We go hands on with the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive Splatoon Raiders for two hours, checking out this PvE spin on a modern Nintendo favourite.15:00, 30 Jun 2026Splatoon Raiders is so far shaping up to be a confident and endlessly creative PvE spin on gaming's messiest third-person shooter. It's definitely one to watch for Nintendo Switch 2 players.‌‘Do we really even need a single-player Splatoon game?’ That’s the question I entered a recent preview session for Splatoon Raiders, asking myself - and for good reason, I think. After all, as one of Nintendo’s freshest and most original first-party IPs, Splatoon has quickly established itself as one of the most prominent ‘anti’ multiplayer PvP shooters for the way it removes blasts and bullets for more colourful splodges and splashes.‌Swimming in and through any strewn-about ink so as to gain the drop on your rivals just so happens to be an ingenious side effect of encouraging such a well-intended mess. Could such a premise work as well within a more single-player-focused format?‌And yet, so good are these ink-based mechanics, maybe presenting them in the guise of a more linear campaign could give Nintendo another edge within a whole new space and genre. This is exactly what Splatoon Raiders is intending to prove, and by golly, after playing just under two hours of it, I’d say it’s well on its way to doing it.Against my better judgment, Splatoon Raiders isn’t just shaping up to be great fun, it’s also a potential 2026 GOTY contender for me - and possibly even Nintendo’s best game this year.First things first, as if it was ever in doubt, it’s worth noting that all the satisfying shooting mechanics of prior Splatoon games have successfully made it into Raiders. Swimming through any ink puddles you’ve created to move around locations quickly still feels great, shooting enemies still provides that comforting ‘ratatat’ sense of feedback, and working as a squad of four Inklings to achieve a common objective remains a blast, just as it was in Splatoon 2’s Salmon Run mode.‌Where Splatoon Raiders sets itself apart, though, is how well it adapts these familiar concepts into a more directed, mission-based PvE format.Sure, previous Splatoon DLCs have dabbled with a more authored campaign, but what helps give Raiders an edge is how it layers on countless ways to customise the kit of your own custom-created Inkling character. Such customisation does well to give you greater control of the splat-based action in endlessly creative fashion by letting you choose between three main Tank classes: Speed, Power, and Tactical.‌The kind of gameplay actions all three allow for is pretty self-evident based on their titles, but core to each’s differentiation is the fact that only certain types of gadgets can be equipped to a certain class of Tank. Gadgets tend to work as special skills based on a cooldown, and so it’s important to find one that works for you.Equipping the Tactical Tank on your back, for instance, lets you equip the Shot Pot gadget, being a device you can throw out ahead of you to shoot enemies alongside you independently. The Power Tank’s starting gadget, meanwhile, is known as the Spaltchet, lets you slice in front of you using a giant AoE attack that makes it easier for you to keep the surrounding foes immediately in front of you at bay. You’ll eventually evolve enough to develop more unique gadgets the more you level up each specific category of Tank, equipping up to two at a time.If you thought this would be where Splatoon Raiders’ degree of kit and character customisation ends, think again. Layered on top are what’re called Relic Powers that are tied to your Inkling as opposed to any Tank class. There are also unique super abilities that your Bot Buddies (more on them later) provide, as well as the ability to tinker with the functions of your Tank’s two chosen gadgets with discoverable modifiers that you can equip between missions to further affect how they operate.‌Raiders really is going all out on impacting how you’re able to play, then. To the degree that it’s so much more than just spraying and praying with your desired weapon. Having so many customisation options likely sounds confusing, but I promise that after an hour or two of undergoing missions, how kits are handled soon falls into place.Squid gamesSpeaking of which, none of this player input would mean anything were the game itself not any good, and luckily Splatoon Raiders spins up a simple but engaging premise. After you and friends are washed up onto a remote island after crashing your plane following a storm, it’s your goal to undertake different missions, raids, and dungeons (mostly playable in any order) in the hopes of reclaiming and building the island up as your dedicated base. Fortunately, you’re not doing so alone.Fellow inklings Frye, Shiver, and then a pet-like Manta Ray companion called Big Man serve as your ‘Bot Buddies’, joining you in a mini-mech (yes, you read that correctly) during missions to help you fend for important gem-like resources and battle it out against the hordes of fish fiends.‌This is where Splatoon Raiders very much comes into its own, getting you back into the flow of how fun it is to pepper away at rivals using ink-based weapons, all while completing different objectives unique to each mission that initially start out grey - but, true to form, ultimately succumb to endless colour.From using your bot buddy’s mech to drill into particularly large pieces of crystal to plundering down into a location’s various sublevels to take on a boss, none of the missions themselves appeared to be too revolutionary, but there was enough variety there to ensure that this is a campaign well worth repeatedly playing through using different Tank builds so as to plunder more useful resources. Resources that can be used to develop new gadgets and further expand the island’s home base.‌And while Nintendo might be pitching Splatoon Raiders primarily as a so-called ‘singleplayer’ shooter, that’s only true in the sense that it’s not PvP. As I discovered in my preview session pretty much every mission can be played in four-player co-op, upping the challenge by having your team complete even tougher objectives as a range of different kitted out Inkling Kids.It’s here again where the full dynamism of the different Tank types and kits can be felt, as your group is suddenly better equipped to deal with even more different enemy types. This, combined with the ability to gain height by jumping on your Bot Boddy’s mech, helps give Splatoon Raiders a much different feel to any prior game, alongside the general switch to PvE.In the end, after playing just under two hours, I came away from my time playing Splatoon Raiders incredibly impressed and amazed at how well Nintendo has adapted the core tenets of Splatoon into a more mission-based experience that’s much deeper. The narrative might be basic, true, but your gang of friends back at base offer up plenty of personality, while the level of customisation offered by the ability to tweak tank types, their modifiers, and new Relic Powers tied to your character ensures that no one player’s time playing Splatoon Raiders needs to be quite the same.Article continues belowHow far you can push these systems into different directions remains to be seen, as does the general replayability of the campaign’s missions. However, for the most part, Splatoon Raiders is shaping up to be a more thoughtful shooter than I was expecting. In fact, it’s set to be Nintendo’s most ink-credible first-party game of the summer.Splatoon Raiders is set to launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 on July 23, 2026 .