Welcome to Punished Notes, volume 44! Can you believe it’s been nearly five months since I’ve done one of these? In this edition, I talk about how the latest Switch 2 exclusive is emblematic of how Nintendo has stayed relevant for decades. Then, I get into a Lightning Round covering Kingdom Hearts, Denshattack!, and… baking? Like, baking actual food? Anyway, thanks as always for reading!
Splatoon Into Something New
If you asked me what aspect of Nintendo’s approach to game development best exemplifies its essence as a company — its “secret sauce,” if you will — I wouldn’t just take the easy path and mention the baseline level of quality in most of its games. Instead, I’d point to the Big N’s ability to tinker and experiment with its best-known franchises in ways that keep them fresh and exciting for decades upon decades.
Splatoon Raiders, the Switch 2’s latest exclusive, expertly embodies that secret sauce.
The latest Splatoon spinoff takes the core gameplay mechanics of its namesake — shooting brightly colored ink from funky-looking weapons and swimming through your own ink in squid form — and adapts them to fit into what appears at first like a standard looter shooter. Think the silliness and general feedback loop of mainline Splatoon titles utilized for something resembling Destiny or Borderlands.
Unlike classic Splatoon single-player levels, which focus more on basic puzzle-solving and shooting lots of balloons, Raiders has you selecting different kinds of missions where you take down hordes of gross Salmonid enemies while collecting a bunch of loot. Upon completing such challenges, the player can use that loot to A) further enhance their character’s abilities and arsenal of weapons and B) learn more about the lore and history of the Spirhalite Islands (the game’s setting).
While conceptually basic in many ways, Splatoon Raiders still manages to feel like a fresh idea. The core Splatoon titles certainly have single-player content (some of which is very good!), but the focus has always been on multiplayer. The standard PvP Turf Wars mode — which has long been the main draw of the franchise — can be a blast, especially once you get a feel for each weapon’s strengths and weaknesses.
Unfortunately, these games always end up having fairly high skill ceilings, making it difficult to just have a normal amount of fun (losing over and over again is never a good time). As much as I enjoy Turf Wars for the first few weeks of buying a new Splatoon, the competitive nature of the mode ends up favoring players who have “figured out” the meta while leaving behind people like me who don’t have the time or patience to get good. After a few weeks with each mainline Splatoon game, I’ve always ended up dropping Turf Wars entirely, not because it was too hard but because I felt like I had to adopt strategies based on chance of success rather than what felt most fun.
With Splatoon Raiders, however, this is not the case. From the get-go, the game has a clear single-player focus (there’s always the option to tackle missions with other players online, but you are never required to do so), but that’s not all. Unlike with Turf Wars, there’s no single build that gives you an inherent advantage at all times, nor is there one set of rules you’re required to master: Raiders has puzzle-based levels, multi-tiered enemy gauntlets, and treasure-hunting endeavors, all of which require different gameplay approaches.
The wide variety of challenges, enemy types, and terrains forces you to experiment with different weapons, gadgets, and strategies that best fit the task at hand. What works magically against big boss enemies may prove inadequate against waves of much smaller ones. The equipment that best suits quick movement and exploration might expose you against foes with powerful attacks. Just like that, Nintendo took a familiar gameplay loop and tweaked it to work in a totally different kind of experience, one that rewards creativity as much as skill.
I could go on and on about how much I’ve enjoyed playing Splatoon Raiders. It’s a super well-designed game that I simply can’t put down, since every unique build I’ve tried just feels great to play. What I’d rather highlight for now, though, is how the game serves as a perfect example of how Nintendo has managed to survive and thrive (at times) for as long as it has while sticking to mostly the same set of core franchises. Raiders maintains the feel and style of the main series but enhances everything to thrive in an entirely new context.
Despite its reputation for conservatism and restriction with its IP, Nintendo proves time and time again that it’s willing to play around with established formulae. That desire to try new ideas within legacy franchises has not just helped Zelda and Mario remain relevant for decades, but has also kept Metroid, Fire Emblem, Donkey Kong, and many others afloat for just as long. Splatoon Raiders is just another excellent demonstration of how Nintendo can identify a new path for a franchise and absolutely execute on that vision. I can’t wait to see what they do with Splatoon 10 years from now.
LIGHTNING ROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Just another note on Splatoon Raiders: Obviously, I’m loving it, but I’m not quite sure I’d say it’s my Game of the Year at the moment. It is, however, my “Doritos and Mountain Dew” Game of the Year right now by a fairly wide margin.
- Much to Amanda Tien’s delight, I played Kingdom Hearts for the first time recently, and what really stood out to me was how the inclusion of Disney characters and worlds never felt intrusive or like IP slop. Peter Pan, Donald Duck, Winnie the Pooh, Aladdin, and every other iconic cartoon character fit neatly into the game’s story, and none of the writing made me feel like they were winking back at me or making references just for the sake of it.
- When Nintendo announced there would be a 20-minute Direct on upcoming tactics RPG Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, I stated in our Discord channel that such a Direct serves little purpose, as most players already knew whether they’d buy it day one. After watching the presentation, I realized quickly that I was wrong: I myself went from “will probably wait for a sale in two years” to “I might have to play this as soon as I can.” It really looks that good!
- At its best, Denshattack! is an absolute blast, combining the best of the Sonic Adventure titles and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. That said, once I beat the main story, I felt little motivation to go back and get better scores on every level. That alone means it can’t be a serious Game of the Year contender, despite how delightful the game is otherwise.
- PlayStation ending physical disc production is terrible for gaming at large for so many reasons. One more I’d like to point out: No physical game copies coupled with increasing file sizes means managing active game libraries will be a source of annoyance and inconvenience. I know there are so many worse things about it, but this is just another thing that’s bothering me.
- There are so many weird and annoying things about how Nintendo has handled its Music app, but I can’t deny that I’ve enjoyed the recent inclusion of tracks from Mario Kart World organized by which classic Mario title they come from.
- Rockstar having Netflix broadcast a Grand Theft Auto VI presentation just hours before it premieres on YouTube has to be the easiest money the studio has ever made.
- I’ve decided to try my hand at baking lately, since I felt it was important to take on a new hobby that A) I’ve never really done before and B) results in something I can share with others. Most recently, I tried making a gluten-free, dairy-free ice cream bread that turned out way too crumbly and didn’t have much flavor at all. I ate most of it myself, not because it was good but because I was still proud I made anything at all. This feels like the right approach to starting a new hobby, but what do I know.
Sam has been playing video games since his earliest years and has been writing about them since 2016. He joined The Punished Backlog in 2017 and became an Editor in 2022. He’s a big fan of Nintendo games and complaining about The Last of Us Part II. You either agree wholeheartedly with his opinions or despise them. There is no in between.
A lifelong New Yorker, Sam views gaming as far more than a silly little pastime, and hopes through critical analysis and in-depth reviews to better understand the medium's artistic merit.
Bluesky: @sam-martinelli.bsky.social
