Honestly it’s a combination of the battlepass system and the stage design causing constant, very fast-paced combat. The stages are too small, so players are funnelled into the middle of the stage. This also causes spawncamping if the matchmaking is even slightly unbalanced (which it is most of the time), as one wipe will allow a team to push all the way into spawn.

Previous Splatoon games were very good about this - most stages were abstract shapes, with a lot of terrain, meaning combat was rare, and the game encouraged painting over fighting as painting would net the most points on a per-match basis. Splatoon 3’s new maps are all thin, straight lines, which forces players into that central killzone.

The battlepass, along with some very poor decision making around the results screen, which shows the winning team celebrating, means that losses feel bad. The matchmaking similarly punishes winstreaks by forcing losestreaks, usually matching you against people above your skill level, but on a team with players below your skill level. Whilst this is very addictive, it makes losing feel genuinely awful, and a losing streak causes tilting due to the FOMO of the battlepass.

Hope this writeup makes sense. I view Splatoon 3 as a genuinely bad game because of these factors, and greatly prefer Splatoon 2.

sigh

Bunnings delivery. Anyone got a phone number for the Thomastown one, somehow it’s delivery failed and can’t find a driver simultaneously on each tracking website. Why do I feel like they’ve given it to Aramex and I’ll never see it again?

Categorically disagree. I am a grown arse adult. Splatoon 3 tilts me like no other game, due to some very deliberate FOMO game design decisions and a very poor matchmaking algorithm. Whilst there’s no real money store in the game, it has a lot of other problems that make it just as bad as Roblox imo

Thanks mate, you’ve no idea how helpful that is. I’ll start making some phone calls and go from there

You beaut, thanks mate

Absolutely fully understand mate, nothing harsh about the truth. To get a reference point around how much I need to save, how much did it end up costing you?

Anyone got recommendations for an affordable dentist? Very concerned I may have developed periodontitis (as a 24 year old because I’ve not been able to afford dental care most of my life), and need a check-up and quote to deal with it

God, I’m so glad it wasn’t just me. Didn’t sleep until 4:30, and was up for work at 6. It’s now 11 and I feel like I’ve already hit my limit, it was far too hot last night

Cheers mate! I always appreciate the local bar in the daily thread! 🍷

Thanks so much mate!