Splatoon 3 is just a few weeks old and barely through its first official Splatfest, which ends tonight at 5:00 p.m. PT. Yet many have already blown through Splatoon 3's Return of the Mammalians story between Turf War matches, grinding their rank in Anarchy Battle, and collecting Golden Eggs in Salmon Run: Next Wave. This latest entry in Nintendo's popular shooter franchise has more distractions than ever thanks to additions like customizable lockers and Tableturf Battles, but fans are undoubtedly hungry to see what story developments come in the large-scale DLC promised during Splatoon 3's August 2022 Direct.
Nintendo has made it clear that Splatoon 3 has a two-year shelf life. Updates will include new ranked game modes like X Battle and League Battle, as well as catalogs full of items, emotes, and more releasing every three months. Large-scale DLC is perhaps the most interesting, if mysterious tease given Return of the Mammalians acts as a "finale" for the series' main narrative. However, if it's anything like Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion while building upon Splatoon 3's new lore, players could have a lot to anticipate. Spoilers for Splatoon 3 ahead.
Octo Expansion Part 2
The obvious direction for Splatoon 3's DLC is a direct continuation of Octo Expansion, which moved away from the story of Agent 4 and Marie saving a brainwashed Callie and Inkopolis' Great Zapfish from DJ Octavio. Octo Expansion followed Agent 8, an Octoling who breaks away from Octarian society after hearing the Squid Sisters' "Calamari Inkantation" at the end of Splatoon. They lose their memory during an encounter with the original Agent 3, Splatoon's player character, and must help Cap'n Cuttlefish escape the Deepsea Metro.
Structurally, the Octo Expansion served as a through-line to Splatoon 3's mission-based story levels across Alterna. However, more important for the discussion of DLC is how Splatoon 2's paid expansion brought Pearl and Marina from Off the Hook into the spotlight. The silhouettes representing Splatoon 3's paid DLC during the Nintendo Direct is based on the same illustration of Pearl and Marina in Return of the Mammalians' Sunken Scroll 22. How they become integrated into the story remains to be seen, but it would be great to also see Agent 8 return as an NPC.
Revenge of the Salmonids
Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion ended with a battle to save Inkling society from the AI Commander Tartar, one remnant of human society that was repulsed by this new culture. Return of the Mammalians continues this thread to an extent, looking more into the remaining vestiges of humanity by having Mr. Grizz try and "restore balance." Using an old rocket stored in a massive underground bunker, the sentient grizzly bear uses human technology and his own fur to create Fuzzy Ooze so that he can turn modern marine life back into mammals.
While this plan fails, it is revealed that the Salmon Run game mode introduced with Splatoon 2 has secretly been Mr. Grizz using unsuspecting kids to stockpile Golden Eggs so he can produce Fuzzy Ooze. Salmon Run is still accessible under an unknown handler, but it's possible this could lead to a wider revolt - perhaps as the backstory behind Salmon Run: Next Wave's teased "Big Run" mode. That could also serve as an excuse for new Salmonid-themed characters to join the universe akin to Octo Expansion's playable Octolings.
Deep Cut's Time to Shine
For most of the runtime in Return of the Mammalians, Splatoon 3's idol band Deep Cut is a primary antagonist. As the New Squidbeak Splatoon moves throughout Alterna, they find treasures being guarded by Shiver, Frye, and Big Man, who each serve as major bosses. However, by the end of the adventure Deep Cut joins the main party, and it's revealed that their obsession with treasure is underpinned by a Robin Hood philosophy of raising money to support Splatsville's residents.
Now that players know what Deep Cut is capable of, it could be fun to see the trio act as allies for full-time DLC. Agent 3 could take a break from saving the world to go on an extended treasure hunt ala Pikmin 2, or Deep Cut could go on covert missions under Marie's command. One big thread left to unravel is resuscitating Cap'n Cuttlefish, who is dried out by Mr. Grizz and becomes a flat, floating squid. Splatoon 3's expansion could find a solution to this if it isn't set to be a permanent character trait.
Splatoon 3 is available now on Nintendo Switch.