[[2026 Games#^ca0677|2026 Games]]  ## 2026-08-11 It's [[Diablo IV]] but squids. I feel like that sums up **Splatoon Raiders** enough that I don't think I need to elaborate further, but I guess I gotta write something. I love looking at mainline **Splatoon** but I hate *playing* it. The netcode is ass, my team is ass, and I always manage to get put up against the sweatiest mfers on the planet in what is ostensibly a game for children. **Splatoon Raiders** is subsequently so appealing because it's a single-player + co-op experience. Granted, my team still sucks in this game too, but at least that isn't coupled with competitive pain. In this game you collect loot. That's it. Kill stuff, get better weapons and gear to get stronger to kill more stuff. Sure there's a plot somewhere in there - it even managed to get me to like Deep Cut a little bit more if you can believe it - but it's all simply set dressing to get that sweet sweet loot. Luckily, the loot is fun in this game. **Splatoon**'s weapons have always handled really well, so getting new ones is fun, and each rarity comes with additional rolled perks to help perfect your build. The perks you get for your gadgets are probably the most build-defining. Some increase damage, some decrease cooldowns for them on kill, some strengthen your weapons after you use them, and so on. The gadgets are the best part of this game, in my opinion. Nothing beats carefully aiming before dropping down onto a pile of salmonids and watching them explode into a confetti of power eggs and - you guessed it - even *more* loot. Or dashing around with a giant katana and doing Big Damage™ with each slash. If you wanna grind in this game, you're going to be *very* happy with what's available to you. There's an absolute deluge of levels to complete, increasing difficulty tiers to progress through, and gear to tinker with. You can modify your weapons and equipment until you have a perfectly tuned set loadout to massacre as many fish as you want as quickly as possible. I think most people will get tired of it before they reach the truly difficult stuff, to be honest. But even months from now I won't be surprised if I boot the game up to just turn my brain off and grind after a stressful day.Of which there are plenty lately, lol. I also hope it gets content drops the same way mainline **Splatoon** games do. I want this game to be successful to show [[Nintendo]] that there's a lot more to **Splatoon** than its multiplayer. The expansions and story modes in these games have always been Nintendo at their best, and I think **Raiders** is no different. If you're a fan you probably own this game, but if you're just a big fan of loot [[The Depression Grinding Tier List|like I sometimes am]] then you should absolutely check it out. It scratched the itch in a way that few games do.