A good and serviceable DLC expansion to Splatoon 3, even if it felt a bit underwhelming in the process.
I was really interested in the plot of this DLC when it was introduced, and it was...fine, but felt underwhelming. I liked how it called back and expanded on Octo Expansion, but I feel as though there should've and it felt more like there WAS going to be more. I'll talk more about that later, but the plot as it stands was alright, but was underwhelming. (I might say that a lot during this review).
The gameplay is pretty fun! It's a roguelike, so you expect to replay the game tons and tons of times and the game encourages you to do so, with learning more about the plot and unlocking more weapons, upgrades, and equipment for doing so. Like all good roguelikes do, I had a good time doing each run and getting stronger and stronger each time, though it felt like all sense of challenges was gone after I beat the spire for the first time. I almost NEVER lost a single run after then, in fact, I only lost 3 (2 of them being the final weapon unlock), so a little more challenge would've been better. It isn't too much of an issue in my opinion, as I still have fun getting a total power trip and destroying a level in 30 seconds or less. The bosses were also fun, but 3 feels like way too little for a roguelike, and I got the ball boss on, no joke, every single run of the game. I feel as though this DLC was kind of a test for a more expanded Splatoon roguelike, as I feel like it does the bare minimum, with the bosses, vending machines, color chips (I forgot to mention them somehow, they're good), while still managing to be engaging and fun to go through. But, it also makes me wonder how good a proper Splatoon roguelike would be.
The music is good, which is kind of disappointing for Splatoon standards. The floor music was alright, the boss music was good, but I feel like the tunes overall are forgettable. I especially don't think any of the music is even close to on par with Fly Octo Fly, which is really unfortunate, even if Short Order and #47 onward is pretty nice.
Writing about this expansion made me realize even more that, even if serviceable and fun, I really wish this was more. A 3.5/5 isn't bad, it's good! Above average even! What we got is good and fun, but I can't just stop thinking about what could've been. I think most of this comes from the reveal teaser, which was basically just a bunch of concept art. The full game also just seems like it wanted to be more, but couldn't maybe because of lack of time, or other reasons. It's a bit underwhelming, but it's still good.
I was really interested in the plot of this DLC when it was introduced, and it was...fine, but felt underwhelming. I liked how it called back and expanded on Octo Expansion, but I feel as though there should've and it felt more like there WAS going to be more. I'll talk more about that later, but the plot as it stands was alright, but was underwhelming. (I might say that a lot during this review).
The gameplay is pretty fun! It's a roguelike, so you expect to replay the game tons and tons of times and the game encourages you to do so, with learning more about the plot and unlocking more weapons, upgrades, and equipment for doing so. Like all good roguelikes do, I had a good time doing each run and getting stronger and stronger each time, though it felt like all sense of challenges was gone after I beat the spire for the first time. I almost NEVER lost a single run after then, in fact, I only lost 3 (2 of them being the final weapon unlock), so a little more challenge would've been better. It isn't too much of an issue in my opinion, as I still have fun getting a total power trip and destroying a level in 30 seconds or less. The bosses were also fun, but 3 feels like way too little for a roguelike, and I got the ball boss on, no joke, every single run of the game. I feel as though this DLC was kind of a test for a more expanded Splatoon roguelike, as I feel like it does the bare minimum, with the bosses, vending machines, color chips (I forgot to mention them somehow, they're good), while still managing to be engaging and fun to go through. But, it also makes me wonder how good a proper Splatoon roguelike would be.
The music is good, which is kind of disappointing for Splatoon standards. The floor music was alright, the boss music was good, but I feel like the tunes overall are forgettable. I especially don't think any of the music is even close to on par with Fly Octo Fly, which is really unfortunate, even if Short Order and #47 onward is pretty nice.
Writing about this expansion made me realize even more that, even if serviceable and fun, I really wish this was more. A 3.5/5 isn't bad, it's good! Above average even! What we got is good and fun, but I can't just stop thinking about what could've been. I think most of this comes from the reveal teaser, which was basically just a bunch of concept art. The full game also just seems like it wanted to be more, but couldn't maybe because of lack of time, or other reasons. It's a bit underwhelming, but it's still good.