The newer version of the ink-spraying team battle, where four-on-four squads race to paint more of the arena than the other side. New moves let you dodge sideways in a burst or leap out of the ink to surprise someone, and there is a full single-player adventure alongside the online matches. This is the one with the active player base, so matches fill up fast at almost any hour.
Gameplay video
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Screenshots & review notes
Overall
It's the series at its most confident, tightening the format without losing the goofy charm that made the first two games so likable.
Moment to moment
New weapons and the squid roll give experienced players more tools, and matches stay tense thanks to smarter map design than its predecessors.
Art and atmosphere
Splatsville's grungy aesthetic is a fun tonal shift, and the presentation stays crisp whether you're playing docked on a big screen or on the go.
Worth your time?
Salmon Run Next Wave alone could justify a purchase for co-op fans, and with steady post-launch support this has real legs for both casuals and try-hards.
Frames captured from the gameplay video above; notes are our own take on the game.
What it's like to play
Same core idea as its predecessor and the one people actually play online today. Four on four, three minutes, cover the floor in your team's ink, and the side with the most coverage wins. Pressing a button turns you into a squid that swims quickly through your own paint, climbs inked walls, and hides in ambush, while enemy ink slows you to a crawl. It is a shooter where painting the ground is the point, so you can contribute without being good at aiming.
This entry adds two new moves that change how fights feel. One lets you burst sideways out of your ink with a quick dodge, and the other launches you straight up out of the paint so you can drop on someone from above. Weapons range from paint rollers and buckets to sniper rifles and brushes, and each comes with its own bomb and a big special attack you charge by painting. Matches are quick enough that a bad one does not sting and you can always play one more.
There is a full single-player campaign with inventive levels and a proper story, a four-player co-op mode against waves of fish monsters that is tense and excellent, and a surprisingly deep card-based board game tucked inside as a side mode. Regular weekend events split the whole player base into teams over silly questions. The main friction is that Nintendo's online service is required for matches and the lobby system makes leaving between games clunkier than it should be, but the actual gameplay is some of the most original on the console.