It’s Hip to be Squid (New Side Quest! #12)

Games Played: Splatoon 2 (2017), Octo Expansion DLC (2018), Splatoon 3 (2022), Side Order DLC (2024) 

With the upcoming release of the single-player only Splatoon Raiders in July (You can see how long this took to get through), I thought now is the perfect time to get caught up with the series, that being Splatoon 1-3 and the two DLC packs released for 2 and 3 respectively. These are still kind of reviews, more than the usual NSQ offerings but since it’s multiple games, it’s in this format.

Splatoon 2 (7:05)

Unfortunately, I ran out of time before going away to play Splatoon and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to play 2, so 2 is what I started with. There’s surprisingly a few references to the first game which is a surprise – Splatoon may have been one of the more popular games on the Wii U but it was still the Wii U. 

Splatoon might not play too dissimilarly to a normal third person non cover shooter but of course the main selling point is your characters ability to turn into a Squid at will. You cant use your weapons as a Squid but it allows for increased movement speed through your own (teams) ink as well as stealth, vertical movement and healing damage. Not all walls can be inked (My closest comparison in that regard is probably Portal) but provided you’re not completely upside down, you can travel through the ink. 

After a brief tutorial (and turning off gyro controls – not fun in handheld when you’re lying on a bed), it was off to the races. The daily broadcast tells us that The Great Zapfish has gone missing and so has the co-host of the first game – Callie. Diving in after Marie, you find yourself in Octo Canyon, the main locale for the campaign. There are 27 missions + 5 boss fights spread over 5 mini hubs (Floating metal islands with little on them). They can be done in any order but all of them are required before the boss is accessible. I did enjoy that even accessing the levels requires a bit of platforming and exploring, however I did find it easier to find all of the levels first then fast travel between them to rapidly switch between stages. 

(Looks like I forgot to write a conclusion lol)

Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion (2:55)

Heading to the opposite side of Inkopolis Plaza, we listen in on the sounds of the subway to trigger the DLC – Octo Expansion. As a little change, we play as an Octoling with Amnesia. Assisted by Cap’n Cuttlefish (a character from the first game, I’m assuming), you’re dubbed Agent 8, after you being participant 10,008 to attempt to get into the Promise Land via this Metro line. 

Octo Expansion operates differently from the main campaign; levels are unlocked linearly along a line with new sets of levels unlocking on interconnecting lines like a real rail map. Each level is a challenge map opposed to the levels of the main game and these challenges range from destroying all the boxes, guiding a giant 8-Ball or surviving for a set time. Each level requires credits to enter but credits are won upon completion – the payout depends on which of the three loadouts the player chooses to go into the level with. These are a ‘Recommended’ Medium, as well as Easy or Hard. Some levels don’t have loadouts and it’s just get what you’re given. 

There are 80 levels but the player must only unlock the 4 ‘Thangs’ which means you can skip some (Still have to progress linearly and actually find the lines containing the Thangs). I had to read up what happens when you get all four and the story seems pretty crazy but I won’t be doing it. I got roughly 20 levels done, as well as one I skipped because man these levels have some crazy difficulty spikes in. Octo Expansion is absolutely for veterans or those willing to grind out. I am neither. Once I skipped a level and started getting quite frustrated at others, I thought there’s not much point. That and I’m getting too old to grind out games I don’t enjoy. I got the DLC free with Nintendo Switch Online so no harm done really. 

Splatoon 3 (9:10)

I’ll admit, the campaign fakeout got me. From the get go, it seems like the game is going to follow the same format as Splatoon 2, down to the Zapfish collection at the end of stages. After a couple levels and a boss, the format changes. Dropping you off in the icy At, you’re on the hunt for Captain Cuttlefish alongside Callie and Marie with newcomers – Deep Cut, comprised of Shiver, Frye and Big Man. 

Things are similar here to Splatoon 2 – six islands with varying levels in each. Mixing Splatoon 2 and Octo Expansion, levels can be played in any order but not all levels are required for progression. Not every island has a boss fight either but the ones that do still need to be fought. The Octo Expansion element comes in the form of some levels having entry costs (Power Eggs, the basic currency) and they all pay out. In levels where you can choose your loadout for more of a challenge, the payout is more. These Power Eggs clear out the hazards from the hubs and allow progression. This is a much better usage for Power Eggs rather than Upgrades which have been reworked. Earning Eggs gains levels which can be spent on upgrades. The returning Sardinium is used to unlock new tiers of upgrades. The upgrades are for the character and main weapon which is much better than upgrading the randomly assigned weapons in 2. 

The final set of levels is closer to what I would like from a Splatoon campaign but that’s not to say the rest is bad, far from it. The final boss fight was also very fun. I couldn’t say why, but I enjoyed Splatoon 3 more than 2 and Octo Expansion, maybe it’s the mix of more traditional and challenge/mini game like levels as well as the ability to skip levels I wasn’t enjoying (Which by the end was less than a handful). 

Splatoon 3: Side Order (0:55)

The last bit of content before we move onto Splatoon Raiders later in the year and the content I spent the least amount of time with. I don’t want to spend too much on a negative review. The initial gameplay during the cold open seemed okay but after a couple runs I just knew that this wasn’t something I was going to be interested in. I’m still testing the waters for rogue likes but I just don’t think this is where I would enjoy it. 

That’s the Splatoon franchise caught up (mostly) and I’ve got to say I’ve enjoyed my time. Splatoon Raiders is next and while I’m a little past my initial deadline, I’ll have Raiders played by years end.