Full Breakdown
Splatoon Raiders Sets Metacritic User Score Record
7/28/2026, 2:23:34 AM
Core Event
A newly released Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, Splatoon Raiders, has achieved a 9.4/10 user rating on Metacritic, making it the second-highest user-reviewed Nintendo title on the platform. The score surpasses the long-standing leader The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (9.2) and trails only Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (9.5). The Metacritic listing still shows the game at #7 with a 9.3 rating, but the updated 9.4 figure has not yet been reflected in the ranking table.
Game Overview and Genre Shift
Splatoon Raiders departs from the series’ traditional multiplayer-focused shooter format, presenting a single-player-oriented “looter-shooter” experience. Players assume the role of a mechanic allied with the musical trio Deep Cut, exploring the Spirhalite Islands, customizing gear, and battling waves of enemy Salmonids for treasure. The shift has been noted as a potential replacement for the recently discontinued Destiny 2 for players seeking a comparable loot-shooting loop on a Nintendo platform.
Scores and Rankings
- User score: 9.4/10 (Metacritic) – second-best among all Nintendo games.
- Critic score: 81/100, based on 73 critic reviews (Metacritic).
- Comparison: The top-ranked Nintendo user score is Clair Obscur’s 9.5, while Majora’s Mask holds a 9.2 user rating and a 95 critic score.
- Metacritic leaderboard: The list also features titles such as *The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt*, *Silent Hill 2*, *The Last of Us*, and *Metal Gear Solid*, alongside a meme-driven entry for Disney’s *Cory in the House*.
Potential Impact and Community Reaction
The unusually high user rating has drawn attention from both fans and commentators, with some suggesting the score could influence purchasing decisions for the Switch 2. The author of the analysis, Paul Tassi, notes that the early surge of a few hundred user reviews may be volatile, especially compared with Clair Obscur’s 26,000 reviews that stabilize its rating. Nonetheless, the record suggests strong initial enthusiasm for Nintendo’s genre experiment and may encourage further development of single-player looter-shooter titles within the franchise.
