Splatoon 3's first Splatfest of 2023 is now live

Splatoon 3
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Good news, Splatoon 3 fans: the first Splatfest of 2023 is officially underway.

The new competition is now live and will run until 4pm PT January 8, 2023 (that's midnight on January 9 for UK players) and sees you putting your favorite "taste sensation" - spicy, sweet, or sour - to the test.

"SRL flavorologist here," tweeted the official North American Splatoon Twitter account yesterday.

"We've identified the benefits of all options in the next Splatfest. Spicy food wallops your tongue and floods you with endorphins. Sweets stimulate dopamine production. And sour flavors pucker your lips and enrich your soul. But which will YOU choose?"

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Splatoon 3 has been doing extremely well since its launch on September 9, especially in Japan. The game managed to surpass 3.45 million sales in the country in its first three days.

"Splatoon 3's campaign feels like it's stuck between being a brilliant puzzle shooter and standard action fluff, rather than blending the two together for a seamless and enjoyable experience," we wrote in GamesRadar+'s Splatoon 3 review, which awarded the family-friendly shooter 4 stars out of 5.

"Multiplayer and the supporting Salmon Run are as great as they've always been though, now with added bonuses that make them easier to access and enjoy than ever before. Movement additions are a big win for Splatoon 3, and really succeed in adding extra depth to Splatoon's already fabulous traversal systems. There's excellence in Splatoon 3 – it just doesn't quite hold for the campaign."

See what else Nintendo's console has to offer in our guide to the best Switch games.

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.