Splatoon 3
Image: Nintendo

We're back with another review round up, and this week the focus is Nintendo's upcoming first-party release Splatoon 3.

Before we dive into it, we want to first take a moment to mention our own review here on Nintendo Life. We said it was "excellent" - awarding the game 9 out of 10 stars and acknowledging it as the "pinnacle of the series":

Right, with that out of the way, here are what various other outlets thoughts:

The team over at My Nintendo News also gave the third game a solid 9 out of 10, noting how "inkredible" it is, even if it doesn't do much to differentiate itself from its predecessors:

"At its core, Splatoon 3 takes the “if it aint broke don’t fix it” mantra to the best of its abilities, offering an unforgettable experience that’s guaranteed to provide hundreds of hours of fresh, splatastic fun for all ages."

Nintendo Insider also awarded it 9 out of 10, stating how the series feels just as fresh now as it did back on the Wii U:

"There’s still no other game that delivers as refreshing a multiplayer experience quite like Splatoon effortlessly achieves. It feels just as fresh now as it first did back on Wii U, and, while more of the same isn’t necessarily bad when the series’ remains consistently brilliant, new weapons, stages and Boss Salmonid can only freshen up and re-energise the game’s multiplayer modes so far. However, what’s here has been tinkered with and refined to near perfection. Inkling and Octoling stalwarts will approach this threequel with a renewed sense of purpose in wanting to prove that they’re the freshest squid on the block, but it will be the content roadmap that inevitably determines whether Splatsville’s worth sticking around in."

Australian Nintendo website Vooks.net was even more impressed, awarding a perfect score of 5/5:

"Splatoon 3, while more of an evolution than a revolution, is the best the series has ever been. Between an utterly fantastic story mode, some great new weapon additions, and tweaks to the tried and trusted formula you've come to know and love, Splatoon 3 is everything you'd hope it would be and more. Some will say that it's "just more Splatoon", and that's true, but that's far from a bad thing in a series that has been, and continues to be, so consistently strong."

Game Informer was a little less taken with the third game but still glowing with praise - admitting it was the "best entry" and "most promising" delivering a score of 8.5 out of 10:

"Splatoon 3 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, nor does it need to. Instead, it improves nearly every franchise element in sometimes small but meaningful ways. With an already-robust set of content available at launch and at least two years of free and premium content on the horizon, Splatoon 3 is simultaneously the series’ best entry to date and its most promising."

Digital Trends gave it 4 out of 5 stars and enjoyed the fact it was a full experience "out of the gate":

"Splatoon 3 is a game that’s easy to take for granted. It’ll be tempting to write it off as another fun multiplayer game in a crowded sea — and one that costs $60 more than some perfectly playable alternatives. But what the Switch exclusive does here should be the norm, not the exception. It’s a fully formed and carefully constructed game out the gate, rather than a good proof of concept that’ll live and die by the developer’s ability to keep up. It doesn’t build out its world after the fact through supplementary YouTube videos and it doesn’t need to pepper in references to other beloved media to manufacture entertainment. Everything you need to enjoy the experience is there on day one, not hiding in a development roadmap."

And last of all, our friends over at VGC gave the game 3 out of 5 stars. Here's what they had to say:

"While it’s weird to see Nintendo deliver such a safe sequel, there’s no denying the continued pull of Splatoon’s splotchy skirmishes. Seasoned inklings can dive straight in; casual dabblers might find it a bit bare."

Splatoon 3 releases on 9th September. You can find out where to buy the game and amiibo from in our pre-order guide:

Will you be adding Splatoon 3 to your Switch collection? What do you think of the reviews so far? Leave a comment below.