Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion (DLC) (Nintendo Switch)

Octo Expansion is a standalone single-player campaign bolted onto Splatoon 2, and it has almost nothing in common with the base game's breezy Octo Canyon mode. You play as Agent 8, an amnesiac Octoling who wakes up in the Deepsea Metro with Cap'n Cuttlefish and has to clear 80 test chambers spread across subway lines to reach the surface. The structure is closer to Portal or Breath of the Wild's shrines than a traditional shooter campaign: each station drops you into one isolated challenge, often locked to a specific weapon or mechanic, and the game does not hold back. The weapon-locking is the real design lever here. If you live in Splatoon's online modes as an Aerospray main, expect to get humbled by stages that force charger shots, Splatling minigun precision, or super-ability movement like the Ink Jet and Baller. The game is essentially a forced cross-training regimen across the full weapon roster, and it is genuinely effective at closing skill gaps. Stages run the gamut from rail-grinding target sequences to 8-ball escort missions, stealth segments with no weapon at all, and ranked-mode objectives like Rainmaker and Tower Control run solo against time. The breadth of ideas across 80 levels is hard to argue with, even if a handful of those stages recycle multiplayer maps in a way that feels slightly phoned-in compared to the rest. Difficulty is the elephant in the room. This is one of the harder campaigns Nintendo has published. The good news is there is a skip system: spend enough in-game CQ Points after repeated failures and you can bypass a stage, losing only its Mem Cake collectible. No microtransactions, no external currency. Skipping does cost you the Mem Cake, which matters because collecting all of them unlocks an optional boss fight that the community considers one of the most punishing encounters in the series. The main-story bosses are a weaker spot though. Most are remixed versions of Octo Canyon fights with added patterns, and a couple feel like re-skins rather than genuine reimaginings. The actual payoff for finishing the expansion is unlocking Octolings as a playable character in online multiplayer. That alone drove a huge chunk of the player base to grind through every chamber. You also pick up exclusive Octoling gear sets via Mem Cake trades with Iso Padre, which carry over into ranked and league play cosmetically. The story itself, told through chatroom logs featuring Pearl, Marina, and Cuttlefish, is surprisingly dense for a Nintendo DLC and rewards anyone invested in the franchise lore. The 80s-inflected underground aesthetic is a deliberate tonal shift from the neon-bright surface world, and it works. For a shooter-focused player, the value proposition is clear: Octo Expansion is a legitimate skill sharpener. The forced weapon diversity will make you better at Turf War and ranked modes whether you like it or not. It is also a rare case of paid DLC that does not touch online balance at all, so non-buyers are never at a disadvantage in multiplayer. The criticism that sticks is the recycled boss design and a small cluster of uninspired stages late in the run. Neither breaks the experience. If you own Splatoon 2 and have any interest in being a better player, this is the most productive way to spend time in the game outside of actual ranked matches. Fred, Scout Team