Splatoon similar games & best alternatives

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Splatoon

Wii U • 2015

Should you play it?

Splatoon is primarily a team-based third-person shooter which is playable by up to eight players in 4-vs-4 matches, although the game also features a single-player campaign. Players control characters called Inklings, wich can change between human form and squid form. Transforming into a squid allows players to swim through ink of their own color, even up walls and through grates, hiding from the enemy and replenishing their ink supply in the process.

What works

  • Innovative and accessible shooter gameplay
  • Vibrant, imaginative art style
  • Engaging single-player campaign
  • Strong team cooperation mechanics
  • Extensive character customization

Things to keep in mind

  • Limited maps and modes at launch
  • Lack of voice chat and party matchmaking
  • Some repetitive gameplay elements
  • Online infrastructure issues reported
  • Short single-player experience

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

More violent

Games that feels like Splatoon but with more combat and destruction

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Splatoon. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Splatoon. These titles are not in What to play next.

Splatoon: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Cooperation, Story. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Violence.

Last update: 02/09/2026