I would rank this campaign right in the middle of all Splatoon campaigns so far. It is better than Octo Valley and Octo Canyon, but worse the Return of the Mammalians and Octo Expansion. Especially coming off of Octo Expansion, this DLC overall felt like a step down compared to the previous.

Rougelikes/lites are not usually my go to, and Side Order did not do much to change my opinions on the genre. I feel the gameplay suffered mostly from a large lack of diversity, which is not welcome especially in a genre known for its wide away of random elements. If you plan on completing a run with every single weapon like I did, be prepared to run into the excat same floors over and over again with minor changes. The color chips system helps in this regard but they do not feel as impactful as you would like, especailly when upgrading all of Marina's hacks is more than enough to power you up to the level required to clear a run. I wish the weapons had more unique gimmicks like the last one you unlock (won't say what it is for fear of spoilers), because it comes off ass too little too late.

I feel the story was also a step down from both Return of the Mammalians and Octo Expansion. The stakes did not feel as high as with the aforementioned campaigns, and while telling a smaller scale story is not a bad thing, I did feel that the plot overall lacked an impact. The best part by far was seeing the interactions between Marina, Pearl, and Acht as you climb the tower, but as with everything else after a while you eventually see all that has to offer as well.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Side Order, but the experience began to drag as I tried to complete a run with all the different weapons. If they continue with this formula in the future, I hope they expand on it greatly and lean into more of the randomization and loadout design that is found within the genre.