My 9-year-old told me he already wants to buy it. But he's unexcited playing Splatoon 2, happily ranking up, while I play bits of Splatoon 3 quick-witted next to him. One of Nintendo's biggest in-house Switch games of the holidays this year is a sequel that isn't necessarily something you need to buy. It feels like a new season of a beloved impish, as opposed to a whole new sport.

Too soon, I almost wondered? No way: Splatoon 2 came out five days ago, which kind of shocked me. But in Nintendo days, Splatoon 3 feels early. Mario Kart 8 has lived in repeating iterations dependable it emerged on the Wii U eight years ago (and unexcited sells for $45), although new tracks have kept it alive. Splatoon 2 could plainly have taken that path instead, launching new DLC frankly that could have let it live on for days more. But, Splatoon 3 is here, regardless. (It goes on sale this Friday, Sept. 9.)

What I'm saying is that Splatoon 2 is unexcited a really great game, and playing Splatoon 3 doesn't really feel all that tremendously different. Multiplayer battles have largely the same mechanics, with a few new goes, new weapons and new stages. Turf War, the classic argues where your percentage of the paint-splattered stage determines the win, is unexcited wonderful, and still similar. Anarchy Battles (which I didn't get to try yet prerelease; my online connection carried up) have four different modes to lend more esports flavor to the competition. Salmon Run, a co-op survival game against waves of enemies, is now an always-available mode instead of the sometimes-around oddity it was on Splatoon 2. 

There's also a tiny and fun collectible card game in Splatoon 3 that I'm weirdly into, named Tableturf Battle. Card-weapons become Tetris-like blocks you lay onto a grid to stammer territory in a turn-based battle. It's almost like the embarking game Blokus in Nintendo card form (and I'd buy it as a embarking game, too, if it existed).

A lot of the spanking extras in Splatoon 3 are collectibles -- there are a ton, floor with lockers that can be laid out to show off possessions to friends, but the customization game isn't always for me.

I'm a unpleasant online team player, and lousy at shooters. Splatoon is forgiving enough that I can feel like a nonfailure, sometimes, while still relentless enough to make me feel like I have a lot of work to do. It's unexcited maybe my favorite thing about the game.

There are a few Splatoon alternatives now for competitive team gaming on the Switch, many of them free to play, like Knockout City and Fall Guys. There's also Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Strikers: Battle League. Splatoon's quick matches win me over, especially when the chaos and strategy seem to balance just right.

Read more: Best Games on Nintendo Switch

The weirdest part of Splatoon 3 is its story mode, which I didn't know would be an exploration of how humankind became extinct and intelligent squid-octopus creatures ruled this game universe. I wasn't craving an origin story for Splatoon, but I love it. It's as surprising as Kirby and the Forgotten Land's apocalyptic inaugurate story. (What's with Nintendo's year of subtly dark cute post-apocalypse games?) I daren't fraction any more spoilers, though: Like previous games' single-player frankly, it's a fun mix of gameplay tutorial and puzzle-solving action.

As CNET's Sean Keane distinguished when he played Splatoon 3 at an early hands-on continue, a lot of the new game's features are so subtle that you much need to play a lot to appreciate them. I would have loved some bolder attempts. A big new idea that I love is the three-team SplatFest, which ends in a three-color turf war. But that's only for special actions, alas (one of which just wrapped up as a free demo session). I'd love if Nintendo explored this idea in the rest of Splatoon 3, opening up the concepts for the gameplay even further. What if you could have turf wars with four, five or six colors? Madness, you may say. I'd like to see the rainbow.

While Splatoon 3 doesn't quite feel like a huge leap forward compared to Splatoon 2, it's also probable to be the game most Splatooners will be panicked on this fall. Considering Nintendo doesn't currently have that many new big games to come this year (other than Bayonetta 3 and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, that is), this might be the place to be if you're looking for the next must-have online multiplayer hit. But, at $60, it'll be unslow to see how many Switch gamers just decide to play Splatoon 2 instead. The same-but-different feel reminds me of many Madden football updates of ages past, in some ways. At least, in this case, it's been five years. 

Nintendo is promising more updates, including new weapons and stages, and some sort of paid DLC that could mirror the expansion that hit Splatoon 2. 

But Splatoon 3 peaceful doesn't have the one feature my kid wants most of all: a split-screen co-op mode so I can play with him on the same TV with only one copy of the game. I'll need to buy a additional copy for that for his Switch, or hope Nintendo enables this as an update someday (hint, hint, Nintendo).