Splatoon

Splatoon is Nintendo's proof that the shooter genre did not have to be about killing. Its central idea, painting more turf than the other team, reframes a competitive arena as a colorful, kid-friendly contest where covering the ground in ink matters more than the body count.

The trilogy, from the Wii U original through Splatoon 2 and 3, deepened that hook with single-player campaigns, the recurring Splatfest events, and a youth-culture aesthetic of squid kids and fictional pop bands that Nintendo commits to fully. Splatoon Raiders continues the world.

This is a games-only franchise built around a single, clean invention. Mobility and territory are the same action, since you swim fast through your own ink and stall in the enemy's, and that one rule carries the whole design.

The Splatoon franchise spans 4 games in the CrossBinge catalog.