The splatoon series is a fresh take on a well-known genre. While players can take out their opponents in classic shooter fashion, the primary goal of an online Turf War battle is not to collect kills, but to cover the ground of each arena with as much ink as possible. In practice, this makes splatoon and its sequels colorful, cartoonish alternatives to the often grim, cynical multiplayer shooters like Duty or Grand Theft Auto Online. The last entry in the splatoon series, Splatoon 3, once again showcases the popular candy-covered aesthetic and outrageous paint spraying action of the series. The main hub area, Splatsville, is rich in player-created fan art presentations splatoonthemed versions of popular memes, surprisingly skilled portraits of the game’s Inkling and Octoling characters, and signs of support for the LGBTQ+ community. For anyone sick of toxic gamers, cruelty or blood, Splatoon 3 perhaps the perfect way to kick back: a fun, light-hearted online shooter with creative and immersive gameplay.
splatoon is captivating, expressive and inclusive
The splatoon games are popular with a wide variety of gamers, regardless of age or personal identity, because of their focus on fun, frenetic gameplay and self-expression. Rather than relying solely on one type of stereotypical hyper-masculine gamer, Splatoon 3 gives players the opportunity to express themselves and share what makes them unique through their playstyle, personal clothing and artwork. Most shooters limit gamers to realistic weapons or sci-fi laser blasters, but because of Splatoon 3‘s paint spray motif, players have a bit more variety when it comes to weapons. Traditional PvP gamers can opt for the spray gun-like Splat Dualies or the spray gun inspired Aerospray MG. Although these weapons spray multicolored ink instead of bullets, they provide experienced shooters with a gameplay feel comparable to more realistic war games.
What makes the splatoon series special is that in addition to weapon-like devices, there are plenty of viable options for players who don’t want to use firearms at all. As the primary objective of many splatoon modes is to cover the ground with more paint than the other team, no need to focus only on a weapon with the most deadly power. Instead, players can choose cartoonish and comedic weapons such as giant paint rollers, oversized paint brushes, and old-fashioned paint buckets, each with their own unique mechanics, sub-weapons, and situational utility. If players want to take part in online shooters but have trouble targeting fast-moving opponents, there are weapons that allow them to still stay engaged and competitive without feeling a dead weight. Splatoon 3The variety of weapons and adaptability make it fun for longtime shooters fans or those just dipping their toes (or tentacles) into the genre for the first time.
Another fairly progressive part of Splatoon 3 is that players no longer have to choose a gender when creating characters, instead choosing the hairstyle they think suits them best. The base player character models in Splatoon 3 are fairly androgynous half-squid, half-child characters, meaning players can style their avatars however they want without worrying about conforming to outdated gender norms. Whether a player chooses to wear clothes that aesthetically appeal to him or give him a boost in combat is entirely his choice. Sure, there’s always a chance that the clothes that give a player the best upgrades might look like a fashion nightmare, but the game has gear re-rolling mechanics to fix that problem too.
Many games feel limited in terms of representation for female and LGBTQ+ gamers, but Splatoon 3 brings fashionable and fun female characters to the fore and allows players to style and represent themselves in a way that suits their personalities and identities. Thanks to the inclusive art posts and positive, welcoming messages displayed in the game’s main social hub, Splatoon 3 functions as a community where gamers can be themselves regardless of their sexuality and/or gender expression, which is all too necessary in an online space that tends to marginalize them or pay lip service to them without providing the right safety tools for their online experiences.
Less jaws, more drawing
A lot Splatoon 3 players attribute the game’s lack of rampant toxicity to something it lacks: built-in voice chat. While most modern online shooters allow (or force) players to hear their teammates, communication is in Splatoon 3 is limited to preset text chats with phrases like “This way,” “Ouch,” or “Booyah!” Although the text options are extremely limited, even compared to other games with built-in chat, they are suitable Splatoon 3‘s emphasis on relaxed fun and marching to the beat of one’s own drum. Players cannot be coerced into unwanted strategy meetings by strangers online or be verbally abused for having fun rather than playing ruthlessly. No stream of consciousness wandering through other players also means no path to hate speech. Of course, toxic players always have the option of taking to social media or talking to their real-life friends (if existence allows) to vent their frustration at what’s bothering them about their teammates, but there’s no chance players in the game being able to hear these malcontents spew obscenities. This is a welcome change from typical online shooters, which by default allow voice chat once someone enters a match. Annoying or hurtful players can be muted in most games, but this requires the extra step of muting someone, something that can occasionally be difficult or annoying to manage mid-game. Muting is generally reactive rather than preemptive meaning players can choose to silence a vulgar offender after the poisonous player has already said something terrible. By disallowing in-game voice chat and limiting audio communications to the Nintendo app or third-party software, Nintendo effectively has the splatoon community of verbal harassment in one fell swoop.
As mentioned before, players have the opportunity to express themselves differently in Splatoon 3: by drawing images or text on their . to scribble Nintendo Switch touch screens. Artwork, memes and text can be posted and viewed in the main social hub, Splatsville, where it pops up as player dialogue bubbles scattered across the city or as neon signs along tall buildings. The artistically minded can share their artwork with Splatsvilles around the world. Typical gaming communities tend to use any text or art creation method to post shocking or vulgar stuff as often as possible, but surprisingly a vast majority of splatoon 3‘s art posts are either healthy or humorous. As in other games, players have the option to report problematic posts as they are offensive, but the fact that the reporting functionality actually works as intended in Splatoon 3 suggests that the splatoon community is more bourgeois than their peers when it comes to keeping Splatsville clean.
A glimpse of positivity
Although even Splatoon 3 has occasionally toxic behavior where players aggressively attack or mock their opponents, the overall multiplayer experience is one of joy, frenetic action and laughter. Games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley are great choices for those who appreciate slower, charming gameplay, but when it comes to action-packed online shooters, relatively few games strike the balance between fast-paced action with safety and inclusivity, such as Splatoon 3. The continued popularity of the splatoon series makes it clear that there is a market for creative shooters without toxic masculinity and bloodshed. It’s only a matter of time before more game developers get the hint.
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