Splatoon 3

 Switch
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 484 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 310 out of 484
  2. Mixed: 56 out of 484
  3. Negative: 118 out of 484
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Dalek_Thal
    May 1, 2023
    2
    Not a great game. Nintendo made a fatal mistake in Splatoon 3 - its map design removes flanking routes, and replaces them with chokepoints. The problem with this is it forces players into tight corridors where combat is the only option. Whilst it might appear to be a 'serious' shooter as a result, what we have instead is a poorly thought-out mess where you get killed constantly inNot a great game. Nintendo made a fatal mistake in Splatoon 3 - its map design removes flanking routes, and replaces them with chokepoints. The problem with this is it forces players into tight corridors where combat is the only option. Whilst it might appear to be a 'serious' shooter as a result, what we have instead is a poorly thought-out mess where you get killed constantly in all-out-brawls. But even this would be okay if matchmaking was worth a damn. As things stand, the game matches players together not based on skill, but instead on whether it'll make a game happen quickly. As a result, matches are dominated by endgame players whom spawncamp, bully and win almost every match. This environment creates toxicity, which can be easily seen by the "git gud" attidude exhibited by a reasonably-sized portion of its community. The game itself makes itself quite opaque and difficult to learn, and the matchmaking makes learning a near-impossibility. There is no world where this situation is a good thing. I hope deeply Nintendo fixes this game's matchmaking, but as it stands this game is not welcoming to the average player. Splatoon used to be a series where no matter how skilled you were, your contributions to the team mattered. That is no longer true. Do not purchase.… Expand
  2. SammyHauguth
    Sep 25, 2022
    1
    I just i hate this game, just started playing, and can't do **** I get splatter like all the time and can't even do anything... No matchmaking what so ever...
  3. tomamazing
    Jan 6, 2023
    1
    The perfect demonstration of godawful network performance and worthless matchmaking. It might actually be fun if it wasn't endlessly infuriating.
  4. Stydus
    Sep 11, 2022
    1
    Sorry, I love the game, but basically every other game is a disconnect, especially so if I'm the one who wins, for some reason, fix your servers wtf is this **** this feels like it needed time in the oven or more server tests, especially considering this is an online game
  5. hutchbrett
    Oct 31, 2022
    1
    This game has few changes between that and it’s predecessor. The connectivity issues alone render this game below a 4. I never have connection issues in other MMO, but I would venture 40% of games either do not begin or end abruptly in the middle as a result of the horrible servers being deployed on this game.

    It also seems to have issues with lag delays, and the now frequent into the    This game has few changes between that and it’s predecessor. The connectivity issues alone render this game below a 4. I never have connection issues in other MMO, but I would venture 40% of games either do not begin or end abruptly in the middle as a result of the horrible servers being deployed on this game.

    It also seems to have issues with lag delays, and the now frequent into the ink, pop-up attacks no longer can be defended regularly. The solo component is fun but the game isn’t worth buying solely for that.

    Seems like a money grab with little actual improvements, besides what seems like paid-off critiques or obsessed fans say.    … Expand
  6. Geo3891
    Sep 17, 2022
    1
    Online malisimo, soundtrack malisimo, gráficos de cartón, diseño de personajes horrendo y vomitivo (en especial las idols, dan muchisimo asco) e historia mediocre, esta porquería no supera ni a sus predecesores, todo mal con este juego, este juego merece ser odiado
  7. JanosX
    Sep 28, 2022
    1
    Worst game design.

    Battle mode is totally unbalanced, so if you're new you'll fight against high level players with their fully upgraded weapons and clothes, and if you're high level player you'll carry the newbies to lose your fights. Salmon Run is the stupidest game design ever made, to get the needed fish scales you need to fight the boss in the extra 4th phase that only happens    Worst game design.

    Battle mode is totally unbalanced, so if you're new you'll fight against high level players with their fully upgraded weapons and clothes, and if you're high level player you'll carry the newbies to lose your fights.

    Salmon Run is the stupidest game design ever made, to get the needed fish scales you need to fight the boss in the extra 4th phase that only happens once in a while, so you'll get levels and upgrade your Salmon Run rank before you can even reach the boss, thing is this is increasing the difficulty of the game like crazy, so the time you reach the boss the game will be way too hard and the only way for you to get scales would be to lose every game as fast as possible until your rank is lowered to the minimum for the game difficulty to be playable and fun again.

    Story mode is barely ok, some stages are stupidly easy, other ones are stupidly hard, or you get killed or fall in a trap right before the end of the stage.

    Game designer behind this must be fired and never hired again for this job,
    when you can't make a balanced difficulty, can't scale battles with players of the same level, and have fun creating frustrating traps and bad stages, you're not good for this job.

    A good game is suposed to be fun, not punishing the player for being new in battle mode, for reaching the end of a stage in story mode, and for leveling up in co-op mode.

    Splatoon 3 feels like a fast game with bad game design made only for taking money because the other preceding games worked.    … Expand
  8. IG826
    Sep 12, 2022
    1
    connection error i have no issue with my internet the server is completely a trash lost connection in the game and lobby it took you may be 10 mins to play one game as you have to reconnect and reconnect all the time
  9. Len007
    Oct 23, 2022
    1
    Bad network problems and extremely poor matching mechanism are destroying this game with genius design. Please help Nintendo.
  10. Zologongolo
    Jan 8, 2023
    1
    To much connection errors, every day milion times. Waste of money, Don’t buy it.
  11. Mogmog000
    Jan 24, 2023
    1
    No interesting new elements. New characters are not attractive.
    Story mode is too difficult.
    Not enough stages to choose from in a basic match.
    Costume design is poor.
  12. myversitee
    Feb 11, 2023
    1
    Another experience review from someone with a rather casual skill level, that hoped a suitable for 6-year-olds colorful shooting game from Nintendo could be different from all gatekeeping hardcore shooters like CS:GO and alike ...

    I just rage-quit it the 20th time. No, not during a session, I am not that kind of impolite person. I am over 40 and do not have eagle-like hand-eye    Another experience review from someone with a rather casual skill level, that hoped a suitable for 6-year-olds colorful shooting game from Nintendo could be different from all gatekeeping hardcore shooters like CS:GO and alike ...

    I just rage-quit it the 20th time. No, not during a session, I am not that kind of impolite person.

    I am over 40 and do not have eagle-like hand-eye coordination. And I enjoy FPS games, but am not particularly good at them. For people like me, coming into the game fresh is a complete desaster. Sure I can play the single player for a couple of hours, but hopping into online sessions is the core aspect of the game. And there ARE levels, which you have to climb up to get better weapons and armor, so it is needless to say that playing against much higher level players is unfair from a pure technical point, adding up the experience and skills people have from playing competitive shooters for years and maybe even have a more "gifted" advantage. I would never dare to suggest excluding highly-skilled competitive players with a very serious approach from the game, but hell, there must be some kind of safe space for noobs and casuals.

    Sure, there is supposed to be "matchmaking" AI to put you into sessions with equally skilled players, but tbo ... it sucks and feels non-existent. Nintendo could also just say there is matchmaking in their proprietary code and there actually isn't, and it would be the same outcome.

    Has a family-friendly, all-including company like Nintendo never ever considered a "league" system, like we have in many real life sports? A C-league for the kids, mommies and daddies and alike to just enjoy a sport locally in a team against other small villages? A B-league for the more ambitious to be picked out of C-league when you show talent and would be under-challenged in C? And the major A league for the pros and hard achievers?

    No, they didn't. So, in conclusion, the game is being taken over by elitists who gate-keep the whole game. It has become completely inaccessible for kids, casuals and therefore 80% of Nintendo's customers. Good job. Not.

    God, i'm just so furious right now. If the game hadn't been expensive, I would have filmed myself burning the cartridge and posted it everywhere as a meme.

    Gaming is more popular and profitable than ever, but the publishers, even Nintendo, haven't changed their mindsets how to make games FOR that new audience. Guess I have to play Animal Crossing for the rest of my life.    … Expand
  13. littlefox777
    Jun 28, 2023
    1
    Splatoon 3 is so bad that you can't believe it's a game made by Nintendo. The network conditions, map design, weapon design, and matchmaking mechanics are completely short of the level of a sellable game, and the garbage makes people wonder if this is a commercial fraud. Almost all players are scolding Nintendo, but Nintendo actually feels that its game is doing well. I can assert thatSplatoon 3 is so bad that you can't believe it's a game made by Nintendo. The network conditions, map design, weapon design, and matchmaking mechanics are completely short of the level of a sellable game, and the garbage makes people wonder if this is a commercial fraud. Almost all players are scolding Nintendo, but Nintendo actually feels that its game is doing well. I can assert that this IP has basically died here in the 3rd, and it is estimated that it will not be able to fool any players in the next game.… Expand
  14. ZzZ85
    Sep 13, 2022
    0
    Multiplayer game that disconnects constantly. Not acceptable. Its a fun game when it works which it hardly ever does.
  15. ENDrain
    Sep 14, 2022
    0
    Netcode.

    I don't get why online games by Nintendo have netcode from 2000s.

    One player disconnects, it's a new match for everyone.
  16. OnlyOneHere
    Sep 14, 2022
    0
    This game is a huge steaming pile of garbage. The greedy developers copied and pasted the majority of the maps from the past Splatoons, and they had the audacity to charge $60 for reused content. The developers were too cheap and lazy to give us more new maps. Only 5 maps are new and the other 7 are reused from previous games. When I pay $60, I expect most of the maps to be new with topThis game is a huge steaming pile of garbage. The greedy developers copied and pasted the majority of the maps from the past Splatoons, and they had the audacity to charge $60 for reused content. The developers were too cheap and lazy to give us more new maps. Only 5 maps are new and the other 7 are reused from previous games. When I pay $60, I expect most of the maps to be new with top notch AAA quality.

    The gameplay is the exact same trash as Splatoon 2. The graphics are a joke and looks the same as Splatoon 2. It's almost as if the lazy developers got Splatoon 2 and slapped the number 3 on the cover. The physics are beyond horrible. This game is broken because I was stuck in a black screen. The campaign is awful with boring boss fights. The story is stupid and worthless. The missions are boring and repetitive. The soundtrack is terrible. The puzzles are laughable. These annoying creatures make too many cringeworthy noises, to the point where I almost wanted to slam my TV against the floor if I heard their voices again.

    The online multiplayer is complete garbage with all these connection issues and awful map designs. There isn't even any split screen. This is clearly the developer's pathetic attempt at making players buy more Switchs for local play. The inkling kid with the yellow "hair" has a cringeworthy face on the cover of this game. This made me remove the cover paper off the game case and rip it into pieces. I don't recommend this game at all, unless you want to support laziness.    … Expand
  17. Jay_Maple_Leafs
    Sep 15, 2022
    0
    Fix the connectivity issues, online is unplayable with all these errors and it's beyond frustrating.
  18. AlvaroTrainer
    Sep 11, 2022
    0
    Same that 1 and 2 offer behind the games is the worst yt Channel and splatoon 3 the worst shooter, game zzz
  19. Pete112
    Sep 13, 2022
    0
    So many connection errors. Salmon run is unplayable as you play three levels then get thrown out and loose all points at the last second. I've had 2 warnings for leaving matches myself when my Internet connection is perfect.

    Update. Following the latest patch, the game is no better. Constant crashing of matches when someone gets disconnected. Also match making on the splatfests is very    So many connection errors. Salmon run is unplayable as you play three levels then get thrown out and loose all points at the last second. I've had 2 warnings for leaving matches myself when my Internet connection is perfect.

    Update. Following the latest patch, the game is no better. Constant crashing of matches when someone gets disconnected.

    Also match making on the splatfests is very unfair. Each time, teams of friends are allowed to match against individuals. This means they are organised and are talking to each other about strategy. I must have lost 30 matches in a row despite being quite good at Splatoon 2. Groups should be matched against other groups rather than random individuals.    … Expand
  20. AzathothWakesUp
    Sep 12, 2022
    0
    Disappointed this great game doesn't want me to play it!!!
    This incredible sequel is extremely fun to play, when the gamy LETS you play it. Unfortunately it is dragged down by one horrible flaw: constant disconnect errors (despite your flawless highspeed wired connection) that punish players with increasingly long time based bans. Being a P2P game this sort of disconnect issue is to be    Disappointed this great game doesn't want me to play it!!!
    This incredible sequel is extremely fun to play, when the gamy LETS you play it. Unfortunately it is dragged down by one horrible flaw: constant disconnect errors (despite your flawless highspeed wired connection) that punish players with increasingly long time based bans. Being a P2P game this sort of disconnect issue is to be somewhat expected, but in no way should it effect the players when their internet is not actually dropping out at all.    … Expand
  21. cptstainless
    Nov 1, 2022
    0
    The singleplayer is pretty much worth it alone. The multiplayer is also a ton of fun, when it works. The game is plagued with bad servers and connection issues.
  22. MihAlves
    Jan 18, 2023
    0
    Simplesmente é uma DLC do Splatoon 2, isso é lamentável ! Uma pena que a Nintendo só pena em dinheiro desde o lançamento do Nintendo Switch.
  23. MeloettaBros9
    Sep 18, 2022
    0
    This is rig I am evening suffering to get more pts in Anarchy Battle (Open) and it not ok same pt of 8 every time I Racked up it same pts 8 and -2 to -3 it not worth it I hope Nintendo could get that resolve for Anarchy Battle (Open) cause that not right
  24. Drakore
    Oct 3, 2022
    0
    2 words: CONNECTION. ERROR.

    I will change this rating once nintendo learns how online servers actually work without flaw.
  25. raphaelbrasil
    Dec 30, 2022
    0
    It gets to be revolting such an expensive game with so many connection problems. The game was not ready to be released and is basically a copy of its predecessor.
  26. max421
    Nov 4, 2022
    0
    For a first time player in the splatoon series, this game is really addicting and fleshed out, def worth a try if you havent played the previous games.
  27. sweedsarentppl
    Sep 13, 2022
    0
    Gotta be one of the worst and disappointing games ive ever played by nintendo. It is nothing but boring, lame gameplay. The Shooting mechanic is just shoot in the general direction of an enemy and whoever has the higher level weapon or is clearly someone who has too much time on there hands its an easy kill. The entire experience is a frustrating mess of gross disgust you wish you neverGotta be one of the worst and disappointing games ive ever played by nintendo. It is nothing but boring, lame gameplay. The Shooting mechanic is just shoot in the general direction of an enemy and whoever has the higher level weapon or is clearly someone who has too much time on there hands its an easy kill. The entire experience is a frustrating mess of gross disgust you wish you never even touched let alone know of its existence.

    Thats only the game, Nintendo making a multiplayer focused game you know already somethings up. So many of the matches end with a troubled connection and of course if you want to use an ethernet you need to buy the brand new switch. Yeah this "game" is best left forgotten and rotting.    … Expand
  28. retropacman
    Oct 14, 2022
    0
    You are paying full game price for a DLC to Splatoon 2. If this wasn't Nintendo the user score would be like a 1. Yes, Splatoon is fun but paying full price for what could have been an update is crazy. This will be the last Splatoon game I own. Nintendo is just getting greedy now. I have been playing since the Wii U and my disappointment is immeasurable.
  29. eri41205
    Oct 25, 2022
    0
    Great concept, poor execution, curious online matchmaking decision. I hope next gen console is powerful enough to support this game with good netcode and better matchmaking system. Well Nintendo won't care as long as they have their copies sold.
  30. KrillerBomb
    Nov 25, 2022
    0
    One of the very worst games to have ever graced this horrid Earth. Do not get it. It is beyond overrated and does nothing to improve the series or its gameplay, it's the same old shtick again, and somehow it sells like hot cakes...
Page:

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Best Switch Game of 2022
8
#8 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 115 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 107 out of 115
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 115
  3. Negative: 0 out of 115
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 24, 2024
    80
    It's still a mix of platformer and shooter, but some missions are focused on combat, figuring out ways to advance, surviving in a diabolical arena, painting giant statues, sneaking around, finding keys, and even using your weird sidekick to activate and deactivate various mechanisms. [Issue#324]
  2. Starbit
    Nov 23, 2022
    90
    Splatoon 3 takes everything the previous games did and makes it better in pretty much every conceivable way. More fluid, more dynamic, with a more balanced gameplay and a very welcome enlarged one-player dimension, Splatoon 3 is all that could be expected from the third chapter in the series, where the improvements fit neatly with the Splatoon legacy.
    Read full review
  3. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Nov 9, 2022
    90
    Splatoon 3 went live in September, and ever since it launched I've had to will myself to stay away from it. I'm a grown man with a family! I've got a lot of responsibilities! So why do I keep feeling compelled to stay up into the wee hours of the morning shooting virtual ink at strangers? [Issue #62 – November/December 2022, p. 74]
See all critic reviews »