[timestamp] is a running journal and reflection on the games I play, news I’ve read, and commentary on hot topics and conversations I have come across. These will be free to read online and printed in a limited monthly edition for $15/mo Patreon supporters!
Game played: Splatoon Raiders (Switch 2)
I am out on vacation, as mentioned in my last entry, and while I am in the LA area, I have been hotting up a few different game and comic shops. There are some really rad places. I will specifically call out A Shop Called Quest if you are ever in the Pomona/Claremont area or the Redlands area, way east of LA. No video games, but one of the coolest comic shops I have been to, and having a previous life managing a comic shop, then running my own online-only shop, I had dreams of running a place like that. It’s rad, great selection of stuff, indie, kids, YA, mainstream, etc., anything you could or should read is there.
Anyway, the point of this was that I also visited another LA staple, in my opinion, and that was the Frank & Son Collectible Show. I always thought it was Frank & SONS, but I’ve been living a lie, apparently. They moved from an old warehouse off the 57/60 down the road to a bigger former retail warehouse, and it’s quite the upgrade. It’s only open a couple of hours a few days a week, but it’s a collection of independent vendors selling sports cards, TCGs, comic books, and video games. There were some really rad finds, and then one game caught my eye: Splatoon Raiders. It caught my eye because it wasn’t supposed to be out until tomorrow. I used to live a life finding and buying games before release and breaking street dates whenever I could, just because. I have been obsessed with games since I was 3 or 4. That’s a lot of game time. I was already interested in Splatoon Raiders, but having the chance to get a jump on it early? That was the push I needed to buy it right away.
I love arbitrary stat tracking and data, so things like trophies, playtime, and other metrics are always something I love connecting to. A side note: I discovered this rad shared platform for all your games from John from Gaming in the Wild, PlayTracker. Check it out and join for free - https://playtracker.net/refer/darrenhupke. Knowing my Splatoon Raiders first play date was going to be the day before launch? A useless statistic that I will enjoy having on my digital platforms!
The early game itself has been fun. I had only watched a few early trailers and wasn’t really sure how the game was going to work. The game’s plot isn’t something I was familiar with. I just knew the older games were like ink-splattered shooters mixed with graffiti-zone control-type gameplay for multiplayer, and this one was taking that idea into a single-player-focused experience. The game kicks off like a Nintendo-based Monster Hunter. With the characters exploring a new world, crash-landing, and you creating an avatar you play as to rebuild and discover how to get on with your adventure. All familiar to me as a long-time Monster Hunter Worlds and Wilds player.
The earliest missions gave out some low-level equipment and acted as a tutorial on some of the mission types as you leveled up the early levels, gaining some new skills, relics, weapon types, and currency to build out your headquarters and more. The loop looks like it can be quite fun, with replayable levels and a pace that lets you take on each stage in quick bursts. I haven’t run into much of a challenge yet, and that does concern me. It is still fun and engaging, but I still need to see more. I hope there are some things that increase the difficulty. I still have a few things and systems to unlock, and there are multiplayer features I haven’t come across just yet, but it’s all been fun so far.
