It's at this point where I really fall off Splatoon as a series and just do not see eye to eye with popular opinion anymore. I'm absolutely in love with what this expansion presents itself as. Sploon's single player campaigns always left more to be desired. They were basically just shooter versions of Mario 3D world type game design with some decent boss fights at best. Base game 2 not growing from where 1 started at ALL felt aggressively lame in that regard. So here comes a very stylish expansion that seems to finally deliver the true single player splatoon we've all been itching for.....And then we get another batch of very basic floating platform levels with little to no challenge.....And this time there's not even cool boss fights to look forward to.

This bait and switched me so hard. I just want single player splatoon to drop the floating rectangle design dude, make some real locations, I want to see more of this world. Opening this expansion with a whole intro level and scenes that take place in an abandoned railroad was so sick. I absolutely love roaming around the train, and I'm obsessed with all the character designs they made for creatures taking the train with you. Characters that don't even have a single line of dialogue are given such striking designs. This is such a sick world and any glimpse we get into it is a reminder of why Splatoon got so popular to begin with. But then the actual levels start and you get NONE of that. They do such a good job nailing the aesthetic and world building but the second you take a step off the train you're in a lifeless, featureless, void of level design that's scientifically engineered to be vaguely engaging and nothing more. Just content slop for the content mill. You're not here to really get more out of this world, you're here for 80 levels that are slightly more gimmicky than the unmemorable husks of the last 2 campaigns. Very occasionally at best you'll have some decent gimmick level that stands out. Like painting a huge object, or breaking all the correct boxes. Stuff like that, I vibe with. Not exactly what I'd want out of this universe but if this is the route we're taking I'm a lot happier they're playing with the mechanics that make Splatoon unique, as opposed to shooting and platforming for shooting/platformings sake.

I just don't see what makes this THAT different than what we already got in the base game. It feels more like a proper sequel and if this is what we'd got in the base game I'd comfortably say it's an improvement over 1 in most cases besides bosses. Still leaves me wanting more but it's a big step in the right direction. But as a THIRD campaign this doesn't feel like a step in the right direction it feels like the last straw. The digital logs and ending were very enjoyable so at least we get to see more of some of the strongest characters in the series. But for a majority of the runtime, Pearl and Marina are given nothing interesting to say or do in the present. Cool backstory and cool finale. It's a shame their personalities weren't allowed to shine during gameplay where they're constantly talking, but never saying anything. It's all such frustratingly dry writing coming from characters that otherwise singlehandedly carried Splatoon 2 as a game for me.

There's really not much else to say either. For an "expansion" it's pretty small. There's this ominous buildup whenever you enter a level that has one of the 4 plot maguffins in in it, but you just grab them 10 seconds in and move on with no boss fights for some reason. They reuse bosses from the first game with some minor gimmick thrown on...There's a lot of target practice on grind rails I guess...Like whatever. There's a weird currency mechanic where you gotta pay to try levels and you get more rewarded to you for choosing harder guns for the challenge...But I really don't understand this whole system. It's like if they said "You need 50 coins to enter this level" in mario 3D world. Then 2 hours in they're still saying "You need 50 coins to enter this level" as you're sitting on 5,000 coins. Like yeah it charges you to retry but that's potentially punishing and would alienate players if it became a legitimate obstacle. Auto pilot platformer design Nintendo would never risk that ergo the levels are all baby easy. I'd much rather they removed the punishment for dying if it meant the designers were comfortable putting together anything genuinely challenging.

Hecc while I like the ending, the finale is practically more of an auto scroller "shoot the targets" mission than a boss fight. Ultimately it was just nice to be able to play as an Octoling in multiplayer after beating it. Added some much needed upgrades to character customization with that alone.

Sploon single player has never been great but they've never had to stand on their own like this before. This game presents itself as everything we all want but to me it just cemented the fact that Splatoon will never grow from this extremely safe and predictable formula. Base game being a bit rushed gave it somewhat of an excuse but a dedicated single player project being the same slop kills any interest going forward. The exciting imagery seen in the promotional art...Is the extent of said excitement. The idea that a single player Splatoon could genuinely be cool is used as set dressing, and kept far away from the actual meat of the experience. They're literally just using the idea that Splatoon doesn't have to suck as promotional material, with no plans to follow up on any of those concepts in any way.

I'd be curious if the campaigns of 1 and 2 were standalone experiences, what they'd be rated. 'Cuz this one being held up as peak splatoon feels like if New Super Mario Bros 1 and 2 got "meh" responses and the third got universal acclaim, like bro they're all the same game.