This expansion makes the base game's campaign feel stale in comparison, and it's also obvious that it informed a lot of what Splatoon 3 did with its story mode.

Octo Expansion is an inventive and restless experience, never feeling too comfortable with itself. Because of that, things always remain interesting, engaging and surprisingly challenging.

This is classic Nintendo magic going on full steam, the type of magic that pushes the medium forward. Looking back, it was probably a watershed moment for Splatoon, which cemented it as one of the company's tentpole franchises.

This game lives or dies by how much you can tolerate fetch quests. While most aren't good, Rising has a cute warmth to it. Its small-scale story and level repetition makes it a comforting experience, at least for me, and the mechanics and movement are simple yet refined enough.

Unfortunately, it is also a perfect example of not knowing when to finish, and my 16h run would have been a much more pleasant affair if it stayed around 12.

I liked it for what it was, though those who are not excited for the upcoming main game can skip it without much concern.