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.