Splatoon Raiders is out here turning the paint-slinging squid squad into a full-on single-player loot chase, and the hands-on makes it feel less like a weird detour and more like the natural next splat. Deep Cut crash-lands on the Spirhalite Islands, you're the Mechanic pilot, and suddenly you're raiding zones, mining materials, and dodging Salmonid swarms while one of the trio rides shotgun in a mech you can literally bounce off for mobility. Over 100 weapons with random perks, three ink tank types packing different gadget kits, and a whole min-max loop of mods, relics, and upgrades? Yeah, it's giving Warframe-lite but wrapped in that chaotic Splatoon charm.

Co-op up to four players (online or local wireless on Switch 2) and an SOS beacon for calling help when the waves get too thick keeps it from feeling lonely, while bigger ruin fights with timers and massive boss Salmonids crank the chaos. The Destructoid preview nailed how the progression loop—raid, loot, upgrade base/gear, repeat—hooks hard once the rhythm clicks, especially with instanced loot so nobody's fighting over drops.

Launching July 23 on Switch 2 for $49.99 digital / $59.99 physical with matching Deep Cut amiibo, this is the first real Splatoon spinoff and Nintendo's betting the single-player fantasy lands. Early buzz has folks split between hype for the new fantasy and wanting a demo to feel the gadget builds themselves. Either way, the paint's about to fly in a whole new direction.