‘Take care of yourself, Gramps. And stay fresh.'
A year after Splatoon 2 (2017), the Octo Expansion was released, the culmination of Nintendo's shooter gameplay. Whereas the base game's single-player mode offered a fairly conventional experience, the expansion proves to be much more experimental, with an emphasis on far more gimmicky levels. Those often play out like puzzles and require primarily an understanding of how they are structured, rather than jumping in headfirst, hoping to break through the adversity in one fell swoop. As a rule, a deliberate and cautious approach is always preferable. Some stages – those on rails – require a degree of precision, but are still manageable. Octo Expansion, even with its higher difficulty, does its best to be accessible to the majority of players, as evidenced by the mechanic allowing the player to skip levels.
The player acts as Agent 8, an Octoling who must escape, with the help of Cap'n Cuttlefish, from an underground complex. The protagonist has obviously been trapped by a mysterious entity, who conducts tests on the Octolings. This storyline justifies the very gimmicky nature of the levels and their focus on a particular mechanic. Choosing weapons at the beginning of each level feeds this test aspect, while allowing the player to experience different types of gameplays, more or less effective at dealing with the obstacles of a particular level. Snipers can be more useful on maps with lots of walls to hide behind, but are less manoeuvrable in rail-based levels. Automatic weapons are great in close combat, but are a disadvantage on very large maps, which require a lot of mobility: on level J03, easily the most difficult of the expansion, all weapon types are available, but the roller stands out as the most effective option to punish the jumping Octolings. The wisdom of Octo Expansion, in any case, is to leave the possibilities open, so that the player can experiment and progress by learning to overcome their weaknesses or capitalising on their strengths. In this respect, the expansion is particularly well balanced and offers a challenge that is always fair and measured.
Above all, it is carried by such a well crafted atmosphere. In addition to finally being able to play the long-awaited Octolings, the title is adorned with a vaporwave atmosphere, deliciously retro, whether in the underground train or in Marina's chatroom. This contrast with the surface allows the special status of the Octolings to be emphasised. The whole storyline insists on their savagery and how they can been saved by the music of the Inklings. The surface is presented as the 'Promised Land', the ultimate goal for all the characters, but the protagonist remains very quiet. Dabbling as a poet, it is through the enclosed tercets they write for each mem cakes – the physical representation of their emotions and memories – that the player gains access to their innermost thoughts. A fragile character is unveiled, caught between two worlds that never fully accept them. Old friends push them away and they do not fit in with Pearl and Marina's world. Throughout the expansion, it is as if they are denied agency on account of having not yet become accustomed to civilised manners – unlike Marina, who has espoused the ideological discourse of the Inklings –, but are still trapped in the authoritarian rhetoric of the Octolings. Perhaps this is a critique of cultural assimilation, which Japan in some ways defends; perhaps there is an identification between the Inklings and humanity, whose material vestiges continue to frame the submerged world of the Splatoon series. But it is above all their intellectual heritage that is most alive, with the persistence of xenophobia, which the Inklings do not hesitate to perpetuate and justify.
Octo Expansion's strength is surely that it offers a true symbiosis between its levels and its storytelling, wrapped in an impeccable aesthetic. Playing the expansion after having enjoyed Splatoon 3 (2022) proved to be an interesting experience, as it is difficult to get used again to a game that has neither Squid Roll, nor Squid Surge. Mobility is slightly hampered by their absence, though it is only marginally problematic, as the levels were designed for Splatoon 2 gameplay. Perhaps the biggest fly in the ointment is the secret boss, which sheds all the fair and deliberate philosophy that infused the expansion's level design. In true Japanese fashion, the boss is fearsomely cruel, with weaponry that is abusively unfair. If the Octolings were all cheating by having direct access to their Super, the secret boss takes the idea to the next level: better mobility, better range, better rate of fire than the player, a Super that is very quick to reload; everything is done to position the player in an unpleasant and very awkward situation. While I didn't beat the boss – it seemed outside my skill range and I don't think I want to spend several hours on it –, its design mostly forces the player to manipulate the AI movements in a way that is antithetical to the spirit of Splatoon 2, both with regards to the expansion and the multiplayer experience. It is, admittedly, a secret and optional boss, but such a design shift calls into question the relevance of such bosses in Japanese video games.
Otherwise, Octo Expansion delivers a rich and extremely enjoyable experience. The levels always convey a sense of growth and succeed in never being too irritating, thanks to a great variety between more classic maps and stages that feel like mini-games to relax in – such as the Breakout-style level or the ones where the player has to carve a figure using wooden crates. The expansion has a fluidity that is always in perfect harmony with the gameplay of the series. The final stages are carried by an experimental OST, so appropriate with their over-the-top aspect. Although the secret boss is a heavy disappointment and arguably a poor way to end the game, the Octo Expansion experience is so compelling that it's hard not to look forward to Splatoon 3's DLC.
A year after Splatoon 2 (2017), the Octo Expansion was released, the culmination of Nintendo's shooter gameplay. Whereas the base game's single-player mode offered a fairly conventional experience, the expansion proves to be much more experimental, with an emphasis on far more gimmicky levels. Those often play out like puzzles and require primarily an understanding of how they are structured, rather than jumping in headfirst, hoping to break through the adversity in one fell swoop. As a rule, a deliberate and cautious approach is always preferable. Some stages – those on rails – require a degree of precision, but are still manageable. Octo Expansion, even with its higher difficulty, does its best to be accessible to the majority of players, as evidenced by the mechanic allowing the player to skip levels.
The player acts as Agent 8, an Octoling who must escape, with the help of Cap'n Cuttlefish, from an underground complex. The protagonist has obviously been trapped by a mysterious entity, who conducts tests on the Octolings. This storyline justifies the very gimmicky nature of the levels and their focus on a particular mechanic. Choosing weapons at the beginning of each level feeds this test aspect, while allowing the player to experience different types of gameplays, more or less effective at dealing with the obstacles of a particular level. Snipers can be more useful on maps with lots of walls to hide behind, but are less manoeuvrable in rail-based levels. Automatic weapons are great in close combat, but are a disadvantage on very large maps, which require a lot of mobility: on level J03, easily the most difficult of the expansion, all weapon types are available, but the roller stands out as the most effective option to punish the jumping Octolings. The wisdom of Octo Expansion, in any case, is to leave the possibilities open, so that the player can experiment and progress by learning to overcome their weaknesses or capitalising on their strengths. In this respect, the expansion is particularly well balanced and offers a challenge that is always fair and measured.
Above all, it is carried by such a well crafted atmosphere. In addition to finally being able to play the long-awaited Octolings, the title is adorned with a vaporwave atmosphere, deliciously retro, whether in the underground train or in Marina's chatroom. This contrast with the surface allows the special status of the Octolings to be emphasised. The whole storyline insists on their savagery and how they can been saved by the music of the Inklings. The surface is presented as the 'Promised Land', the ultimate goal for all the characters, but the protagonist remains very quiet. Dabbling as a poet, it is through the enclosed tercets they write for each mem cakes – the physical representation of their emotions and memories – that the player gains access to their innermost thoughts. A fragile character is unveiled, caught between two worlds that never fully accept them. Old friends push them away and they do not fit in with Pearl and Marina's world. Throughout the expansion, it is as if they are denied agency on account of having not yet become accustomed to civilised manners – unlike Marina, who has espoused the ideological discourse of the Inklings –, but are still trapped in the authoritarian rhetoric of the Octolings. Perhaps this is a critique of cultural assimilation, which Japan in some ways defends; perhaps there is an identification between the Inklings and humanity, whose material vestiges continue to frame the submerged world of the Splatoon series. But it is above all their intellectual heritage that is most alive, with the persistence of xenophobia, which the Inklings do not hesitate to perpetuate and justify.
Octo Expansion's strength is surely that it offers a true symbiosis between its levels and its storytelling, wrapped in an impeccable aesthetic. Playing the expansion after having enjoyed Splatoon 3 (2022) proved to be an interesting experience, as it is difficult to get used again to a game that has neither Squid Roll, nor Squid Surge. Mobility is slightly hampered by their absence, though it is only marginally problematic, as the levels were designed for Splatoon 2 gameplay. Perhaps the biggest fly in the ointment is the secret boss, which sheds all the fair and deliberate philosophy that infused the expansion's level design. In true Japanese fashion, the boss is fearsomely cruel, with weaponry that is abusively unfair. If the Octolings were all cheating by having direct access to their Super, the secret boss takes the idea to the next level: better mobility, better range, better rate of fire than the player, a Super that is very quick to reload; everything is done to position the player in an unpleasant and very awkward situation. While I didn't beat the boss – it seemed outside my skill range and I don't think I want to spend several hours on it –, its design mostly forces the player to manipulate the AI movements in a way that is antithetical to the spirit of Splatoon 2, both with regards to the expansion and the multiplayer experience. It is, admittedly, a secret and optional boss, but such a design shift calls into question the relevance of such bosses in Japanese video games.
Otherwise, Octo Expansion delivers a rich and extremely enjoyable experience. The levels always convey a sense of growth and succeed in never being too irritating, thanks to a great variety between more classic maps and stages that feel like mini-games to relax in – such as the Breakout-style level or the ones where the player has to carve a figure using wooden crates. The expansion has a fluidity that is always in perfect harmony with the gameplay of the series. The final stages are carried by an experimental OST, so appropriate with their over-the-top aspect. Although the secret boss is a heavy disappointment and arguably a poor way to end the game, the Octo Expansion experience is so compelling that it's hard not to look forward to Splatoon 3's DLC.