it is a fun game to play

@alex:

Alex from Giant Bomb says, "it is a fun game to play".

The word is in from professional videogamesmun Alex "the wolf" Navarro. Critical analysis from a face you can trust.

Maybe lack of FPSs on Nintendo platforms. They've got their very own "shooter" now. Also colors (N lovers are known acid heads).

I played a few games during the splatfest over the weekend. It was my first time playing Splatoon and I had a lot of fun. Its a simple, super casualized multiplayer game with short matches. Its a nice change of pace from the super serious multiplayer games I generally play. No idea if its gonna hook me for long but Im still gonna buy it and give it a chance.

It's just fundamentally satisfying to paint a place. Kids love stuff like that. It's like finger painting with super soakers. Why woulnd't kids think this the greatest thing ever ? (and they should)

Splatoon is vibrantly colorful, it's fast, it's simple naturalistic controls, it's got goofy characters and sound. it's also reasonably well balanced that's accessible to newcomers, a large player base that makes finding matches easy and a surprisingly robust single player mode. What's not to love?

I like Splatoon in short bursts. It's a fun low stakes, low investment game. You can jump in for a few minutes and jump out.

I also like the character customization and style options. Scratches an Animal Crossing-esque itch.

That said, it's not for everyone. Totally could see why some people don't care for it.

Its one of 2 games on an overhyped console. At some point people get tired of praising Zelda and move over to whatever else they can find with an Nintendo badge. Im certain its an ok game but Nintendo is the answear to your question. Theres nothing magical you have missed.

Some games just resonate with people. I've never understood the "I don't get why people like this" thing. There are plenty of games that just aren't for me, but it's not some huge mystery to me why others might like it. This is a shooter with a different look and vibe than most. People like shooters. It's not hard to figure out why people enjoy it. I like shooters, Battlefield, Red Orchestra, Unreal, ect., and I think Splatoon is an incredibly refreshing entry to the genre. It's not my *favorite* shooter, but it has a place in my library.

There's this weird thing where all of a sudden a game needs to be groundbreaking to prove itself, if someone decides it's not for them. It's okay if a game doesn't connect with you. You're not missing anything. There's no secret that everyone else is in on. What you see of Splatoon is what it is, and it's okay if that's not for you.

I used to become frustrated with myself when I couldn't connect with a game that people love. I would wonder what I was missing, if i wasn't comprehending something. I could recognize what people liked, but would beat myself up wondering why I didn't "get" it. I couldn't stand Telltale's The Walking Dead, and while I recognize the brilliance of Nier Automata, it did absolutely nothing for me. I get those games, I just don't like them. The only thing you need to get about Splatoon is that you shoot stuff in a way that isn't like how you shoot stuff in other games. Some people enjoy that. Nobody is saying that Splatoon is some genre-defining masterpiece, though it may feel that way if you hear people praising a game that you don't dig.

While a lot of the time I can understand why people like something I don`t there are actually times when I just straight up can`t see what people see in something and am curious as tto why they enjoy it. Nier Automata is one fo those games for me where I have played through and came out the other end not knowing what made people love that game the way they did. And that makes me really curious to learn the reasons why they love it, so that I can at least understand it.

You didn't preface correctly, it is indeed on a Nintendo platform but that doesn't influence the game as much as something like VR, do you like shooters? Do you like third person shooters? Do you like approachable team based games like Rocket League? Maybe even For Honor? Splatoon isn't a hardcore shooter like Unreal, COD, Counter Strike, it's a competitive multiplayer game with a layer of less serious fun coated splatted over it.
Is it the gameplay you saw which didn't look fulfilling? Or is it the genre or its mechanics?

Personal example, i love shooters but i'm not into Overwatch which is mostly universally acclaimed because i think having classes with different abilities makes a shooter unbalanced, i also don't like the bouncy cartoony art style and animation.