Rating: 5/5 stars

Splatoon 3 has become one of Nintendo’s most popular games and continues to be a hit for players with its online multiplayer. The original Splatoon on the Wii U was innovative for allowing players to swim in ink while shooting other players. With each addition, there is a new game mode, like Salmon Run, Ranked/Anarchy mode and Tableturf battle. 

If you played Splatoon 2, the peak of the games’ life cycle was part of the downloadable content (DLC) Octo Expansion. The single-player mode before the DLC felt more like a tutorial tacked on. Octo Expansion finally added Octarians as playable characters as they were relegated to NPC enemies. The DLC brought a new ‘80s retro aesthetic and much more interesting plot, gameplay and challenges to players. 

Splatoon 3’s single-player campaign incorporated a standard Splatoon campaign as a tutorial but eventually became heavily story-based with “Return of the Mammalians” due to the influence of the previous DLC. The single-player campaign created a satisfying finale for the world’s lore and characters in this new setting. Is Splatoon 3’s side order going to reinvigorate the game or will it flounder?

Side Order will follow the last protagonist from Octo Expansion, Agent 8, as they walk across the now ruined Inkopolis Square (Splatoon 2’s old hub world). Your mission with help from Pearl from “Off the hook” is to clear floors in the “Spire of Order ” with a new character Acht as the elevator operator in the tower. The reasons for the change to the world and this mysterious place will be revealed in the DLC.

The world of Splatoon has always been colorful and fun. Individuality is always expressed by the players in splatfests with drawings, clothing and weapon customization. Color is significant to the worldbuilding, Idol shows and gameplay. To see a familiar place becoming all white is startling; much of the design uses bleached coral reefs as inspiration. Black is also a color almost never used by the developers, so with the design of the enemies and the ink color on pristine white, it looks frightening and evil. The main villain’s goal is to “neutralize the will’s of everyone for order.”

The gameplay has elements of Salmon Run (the horde mode) and single-player levels. However, mix the individual levels into a giant tower with permadeath and you get Side Order. This makes it a rogue-like dungeon crawl similar to Dead Cells and Hades: a total of 30 floors, almost all randomly generated. You can gain Color chips from each floor and you are able to choose the difficulty/chips you receive. When you die, all upgrades and Mempoints turn into Prlz where you can buy permanent upgrades for the tower. 

It is incredibly difficult to get to the top floors, and the higher you climb, the higher you fall. This danger and dread makes losing much more rage-inducing. The higher you go on the tower, more stories, weapons and items will be given to the player. 

The total cost of the DLC is $25 on top of the initial $60. It also comes with banners and Inkopolis Plaza where the “Squid Sisters” dance during Splatfests. For existing players who purchased on day one, the DLC could be considered a breath of fresh air as it is infinitely repeatable. Unlike Splatoon 2, this DLC is not meant to be “fixing” the single-player mode, instead acting as an experimental side piece. If you are not already familiar with the franchise, this may not be the purchase for you. If you like shooting games that use puzzle-solving mechanics similar to Mario with added rogue-like elements, it may be the purchase for you this spring.

Image by Nancy Ho