Splatoon 3 and his sons - 5 clones to discover (or forget)

Splatoon 3 has finally arrived on our shelves and digital stores (and we liked it), 5 years after a second chapter that has transformed the IP that Nintendo has had the courage to become a global phenomenon. the awareness of launching on the poor Nintendo Wii U in 2015. Over time, the bizarre competitive shooter has garnered players and acclaim, gaining a success that has inevitably attracted the attention of those who make imitation their virtue.

In a videogame world where mobile devices and computers are more and more preponderant, such a winning idea risked being confined to a small basin, without being able to fully express its potential - or rather, maybe that's what those who wanted to invade any platform with clearly inspired titles thought to capitalize just enough time for the Nintendo Ninjas to take action.

Sepia Go - The shameless

Sometimes the admiration for a work is such that inspiration is transcended, leading instead to real plagiarism. How do you say? Is it not a question of admiration, but simply of a mere economic interest that pushes you to clone a successful title? And the clone in question comes from China? Yes, this is what happened with Sepia GO, which one year after the release of the original Splatoon on Nintendo Wii U showed up on the oriental Android stores with the nonchalance typical of these projects, despite the use and abuse. of mechanics and assets taken peer-to-peer from the Nintendo title.


Obviously the title disappeared in a short time from the stores, but that did not prevent a year later from reappearing as if nothing had happened, riding on the release and success of Splatoon 2 on Nintendo Switch to collect again users, contacts and try to capitalize as much as possible, as much as possible, even aiming at a publisher. Obviously things did not go as expected and the game is removed from its page, now recoverable only for a few neat ways.

Decksplash - an unfortunate soup

Surprisingly, in this list of not too original productions the developers of I am Bread and Surgeon Simulator come into play, who have instead made originality their mantra. The British of Bossa Studios have ventured into "splattoso" multiplayer with Decksplash, a title that unfortunately was canceled after an initial alpha phase very participated by the community and a free week open to all that aimed to reach 100,000 active players in a week. With the potential of skateboard tricks, the splashes of color and the madness of the board liveries, there was optimism!

Unfortunately, the goal was not achieved and the project was abruptly stopped, despite probably the most interesting title among all those on the list thanks to its successful competitive team game formula but based on the execution of skills to color as much as possible and not on the actual damage of the opponents, not to mention the many customization possibilities that made every game beyond bizarre. It will be for the next occasion!

INK - the color is there, but you can't see it (the rest)

Let's change register and dive into the world of indies, in this case with the curious INK by ZackBellGames, released in 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. This is an apparently very basic platform, which challenges the player to overcome the levels between double jumps, wall-jumps and obstacles to avoid a bit like in Super Meat Boy, but it does so with a simple but crucial difference: each level, at its start, it is empty!

It is in fact the player's task to exploit the mechanics of the jump to generate jets of paint that color the previously invisible elements. Step by step, prudent but nevertheless courageous, we therefore come to progress and at the same time color the level, testing our skills in a truly original trial and error platform. It is not really a title that aims to speculate on Splatoon and, indeed, it uses color with great wisdom and creativity, so it deserved to be mentioned in the hope of making it reach a few more players!

Crayola Scoot - discreet and in good faith ... or maybe not!

The colorful world of Splatoon has inevitably attracted the attention of those who make their business with the variegated colors - for obvious professional inclination - and hence the 'excursus in the videogame field of Crayola, an international giant of colors for children who has given shape to a curious licensed game. No movies or animated series, just the colors themselves become the brand to be transposed on our gaming devices.

Crayola Scoot apparently simply seems like a game that tries to ride the then growing trend of scooters to create a multiplayer free-for-all competition made up of acrobatics on two wheels, in an attempt to color the playground more than your opponents, but in reality it succeeds in the not simple feat of being inspired by Splatoon, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and at the same time a clone of both, that Decksplash we talked about a few lines above. The result obtained by Outright Studios, experts in licensed titles, is an honest and at times even fun product, which however lacks the necessary care to make it indispensable. It is available from 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and - ironically - Nintendo Switch.

Splat Wars - my cousin with € 10 does it better (and for once it might be true)

We started with a shameless clone and ended with another clone, albeit with a significantly different scope. Splat Wars arrives on mobile devices at the beginning of 2016 - therefore also created to capitalize on the success of the first Splatoon - and proposes a formula that does not differ much from the original in a free to play format, which has certainly attracted attention. of the public in possession of Apple devices.

Also in this case we are dealing with 4vs4 battles with ink strokes, with the aim of covering most of the pavement with its own color, only the view is from above and passing over the opponent's ink reduces our energy. The reduced view is compensated by the presence of a map, useful to understand in which direction to move. It is not clear if and how successful it has been, sure with the passage of time the number of players has decreased and it has always been more difficult for matchmaking to be able to guarantee matches to those who were still dedicated to it. Unforgettable? Forgotten.

Mod for Skyrim - The inevitable honorable mention

Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, are you squid or kid? It is essential to know this because thanks to the introduction of the Peryitshooter magic stick, you too will be able to splat all of Skyrim and recreate the incredible emotions of Splatoon in the mythical RPG of Bethesda. Okay, maybe we exaggerate, but it is still an interesting addition of color to a game universe whose palette is indeed a bit sad, at least when compared to the Nintendo title.



To be able to use it, simply install the mod for the PC version of the game and start feeling a little more shellfish than usual. Inspired by the classic Splattershot of the first chapter, this weapon only slightly changes the handle compared to the original, but otherwise it is a truly faithful reproduction of the iconic water-ink pistol. A must try!