I don't know what it is about Splatoon 3, but even after a Switch 2 upgrade it is just not quite as good as Splatoon 2

Splatoon 3 now has a new new update for Nintendo Switch 2, but despite my love for the series, I still can't find myself enjoying it in the ways I did Splatoon 2.

Nintendo Switch launch 2017 was wonderful. We had Zelda: Breath of the Wild on day one, a port in Wii U's Mario Kart 8 shortly after, Splatoon 2 a few months later, and a few months with patience led Super Mario Odyssey. It was something for everyone.

I clearly remember Splatoon 2 launch, because I was so excited to get stuck in a fun, colorful, multiplayer shooter on what had quickly become my new favorite console. I never owned a wii u, so splatoon 2 was my first dive in the baby-now-now-nu franchise, and unnecessary to say, the line was molded and I was well and really connected.

But in 2022 we got Splatoon 3, and something with it just didn't feel right. Not because it was necessarily a worse game, but I just had no desire to keep going back to it in the same way I did Splatoon 2.

It felt the same; It felt different

New Agent 3 and Smallfry in Space in Splatoon 3

It's really hard to put words into what I exactly struggled with when it comes to Splatoon 3, because I still haven't thought it myself. In some ways it ever felt so a little different to play. Not just because of the fully updated weapons, abilities and brand new additions with them, but the actual feeling To play it was … off. I don't think it's actually different, but I couldn't get past the ink that the controls had ever changed in a way that was noticeable enough.

It wasn't just me either. Both my sister and my friend are other Splatoon 2 enjoyers, and it seems that none of us really got stuck during this time. We played for a while, for sure, but it did not hold our interest, not even with the updates, DLC and many Splatsfests.

I was hoping the Switch 2 update would give me what I needed

Key art for Splatoon 3 showing the ink covered with ink.

With Splatoon 3 version 10.0.0, the game has received performance and visual improvements to use Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, along with a bunch of new weapons and a returning map. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to give the game another vortex, in these not so exciting early days of Switch 2, to see if I could finally find that estimate for it again, especially after a long break from the series.

But still, after trying a couple of matches, I just didn't know it. I still miss something About Splatoon 2, what it “something” actually is. Maybe I will give Splatoon 3 a new shot with a friend, but I can't see myself turning my impressions at this point.

Perhaps the recently announced Splatoon Raiders are what I need to get back to the series. A single player's spin-off to this series actually sounds pretty good to me, especially after how much I liked to play Splatoon 2's Octo expansion. With Splatoon 3 now optimized for Nintendo Switch 2 and still fails to take my bleaching attention, raiders can be the last chance for me to find my love for this series again. Unfortunately, I'm not a child now, and I'm not an octopus now.