Although there's still a couple of months before 2022, it already looks like a strong year for Nintendo. Pokemon Legends: Arceus and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 are on the way, and Splatoon 3 is set to release next year. Splatoon's success as a younger Nintendo franchise is well represented by how it stands alongside Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda. Although it has only existed since the Wii U era, Splatoon looks like it'll have a solid third entry on its hands thanks to Splatoon 3, which introduces all kinds of new weapons that should result in a fresh take on the experience.
Splatoon always features a story mode, and the story of Splatoon 3 is particularly remarkable because it suggests big changes are coming to the world of the Inklings and Octolings. Nintendo refers to Splatoon 3's story mode as "Return of the Mammalians;" in other words, it sounds like large numbers of mammals will reappear in this cephalopod-centric world. There's still a lot of questions left unanswered about the Mammalians, but it's clear that Splatoon will never be the same.
Examining Splatoon 3's Mysterious Mammalians
Technically Splatoon 3's Mammalians aren't the first mammals in the series. That credit goes to Judd, the cat who acts as a judge for all Splatoon PvP matches, as well as his clone Li'l Judd. Certain pieces of Splatoon lore indicate that Judd was cryogenically frozen during the time of humans and eventually woke up in the times of Inklings, long after humanity disappeared. He later used that machine to clone himself, creating Li'l Judd. To date, Judd and his younger self are the only mammals in the Splatoon world.
That seems set to change in Splatoon 3. The Octarians will return as major antagonists, but as Nintendo has highlighted, they seem to be growing fur. It appears the new Agent 3, Splatoon 3's playable protagonist, will have to get to the bottom of this mysterious mutation while thwarting another one of the Octarian Army's invasions. A substance called Fuzzy Ink or Fuzzy Ooze has something to do with the mutation; if an Inkling touches this strange goop, they'll instantly be covered in brown fur, laying helpless on the ground. However, Splatoon 3's new Smallfry companion can helpfully destroy Fuzzy Ooze, perhaps suggesting it will play a part in the Mammalian mystery.
Splatoon 3's story mode takes place in a new part of the world called Alterna, and it's likely the reason for the Mammalians' return lies at Alterna's heart. A series of strange structures within Alterna, such as a rocket ship poised for launch, suggest it was once an important part of human civilization. If Alterna was a final bastion of human civilization, then that could explain why the Mammalians are spilling forth from there. Maybe ancient human science has preserved certain mammals or their DNA, and after centuries of containment, mutated Mammalians have finally escaped captivity.
Expanding the World of Splatoon
While the main draw of Splatoon has always been its multiplayer, story modes like Return of the Mammalians are great fun too. They go a long way to explain Splatoon's lore while offering players another way to enjoy Splatoon's arsenal of ink-blasting weapons. One wonders if the lore of Splatoon 3's plot will affect the gameplay in the long run, as in Splatoon 2, the Octo Expansion DLC allowed players to control Octolings once they were freed from the evil DJ Octavio's control. Maybe the Mammalians aren't as nefarious as Splatoon 3 trailers make them seem. They could just be the next race of playable characters in the Splatoon world.
Splatoon 3 releases in 2022 for Nintendo Switch.