Splatoon Raiders

The first true Splatoon spin-off turns Turf War DNA into solo-and-co-op treasure raids: keep your loot when runs go sideways, kit Speed/Power/Tactical tanks, and hit the Spirhalite Islands with Deep Cut.

Splatoon Raiders is a single-player-focused spin-off in the 30-million-selling Splatoon series. You are a mechanic crash-landed on the Spirhalite Islands with Deep Cut (Shiver, Frye, and Big Man from Splatoon 3). Pick islands from a treasure map, fight Salmonids, scoop Spirhalite and salvage, then return to a hideout ship to craft gadgets, level weapons, and upgrade your tank.

The design break from mainline is the loop: short competitive matches are out; raid → salvage → upgrade → raid again is in. Nintendo’s key rule for solo play: you keep experience, weapons, and items even if a raid fails. Failure is progress, not a wipe.

Mainline ink gunfeel stays (ink, swim form, movement). Sub-weapons as you know them are replaced by a gadget + tank build system.

Core loop

1. Choose a raid destination on the treasure map
2. Kit a tank and gadgets; roll out with an Exploration Bot (Deep Cut in a bot construct)
3. Fight Salmonids, drill crystals, open chests, grab relics
4. Return to the hideout ship: craft, break down weapons, upgrade HP/damage, unlock deeper loadout options (including a third gadget slot over time)

Difficulty and co-op

• Tourist / Raider / Survivalist -- switch anytime

• Difficulty scales enemy strength, not loot (smart for a progression shooter)

• Up to 4-player co-op local wireless or online, with power scaling

• Solo “call for help” style lifeline support called out in pre-launch coverage

Setting and cast

• Spirhalite Islands: beaches, underground ruins, locked-gadget sites, dens with new Salmonid types (Salty Tongue brutes, Salivators, Smokers, multi-laser Stingers, “Seasoned” variants, etc.)

• Playable Inkling or Octoling mechanic

• Deep Cut as crew / hub fantasy Splatoon never really had before

• Amiibo: Deep Cut figures day one; existing Splatoon amiibo unlock extra looks

Reception (launch window)

Day-one critic aggregate landed generally favorable (Metacritic ~81, OpenCritic ~83% recommend). Praise centers on the raid loop and gunfeel surviving the genre shift; caveats are the usual “how deep is the looter loop long-term” spin-off question.

Splatoon spent a decade proving ink-based multiplayer. Raiders asks whether that feel funds a Borderlands-adjacent / roguelite-leaning single-player pillar without ranked ladders. For Switch 2’s 2026 software year it is a franchise expansion bet, not a side mode DLC.