competitive player-versus-player shooters. But playing Raiders has completely opened my eyes. It made me realize just how much great gameplay I’ve been missing out on all these years, to the point where I genuinely want to go back and dive into the previous entries. The focus on offline gameplay with online co-op was the biggest selling point for me, and I’m glad I dove in.
Now, let’s be real for a second: Splatoon Raiders isn’t Game of the Year material by any stretch of the imagination. The game was marketed as a spin-off, and only having watched people close to me play the previous entries, having not played them myself; it very much feels like a spin-off. And for a spin-off, it’s honestly quite expensive here in Australia, so I’m not entirely sure what Nintendowas thinking with that price tag of$84. But props where they are due: the game is big… running between 10-20 hours, and I have seen players who are completionists have playtimes reach 40 hours. That said, I was genuinely impressed, and I stand by how much I love this game. I was not expecting the gameplay loop to be as ridiculously addictive as it is… It’s downright fun!
You get to step into the boots of a mechanic alongside the ever-charismatic trio of Deep Cut—Shiver, Frye, and Big Man. Together, you raid the Spirhalite Islands, battle back swarms of angry Salmonids, and haul back valuable treasure at a pace that actually feels rewarding rather than stressful. It doesn’t break ground with wildly complex mechanics or huge, cinematic storytelling, but I think that was an intentional design choice. It takes the core foundation of what made the original Splatoon games work and spices it up just enough to keep you hooked. It captures that pure, old-school feel of a video game; no endless cutscenes, just pure, tactile fun right in the palm of your hands.
Splatoon Raiders respects your schedule. The mission-based structure means you aren’t trapped in long, unskippable sequences or forced to grind endlessly just to feel like you accomplished something. Whether you only have 20 minutes while the kids are down for a nap or a rare two-hour block on the weekend, every single run gives you a tangible sense of progression. You jump in, collect your loot, upgrade your equipment, and hop right off without feeling like you left things half-done.
The depth of the loop comes as a pleasant surprise, largely thanks to the new Gadget system. By swapping out traditional sub-weapons for specialized power, tactical, and speed ink tanks, the game gives you genuine freedom to experiment with how you play. Finding a rare gear drop or tweaking your setup to handle tougher swarms creates a satisfying rhythm that makes you want to squeeze in “just one more run” before calling it a night.
The game performs brilliantly on Switch 2. Even when the screen becomes utter chaos with hundreds of enemies swarming from every direction, it holds a locked 60 frames per second without stuttering. It looks crisp whether you’re playing docked on the TV or handheld on the couch, and the gyro controls remain as sharp and intuitive as ever. Resolution while docked reaches 1440p, and handheld provides a crisp 1080p. Curiously, I did notice cutscenes ran at 30fps for some reason. Not sure why this is.
Honestly, my only real complaint here is that the stage design and environments lean into a somewhat muted, repetitive color palette that lacks a bit of the bright, neon-soaked flair the franchise is famous forand that I have seen in the past. But that visual step back is easy to forgive when the core mechanics, lively soundtrack, and moment-to-moment gameplay are this strong.
If you want a deeply addictive, stress-free PvE game that you can pick up and put down whenever life allows, Splatoon Raiders easily gets my recommendation. What are you waiting for… go check it out!!!
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First-Timer Approved: Why Splatoon Raiders Respects Your Time
Jordan got his hands on Splatoon Raiders on Switch 2. Does this paint a picture of a whole lot of fun, or does it try to leap and splat on its face? Find out now!
by Jordan Jurkowski| August 14, 2026
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