Splatoon is somewhat of a competitive shooter masterpiece. No, I'm not just referencing the fact that it beat out games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Halo 5: Guardians and Destiny: The Taken King for Best Multiplayer and Best Shooter of the year. It's truly one of the most unique shooting experiences that breathe life into an otherwise stale genre.
I'll admit that I'm no good at multiplayer shooters. It's daunting to queue up for a CoD match, and at times even for Destiny's Crucible. When other players have such a huge edge over me, it's discouraging. That's where Splatoon flips everything on its head. Gone is the edge of FPS games (though I guess it does exist in some small ways) and instead the focus is shifted to painting the level in your team's color as much as you possibly can. While that does sometimes consist of taking out other players, that's no longer your primary focus, and that's what makes Splatoon so unique and simultaneously so accessible.
Nintendo has been pretty amazing with a ton of free post-launch support as well, delivering new stages to play on as well as new paint weapons that completely change up your strategy.
But even looking past the fantastic multiplayer, the game has a pretty sweet single-player mode as well. While not nearly as fleshed out as other Nintendo titles, the effort is certainly appreciated.
Previous game: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
