The Splatoon 3 game is a third-person action multiplayer where you compete as a species of fashionable teens who can turn into ink-surfing squids. Created by Hisashi Nogami for Nintendo in 2022, this Nintendo Switch™ title is a family-friendly alternative to action games, like Call of Duty, that still offers very skilled and action-packed matches.

Competitive Inklings stick to a variety of ranked modes. Even though it’s ink and full of wacky-looking weapons, these modes still take mechanical skills and insane strategy, making them entertaining for higher level tourneys. The Splatoon 3 game is rated E for Everyone.

The objective of the Splatoon 3 game is to paint a level with your team’s ink, covering more of the level with ink than your opponent before time runs out. In the Splatoon 3 game, you can choose to be either an Inkling or an Octoling who will spread the ink with items like buckets, paintbrushes, and squirt guns. The update to the Splatoon 3 game also offers new weapons, new clothing to protect yourself in battle, food and drink advantages, photo mode, and recon mode to walk through each stage before battles.

Players can select any of the currently available stages in the Splatoon 3 game. Players can equip any items in the game except for the unlockable Splatfest Tees.

Splatfest Tees are a time-gated unlock within the game and can only be unlocked by playing during the in-game event Splatfest. When used, these items provide an in-game stat boost, providing an advantage over newer teams who cannot obtain them during the season. For this reason, Splatfest Tees may not be used in PlayVS matches.

All Nintendo titles offer a purchasable physical copy (found at many retailers) or digital copy (found online). After purchasing a physical copy, the game card can be inserted to the Nintendo Switch system to begin any necessary automatic downloads. Purchasing digital copies provides a 16-character code that can be redeemed in the Nintendo eShop from the Switch console itself. Steps for redeeming a digital code can be found via Nintendo Support.

Teams of four players will compete 4v4 in a Best-of-5 games format to determine the overall winner of a match. Game Modes are set at the start of each season. The first team to win three games will be awarded the win for the match. Each game lasts about 6 minutes on average.

Splatoon 3’s official match days will be on Tuesdays.

In addition to the guide above, many professional Splatoon 3 content creators provide tutorials and useful information on YouTube. This can range from extensive guides on specific game modes and gear to general beginner’s guides to the gameplay. Top players will also show their matches on YouTube and Twitch to explain their mindset and reasonings. With this in mind, record and review your team’s matches to help them overcome their weaknesses and capitalize on their strengths.

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