Since we first clapped eyes on the sucker-headed Octolings in 720p on the Wii U, Splatoon fans everywhere wanted to take control of these teenage tentaculars on the splattlefield. Octo Expansion promises just that and much more, but can such wondrous ideas truly be realised in a $20 DLC pack for Splatoon 2 on the Switch? Let’s find out the old-fashioned way.
Octo Expansion puts you in the role of Agent 8, an Octoling who’s woken by the immediately recognisable Captain Cuttlefish and forced to try and scrabble their way out of a dingy subway station. It’s like a fairytale. You’ll be hopping on a train filled with weird (and weirder) sea creatures, and if you ask really nicely it’ll take you to various destinations where 80 missions will present themselves to you. For anyone counting at home, that’s over double the 32 missions the stock single-player campaign offers, which is not at all to be sniffed at.
Although there are considerably more missions in the DLC, don’t think that they’ll become samey or stale. The variety of tasks is frankly staggering, and whilst there are several that employ similar mechanics and overall objectives, they all still find a way to distinguish themselves from one another. The objectives in question are also far more complex and ingenious than anything Octo Canyon has to offer, ranging from guiding a giant 8-ball to the end of the stage to having to defeat all the foes you can see with a criminally limited supply of ink.
It doesn’t stop there either; one mission required us to replicate a shape using a blank canvas of boxes by destroying them one by one in the appropriate manner, much like 3D Picross. At various points we were also dropped into the fray with no weapon at all, forcing us to really re-think how we needed to approach each enemy and challenge that lay before us. Every aspect of Splatoon gets turned inside-out and worked down to the bone in much the same way as the shrines from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; you’ll constantly find yourself thinking ‘goodness gravy, that’s clever’ mission after mission just down to the lateral manner in which the game’s nuances are employed and exploited. All of this culminates in about 6 to 8 hours of gameplay if you just rush through to the end, and closer to 15 or even 20 hours if you decide to do everything, which is plenty of bang for your buck.
If you read our preview, you’ll probably remember that we said the experience was a little on the challenging side. Well, as it happens that wasn’t just wild naivety on our part. Octo Expansion is seriously tough. Not enough for you? Want to take things up even further like we foolishly did? Well, Nintendo thought of that as well, and many missions offer you a choice of weapons at the start, each varying in difficulty.
That may not sound too tough on your game thumbs at first, but these missions are far more tailored for one kind of weapon than previous Splatoon examples. One instance that immediately springs to mind is where we had to defeat over 20 enemies on a floating array of disconnected blocks. The only way to get around is to use Grapplinks, which essentially teleport you to their location once shot.
The stock weapon, a Splatterscope, makes it fairly easy to get about and kill enemies from a good distance. If you’re as mad as we are though, you can choose to use a Jet Squelcher, a rapid-fire weapon with significantly less range and power. You can just about complete the mission with this, but any slight slip-up and it’s right back to the very beginning, which happened to us a lot more than we’d care to admit. It’s worth it though, as more troublesome weapon choices that result in a not-losing scenario for Agent 8 will grant you more CQ Points than standard. These points are used to make your way around the subway and each mission requires a fee, ranging from a hundred to several thousand points.
The difficulty isn’t totally all-encompassing though, and should you lose all your lives in a mission twice over you’ll be able to skip it and continue progressing through the story. You will, however, be missing out on some sweet Mem Cakes, a range of collectables that you receive every time you complete a mission, and these can be used to unlock exclusive gear for use in Multiplayer. It’s a good way to allow users to skip a particularly troublesome area, but you’re not going to be able to just skip through missions willy-nilly and expect to beat the game, as you’ll run out of CQ Points and be unable to get any further.
You don’t have to complete all 80 missions to experience the story in its entirety, either. Without wanting to get into spoiler territory, we were first given the choice to continue the story after just 33 missions, but of course you’re free to go down this road and return to tidy up what you didn’t do whenever you feel like it, which is excellent. Once you’ve done so you’ll also be able to exchange your CQ Points for various items, such as coins and Crusty Sean tickets, which is a really good way to encourage you to tackle some missions you missed, or just play the same ones for more CQ Points.
Again, we’re watching what we say so that we don’t venture anywhere near the dastardly realm of spoilers, but the story really is fantastic. Everything unfolds naturally and you can even read through some beautifully charming optional chatroom logs between Captain Cuttlefish, Pearl, and Marina, to help flesh their characters out even further. It also helps to expand upon the lore of the Splatoon world, introducing more species, more details, and even some history to boot. The whole thing is a love letter to the fans, and the passion for the franchise has clearly never been higher for the devs.
Now let’s chat about the presentation. Holy sweet giblets this is one fine-looking son of a squid. From the grungy look of the subway to the neon lights scattered with care and attention, it’s simply an absolute joy to wade through. There are more cutscenes than ever before, which really gives the characters more weight and personality than we’ve seen previously. Most of the assets you’ll find are brand-spanking new; the skyboxes are looking better than ever with GameCubes and Game Boys littered throughout, and the music is beyond funky fresh. Every single area is brimming with more details than you could possibly appreciate when trying to splat everything on screen.
If we had one criticism of Octo Expansion, it would be the very occasional mission that doesn’t quite hit the same level of quality as the vast majority. A few levels, for example, simply place you down in a stage from the Multiplayer and task you with completing a Ranked Mode objective such as Rainmaker or Tower Control. These are still very enjoyable and challenging, but they do feel a little bit phoned-in compared to everything else. One mission also pits you against the Octo Oven from Octo Canyon in what we first thought was a cheap copy-and-paste of the original fight. In a sense that is the case, but new mechanics and dozens of new threats are brought in to bring the difficulty up to the ridiculous, and it’s glorious.
Conclusion
All in all, Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion is a masterclass in how to do DLC right. It fits in perfectly with the standalone game, provides a heap of tailor-made content and furthers the story of the Inklings’ and Octolings’ world effortlessly and beautifully. As a single player experience it outmatches the standard Octo Canyon mode significantly, and even though it does allow players to acquire exclusive items, it manages to avoid affecting any of the mechanics of online play, so non-purchasers will never be at a disadvantage. If you’re a fan of Splatoon in any capacity and you want more to sink your beak into, Octo Expansion is an unwavering must-have.
Comments 75
It makes me happy that (for the most part) Nintendo knows how to do DLC right.
As much as I love Splatoon 2, I am terrible at the PvP matches and generally only play it these days for Salmon Run. Looks like I may jump back in for this expansion as I did enjoy the Campaign and wanted more. Glad to hear it's really good!
Wow I was thinking that since there are so many missions in comparison to the first game that they would also be shorter but this DLC straight up gives you a story mode that is over double the size of the original game, if that isn't good value for your buck I don't know what is.
Will be getting this as soon as I'm done with Hollow Knight. Excited!
I'd really love it if Nintendo made Style Savvy: Splatoon. I love the style of these games, but the gameplay isn't really my style. And considering Splatoon has some pretty stylish threads, making a Style Savvy type of game wouldn't be too outlandish.
I'm going to have to buy this, aren't I... There's too much good stuff on the Switch, I have a lot of free time at the moment and I still don't have enough to play as much as I want to.
I'm going to run home tonight and download it and play it until my fingers bleed. HYPE!
Sold off Splatoon 2 as the internet at my home is terrible at the moment. I would LOVE to play this, but repurchasing the base game just to get access to it isn't really in the cards for me.
I was hesitant. Now I'm fully willing to give it a try.
About an hour in so far and loving it. The inventiveness on display is exemplary. One of the best DLC that Nintendo has produced yet.
@ermzzz I would love a few different spin offs of Splatoon tbh. Style Savvy, rhythm game, and a 2d platformer all sound amazing.
Downloading as we speak
Why was I expecting 8/10...
Considering that this is a single player experience, I would much rather wait for a potential retail release instead. If Nintendo are feeling especially greedy, they can include all of the multiplayer content from the original Splatoon 2, but exclude the standard game's additional content should they wish to charge full retail price for it.
Still don't have splatoon 2 but it's next on my list. Nice to know that there will be more to play if I get into it like I did the first one 😁
Splatoon 2 33% off the eshop right now - Eventually NL will notice
why do you do this to me Nintendo?
I’m glad it got a nine but disappointed it didn’t get an 8 for 8’s sake.
Octo Expansion is the Splatoon single-player experience I’ve wanted for years. Fantastic content.
I enjoy single campaings best too, so I'm gonna get it.
I'd like to know, though, in which eShop is this the cheapest possible. In eshop-prices they don't put DLC's prices, unfortunately.
It's more fun than I expected and I don't want it to end! I'm worried that I'm going too fast though, the difficulty is greater than Hero Mode but it's quite forgiving overall.
Hopefully I can make it last longer because it's great so far
Splatoon 2 currently reduced to £33.49 on the UK eshop with the expansion at £17.99.
Then for some reason a bundle at £67.99 but ignore that one!
@Yorumi "I kind of wish this was a stand alone thing."
Like they did w/ the XC2 DLC? I've been thinking that for months. Though it it was $30 on cart or a $20 download Id' probably just buy the download. $60 "Complete" on cart I'd consider the cart.
@riChchestM So does that mean it's normally $60 on sale for $40? Making it $60 w/ the DLC? If they did that with a box I might get it.
@electrolite77 That's the way all these shops seem to work, I've seen the same thing numerous times on PSN. Thanks for the update though, not shooting the messenger.
@rjejr
We'll there you go. I suppose it makes sense, they might hook a few who don't notice
@SlimeKnight There's only so much you can do as part of a team, especially if they're strangers. You're much better off playing in a League or playing locally. Even Salmon Run suffers from the lack of communication between strangers. It may seem I'm denigrating the lack of communication between strangers; I'm not. I prefer it this way. I don't need a 12-year-old I don't even know trash-talking me.
The World Championship showed what the game is capable of when friends/players communicate.
Back on-topic: This new expansion has been great so far. I wasn't a fan of the octo oven fight, though. Not only do you have to deal with the oven but several enemies perched on top of the oven, including snipers in the last phase. I didn't (totally) die but it was...decidedly not easy.
I talked a lot of smack on the original Octo Canyon single player. The multiplayer was always a ton of fun, so playing the single player always seemed like such a chore. But I'm glad I got the DLC anyways, because I've had an absolute blast with everything I've played so far.
@HatenoLife
ARPG - Diablo 3 style
Dang I was going to buy Crash Bandicoot instead, this sounds VERY good.
@Moroboshi876
I've been shopping around and it's £14.82 on the South African shop or £14.83 on the Norwegian one.
However be careful as I think you have to buy DLC from the region you got your copy of the game from.
If you don't have the game you can buy the game for £28.01 from the South African shop, making the game and expansion a bargain £42.83
@AlexOlney Would you say the levels are comparable in length to the levels of the main game? On average, I mean. I've seen a few short ''challenge'' stages, but imagine there are also bigger more ''adventure''-like stages.
Just downloaded last night and got a save file started.
@electrolite77 "they might hook a few who don't notice"
Are you a kid, a squid, or a sucker?
@Yorumi My wife wont' let me get S2, says I cuss and scream too much playing S1, it's scaring the children. All true. Last time I played I was rank A-, trying to get to A, lost about 12 matches in a row, fell to B- and quite, only played Splatfest after that. And I'm not paying $60 for Salmon run, which looks like fun. These on sale eShop prices are tempting me back though, just need to hide it from my wife.
I wish I could just buy this DLC without needing the base game. I love Splatoon on Wii U but played the multiplayer to the point of getting tired of it, so I am not interested in buying Splatoon 2.
Can you play the character in the multiplayer side?
haven't actually bought Splatoon 2, since I tired of the first rather fast, even though I liked it a fair bit.
But I kind of wish I could buy this as stand alone! Its more appealing to me than the main game.
@HatenoLife Doesn’t Nintendo have enough platformers?
I've no remebering of a release date ...
What’s the download load size?
I'd happily buy this as a standalone, for even $30. But I can't and my Splatoon 2 cart was one of the ones stolen, and I dont plan to replace it, as I liked the sp more than the mp. Oh well, more time for other stuff.
I’m loving it. Almost done just getting through it, but I’ll definitely come back to play all 80 levels.
Just finished the ending, and uh
Fans of the game are going to want to see this finale.
@rjejr Don't ever let a losing streak get you down and salty; we all get them. I'm at S or above in everything but Clam Blitz. (Think I'm A- but can't remember offhand.) Can't say I didn't fight for it all, especially being a charger main. (Mostly E-Liter, depending on mode/map.)
Can't let modes like Ranked get to you for the reasons I stated before. Playing Ranked is like playing with half a chess set due to you being just a quarter of the team's equation. Your teammates have to be good too, especially without thorough communication.
Salmon Run is an awesome diversion from the salt that is PvP...unless you get terrible teammates. (And it happens.) Like Ranked, it really shines when you can communicate with friends.
I was just about to trade in Splatoon 2. Not paying for online on Switch. This is a nice surprise. I'll keep it for now. Single Player Babay!
@ermzzz The only reason I want to give this game a chance is its styling/customization options, I can 100% get behind this idea
@Yorumi I get not wanting to pay the online fee so why not just buy a physical copy and get the DLC and enjoy it for a few months then sell it when paid online becomes a thing?
So is your character completely different and separate in this?
@electrolite77 Thanks. I have the game. Retail.
About DLC, I understand there are problems if they are from a different zone, that is America-Europe-Asia, but not always. I guess better not to take risks though.
I'm looking forward to picking up Splatoon 2 along with it's DLC soon. Constantly see great things about it.
@CptProtonX Shake harder boy!
@rjejr - Splatoon 2 is amazing, other then I miss the gamepad map and the changed jump button still gets me from time to time..........hopefully they will come out with a GOTY Edition for you with all the DLC
@scubydo Yes, after you have beaten the DLC.
@Gooberfish I don't know the download size, but it takes up 2 GB of memory after it is installed.
@Gerbwmu RE: Spaltoon 2
Judging from my kids reaction - we just spent 20 minutes looking over eShop sales before deciding on Mario v Rabbids Gold for $44 - Splatoon 2 isn't going to happen. I think I've made my peace with it. Ever onward.
@Iacobus Part of my problem was I was really good while I was B-, B, B+ playing with ranked players. Once I got to A- playing w/ A players it was horrible. Add to my own lack of skill 3v4 matches and teammates just standing there not doing anything, well it was a really bad night. That was like 2 years ago and I recall it vividly still.
Id' play some Spaltfest and the single player if I had the game, but I'm not paying $60 to mess around a bit here and there. And I've learned my lesson from ranked, it's solo games on easy mode for me from here on out. That Spyro Reignited Trilogy is looking very nice. Back to where I began.
@Yorumi (it's the principle of it)
I get that. I think it's the principal of paying for online that made Nitneod finally put online in Super Mario Party. I'm cynical that way.
https://mynintendonews.com/2018/06/14/super-mario-party-will-include-online-play-in-mario-fun-mode-for-minigames-only/
I'm glad it reviewed well but the actual review was a chore to read through.
I pre-ordered it the moment I learned it was coming out yesterday. I'll play it after I finish the base game.
and it's actually hard and clever from the beginning. 10/10.
(ps you can skip but better keep trying)
This is how you do a proper DLC, other companies take note! Fun new content that doesn't disadvantage other players, check. Creative and meaty length to justify the purchase price, check! Positively benefits the lore, world and creativity of the game, check!
If it were Microsoft or EA it would be a map pack that non-DLC owners were blocked from playing and a playable Octoling that non-DLC characters wouldn't even be able to see.
@rjejr I really like the way the XC2 expansion is being handled, and I wish they'd done the same for this. I'm going to buy it anyway, but it would be sweet to have a matching Octo box next to Splatoon 2, and physical is always better.
Plus, it sounds like this is so distinct it might as well be a new game in the Splatooniverse. And judging by the comments here there are enough potential players for a standalone 1P game.
Not complaining about it, this is lovely and I will be buying it soon. I love Spla2oon and love the characters, and this is just the thing to get me back into the game.
@rjejr Forgot to add, you won't be disappointed with M+R Gold. That is another great game, and another expansion I really want to get.
@JasmineDragon "Octo box next to Splatoon 2, and physical is always better"
I'm going to give Nintnedo the benefit of the doubt and say that the XC2 expansion is so big it wouldn't fit on one cart w/ the full game, so they decided to do it that way. Plus since the season pass is $30 they thought they could get away with it for $40 on a cart. If it is on the cart, jury is still confused on that.
I think the Splatoon 2 DLC will fit on the main game cart, and sometime next spring they'll have a new cart for $60 with both on one. Like what they did with NSMBU and the Luigi levels. The single player DLC is only $20, so maybe it wasn't worth it to put it on a cart.
Plus, they need people to buy the full game of Splatoon 2 so they pay for the online. If people just bought the single player DLC they wouldn't need to pay to play online.
We've decided to get Mario v Rabbids, I'm just going to look around this weekend to see if I can find any eShop cards on sale to get the gold version for $44, seems the best way to go.
This is dlc done right, take notes botw
The only complaint I have so far with the DLC is how the levels look. Mini spoilers ahead:
When I started the DLC, I was so happy with waking up in the metro. No open spaces, no weird platforms just floating, just a normal but good looking area. It felt right.
Then you do your first mission in the forest; same thing. I hoped it was like that through the whole DLC, but sadly it's not.
After the first level, it feels like the levels are just sort of mini games and not a whole campaign.
@Saego My first impression as well, and I would've given it a 6/10 if that's all in OE. But fret not. Great Nintendo IPs are known to break first impressions with their wicked twists and turns.
Spoilers: The subway mini-game levels are [REDACTED]. Once you [REDACTED] (à la Portal 1) you'll agree that OE truly earns the 9/10.
@Octane To you as well, what you seek is in [REDACTED] of the game.
@HADAA I'll just have to play more. Can't wait.
I LOVED IT! from everything you could do to everything ppl who couldn't do and just passed it. it was something that kept me entertained and i'd play it again! as a matter fact i think i will now! be back in a few hours/days/months
@HADAA I was certainly not expecting towards the end of the expansion. I'm still not big on the final fight but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Oh, and that challenge with all the octolings and their specials? (The one where you have to defend the orb from them.) It can go die in a fire. lol
Sounds like the kind of content that would have been served as a separate full price sequel rather than a significantly affordable expansion. Kudos.
For those who already cleared the game, make sure to beat all 80(?) subway missions to unlock the hidden ULTIMATE fight. I'm not there yet, but players with all-Rank X have told me they couldn't beat it the first time!
The in-game hero mode preps you for online and I feel that OE already assumes you're experienced in Rank. As both were built around the online premise, for it to be a standalone 1P I think they need to fill in the gap somehow. More tutorial stages (that let you fill up and use Special gauge)? AI co-op missions? Something. As it stands it's a very meaty and affordable DLC but incomplete as a 1P product.
Will be getting this DLC no doubt. I do hate those challenges where you have limited ink though, remember them from the Amiibo challenges in the first Splatoon.
Bought it and it's surprisingly good, though this should've been the regular campaign, because that one was horrible.
9/10 is too much though, especially for the €20 price tag. But it's a solid 8.
What's with all the copy paste reviews around the web? All of hem mention Zelda/Mario and act like it's really hard. It's not that hard.
@rjejr if you're B+/A- in Splatoon 1 you'll probably be at least S rank in Splatoon 2. It's way easier to rank up and way more difficult to drop in rank. They also rank you separately for each of the Ranked modes, so if you suck in one it doesn't affect the other rankings.
@BigKing "It's way easier to rank up and way more difficult to drop in rank."
Thanks for that, it's the first I've heard. I also didn't know about rankings for separate modes. I think my problem was less w/ the modes, more w/ the arenas, some I just had a problem playing. And I only ever played w/ one weapon, the blaster I think, and I was pretty much only good at one thing, shooting people, which worked great in tower defense on that cube but rainmaker was too fast paced for me. Once I got hung up on ranking up I kinda lost the plot. And I didn't like a few of the newer levels, all the water and that weird layout museum. And Moray tower killed me, except for rainmaker, wasn't really anyplace to go.
I've wanted to give the new one a go, but not enough to pay $60 to find out after 20 minutes I had enough. If my library ever starts stocking Switch games it would be the first one I picked up. I get a lot of Wii U and PS4 games there. Or Redbox, I'd pay for a weekend to test out all the weapons, levels and modes.
Of course now we'll need to pay to play online, gotta see how that goes. But I'll play that Octoling single player someday. Maybe in 3 years when the complete game is a Select.
Rating:
🐙/10
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Honestly the best dlc the world has ever seen
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