---
title: 'Splatoon Raiders Preview: Turns Out It’s Kind of a Roguelite'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=G_s-iO_Dl5w'
video_id: 'G_s-iO_Dl5w'
date: 2026-08-01
duration_sec: 482
---

# Splatoon Raiders Preview: Turns Out It’s Kind of a Roguelite

> Source: [Splatoon Raiders Preview: Turns Out It’s Kind of a Roguelite](https://youtube.com/watch?v=G_s-iO_Dl5w)

## Summary

Splatoon Raiders is a single-player (and co-op) adventure set in the Splatoon universe, where players crash-land on the Spiral-eyed Islands and must hunt treasure while battling Salmonids. The preview reveals that the game is essentially a roguelite with persistent progression, deep customization, and challenging timed raids.

### Key Points

- **Splatoon Raiders Introduction** [00:00] — A single-player game for Splatoon fans, set in the Spiral-eyed Islands after a helicopter crash.
- **Controls and Movement** [00:35] — Gyro controls feel great; inking, swimming, and surfing on a plank are joyful.
- **Enemies: Salmonids** [01:14] — Deranged fishing critters; ink them to defeat, they drop eggs.
- **Robot Companion** [02:06] — Cute robot fixed by mechanic; can be piloted by Big Man, boosts, and drills crystals.
- **Showstoppers** [03:04] — Special attacks from salmonid eggs; Big Man showstopper: ride him like a horse blasting.
- **Ink Tanks and Gadgets** [03:41] — Speed tank gives blast boot; tactical tank gives turret; cooldowns apply.
- **Customization and Upgrades** [04:30] — Gadget parts, levels, crafting; power tank splatolites, bomb loons; weapons upgradeable; salmonid relics for bonuses.
- **Roguelite Structure** [05:21] — Persistent progression; missions repeat but feel different; raids are timed egg collection.
- **Difficulty and Refinement** [06:03] — Raids are challenging; forced to refine build and use all tools; satisfying when overcome.
- **Co-op Multiplayer** [06:30] — 4-player co-op; same gameplay with friends; preferred way to play.

## Transcript

It is a truth universally acknowledged
that a multiplayer game in possession of
a passionate fan base must be in want of
a single player game. So it is and so it
was and so I think it ever will be.
Enter Splatoon Raiders, a single player,
well, mostly, we'll get there. Joint
from Nintendo because the ever dedicated
Splatoon fans are insatiable. But here's
the good news, squid kids. It seems to
be shaping up real nice, at least from
the couple hours I spent with it.
My demo started off with a cutscene to
set things up. My character was a
helicopter pilot, but my friends call me
the mechanic. Flying treasure hunters,
Fry, Big Man, and Shiver to the Spire
Light Islands when they all saw a big
old light coming out of what looked like
a hurricane. Things went sideways real
fast and our copter went down.
One month later, we've built a floating
fortress with just about everything you
could want except for a way home and
we're hunting for treasure. When in
Rome, right? [music]
Soon enough, I was setting off to hunt
for treasure. If you've ever played
Splatoon before, you'll feel right at
home in Raiders. I started with the gyro
controls and while that normally isn't
my bag, it's Splatoon and they feel
great here. Pretty soon I was doing
Splatoon things, inking up the
environment, swimming around in it, and
collecting mysterious shards. I'm not
being cheeky, that's what they're
called. Movement in Splatoon is a joy
and that's no different in Raiders. Even
something as simple as using a wooden
plank to surf across the waves is
awesome.
As I moved forward, I came across my
enemy, the Salmonids. They start small,
these deranged fishy critters, but the
solution, no matter their size, is to
ink them up and paint over the ugly goo
they leave on the ground. Theirs,
hideous, yellow, likely stinky. Mine,
beautiful, green, probably smells like
lavender. They just can't handle that
squid kid firepower, but you're doing
the environment a favor, too. When they
go down, they drop eggs that'll come in
handy later, but I don't fall in love
with the goofy goobers until I see one
that looks like a fat version of that
one hyena from the Lion King with the
droopy tongue. He's called Salty Tongue
and I love him. He gets the ink, too,
and drops a fancy weapon. More on that
in a second. After that, I stumble upon
a cute little robot that the crew hauls
back to the hideout and the mechanic
manages to fix up. From there, it's time
to take that bad boy out on a new
mission and kick the tires. [music]
My mission plays out a lot like the
first level. Run around, explore the
environment, fight salmonids, ink things
up. The difference this time is that
I've got my handy dandy bot piloted by
Big Man.
The bot is helpful in combat, but can
also boost me up in the air so I can
glide to new places and leap to where I
tell it, splattering the ground with
ink.
Lovely. The bot's real trick, however,
is that it can drill into big crystals
[music] and get us more of those sweet
sweet mysterious shards and other
goodies. The crystals themselves shoot
these big old beams of light into the
sky, so you know where they are. The
trick is using your tools like the bot
jump or flowers that blast you into the
air or your ability to swim through ink
to get where you're going, [music]
merging salmonids along the way. If
things get hairy, the bot and your buddy
inside of it give you access to
showstoppers. If you get enough of them,
salmonid eggs. With Big Man, that means
he hops out of your mech and you ride
that bad boy like he's a horse while
he's blasting away John Woo style. It's
great. Salmonids don't like it much,
THOUGH.
AT THE end of the level, I find a huge
crystal protected by salmonids who are
popping out of a nearby grate to defend
it. Between me and my bot, it wasn't a
big thing. They got the ink, but it was
a lot of fun anyway, just because
Raiders always feels good as you play
it.
My reward for salmonid slaughter? A big
treasure chest full of new ink tanks.
Speed, power, and tactical.
The neat part about these tanks is they
each come with different gadgets that
provide cool and new abilities in
combat. The speed tank, for instance,
gives me blast boot, which allows me to
eat myself through the air and land with
a big splat that damages everything
around me. While the tactical tank
offers the turret by any other name
still shoots just as good shot pot neat.
Of course there are cool downs attached
to all of these abilities because video
games are only allowed to be fun
sometimes but still I dig it. After
another mission where I grab some more
weapons and other goodies and discover
the joy of floating I head back to base
to sort through my wonderful tools. In
addition to my tanks and the gadgets
that go with them I've also got gadget
parts which do things like juice the
explosions on your gadget abilities or
make them bigger shorten cool downs add
explosions to your ability charges and
the like provided you have enough slots
to equip that gadget part. You'll also
gain levels as you play which can be
spent to upgrade your health weapon
damage and gadget part slots and even
craft new gadgets. I was particularly
fond of the power tank splatter lights
which orbit you and spray ink everywhere
and the bomb loons which are bomb
balloons you can connect and do
absolutely massive damage when you blow
them up. Then of course there are
various weapons to collect like the oil
blaster and roller all of which can be
upgraded at your base. Finally you've
got salmonid relics which grant bonuses
like a double jump or reduced weapon ink
consumption. It's a lot of customization
but it means you get to build a
character you like and you can get truly
overpowered if you play it right. You
can also just hang out and vibe at your
base and read lore about the salmonids
in the world too. No pressure.
Then you head out on a mission and do it
all again. Turns out Splatoon Raiders is
kind of a rogue light with persistent
progression. Who knew?
But it does give you an opportunity to
try out all your wonderful toys and
things like shiver showstopper which
summons a giant rocket powered shark.
Yes really. The blast through anything
unlucky enough to get in your way.
And based on what I played Raiders seems
to be trying to do enough that while
your core action blast through salmonids
and get stuff rinse and repeat is the
same things always feel different enough
that it stays interesting.
All of Splatoon Raiders craziness comes
to a head in raids that take us
underground, where I'm trapped in a
small space and I have to collect a
certain number of salmonid eggs in a
limited time to make it to the next
level. I won't lie to you, friends. I
thought I was kind of nice at Splatoon
Raiders until this point. I was
cruising. But when I tell you I got
smoked multiple times in a row doing
this, I'm not kidding. But man, I dug
it. It forced me to refine my build,
pick my spots, use all my tools, and
learn how to play fast. Even when I was
getting walloped, I was having a good
time.
Finally making it to that last level and
beating the boss just as our time for
that portion of the demo expired, my
friends, I exhaled.
And then we got to play four-player
co-op, and it was rad. Nothing really
changes in co-op. It's just more of the
same, but with friends. I named my squid
kid John Inkling, we got to work. I
don't have much to say about the
multiplayer. We only got about 10
minutes with it, except that you can go
real fast if you want to, and that's an
absolute blast to play with all those
gadgets and guns and showstoppers
popping off at once. I had a great time,
and this would definitely be my
preferred way to play the full game.
John Ink shall ride again.
>> [music]
>> I didn't know what to expect with
Splatoon Raiders, but I'd be lying if I
said it wasn't a good time. It can be
breezy, it can be challenging, it can be
everything in between. I'm kind of
shocked that it's basically a
rogue-lite, but it works real good.
Turns out all a squid kid needs for a
good time on Spiral Island is a treasure
to hunt and a robot to hunt it with.
Not bad considering it all starts with a
helicopter crash. But bring some friends
if you can. It's better when you're all
spilling some ink together. Maybe the
real treasure is the friends we made
along the way.
For more previews of the biggest
upcoming games, don't miss our recent
hands-on previews of Star Wars Galactic
Racer and Tomb Raider: Legacy of
Atlantis. And for everything else in the
world of video games, stick with IGN.