Splatoon 2: more details about the Octo Expansion

6 June 20186 June 2018 Lite_Agent Splatoon 2, Squid Research Lab

Last week, during the latest Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo shared plenty of details about what’s coming next to Splatoon 2. The next major Software update was announced (Ver. 3.0.0), along with paid DLC for Single Player (check out this post for more details).

And over the past couple of days, the Squid Research Lab has been sharing more details, pictures, and videos for both the update and the Octo Expansion, via Twitter!

June 6th

Today, the Squid Research Lab shared a picture of yet another type of passengers found in the Deepsea Metro. They appear to be connected to one another, for some reason… The researcher from the Squid Research Lab seems to think it’s so they can buy only one ticket!

June 1st

Over the past few days, the Squid Research Lab shared the following:

a screenshot and details about more passengers of the Deepsea Metro. Apparently, those youngsters have big mouths because they’re always thinking about food!
screenshots and video clip for two new Octoling hairstyles debuting with the Octo Expansion:
- afro (Octoling boy): its shape changes depending on the Gear you have equipped;
- ponytail (Octoling girl)

【オクト】タコボーイのアフロヘアは、アタマに着けるギアに応じて形が変わるぞ。
クールでファンキーなスタイルを楽しもう。 pic.twitter.com/KbqV2VsdwD

— Splatoon（スプラトゥーン） (@SplatoonJP) June 1, 2018

【オクト】タコガールのポニーテールは、ちょっとクセッ毛。
くるっとカールした毛先……というか足先がキュートだ。 pic.twitter.com/j9sx9v9Yu9

— Splatoon（スプラトゥーン） (@SplatoonJP) June 1, 2018

May 23rd

The latest report from the Squid Research Lab introduces some more passengers of the Deepsea Metro. Their eyes may be wide open, they always look really tired… could they be sleeping with their eyes wide open?

May 21st

Over the past few days, the Squid Research Lab shared the following:

an artwork and some details for Deadf1sh. She was a talented DJ with a promising future, but in search of ideal music, she went into the underground facility, where she was “sanitized”. Despite losing most of her memories, she keeps on making music, and her mixes can still be heard throughout the underground facility. Here’s a soundtrack sample (a track called “Catalog Mix”):

a screenshot in English of Pearl and Marina’s chatroom
a screenshot in English of Cap’n Cuttlefish’s rap

May 12th

This week, the Squid Research Lab shared the following:

a screenshot showing another passenger of the Deepsea Metro. This nice lady has a pretty smart outfit, but the crazies of hairstyles! She’s always standing there quiety, but rumour has it she can be quite carnivorous…
a screenshot showing Cap’n Cuttlefish. It looks like his hobby is… rap, of all things! The words he use may be a bit on the old fashioned side, but the tight flow and freestyle lyrics of his rap certainly don’t feel old fashioned! It looks like he could be a pretty serious rival for Pearl…

May 5th

Yesterday, the Squid Research Lab shared the following:

screenshots and details about the Mem Cakes (known as “Neri Memory” in Japanese). They’re cute little things you can earn by completing challenges. They’re apparently made by piecing together Agent 8’s lost memories.

May 4th

Over the past few days, the Squid Research Lab shared the following:

some pictures of Iso Padre (known as Mr. Gusok / Gusoku). He may look a bit intimidating, but he’s actually a true gentleman. There’s something in the underground test facility he really wants to get his hands on…
some pictures of the Chat Log, with the chatroom where Pearl and Marina are chatting. As mentioned previously, the pair observe and guide Agent 8 throughout her journey in the underground test facility. In this chat log, you will be able to find all the messages sent by them, which will allow you to get a better look at their personalities!

May 1st

Over the past few days, the Squid Research Lab and JAMSTEC shared the following:

pictures of Marine Snow in the Octo Expansion, that is based on the real-life phenomenon (dead plankton, which is a key element of the food chain for see creatures)
a screenshot showing more passengers of the Deepsea Metro, that are stuck everywhere (on the seats, the floor, the ceiling… everywhere!)
an English name for Namako Shashou: C.Q. Cumber;
an English name for Denwa… Telephone. He’s the one giving you the CQ-80 device and CQ Card (known in Japanese as NAMACO Terminal and NAMACO Card)
a screenshot showing Agent 8 using the CQ-80 to disply the subway map;
a screenshot showing a turnsite: you can find one in each station, and it’s connected to the underground test facility. You can use the C.Q. Points to take on new missions, and earn new rewards based on the weapon you use.

April 16th

Over the past few days, the Squid Research Lab and JAMSTEC shared the following:

another screenshot of “Namako Shashou” (see March 20th update for more details), a new character introduced in the Octo Expansion inspired by sea cucumbers;
a screenshot showing JAMSTEC’s logo in-game. It looks like an organisation similar to JAMSTEC once existed in the Inkling world!
a screenshot showing some more of the passengers of the Deepsea Metro;
pictures of a new character introduced in the Octo Expansion, called Mr. Gusoku / Gusok. He may look pretty intimidating, with his scary look and sunglasses, but he’s actually a pretty friendly fellow. It looks like he’s really interested in something you can get from the underground test facility…
pictures of something called “Neri Memory” in Japanese. It’s what Mr. Gusoku / Gusok is really interested in. It just happens to be pieces of Agent 8’s lost memories. You can get them by clearing the challenges of the underground facility. Make sure to bring them to Mr. Gusoku / Gusok once you get some!

April 9th

On Friday, the Squid Research Lab shared some more details about the Octo Expansion. In this expansion, you get to play as an Octoling, from the Octarian race. Unlike Inklings, Octolings generally tend to be pretty serious and meticulous individuals. They also know how to use tools and machinery pretty well.

And today, JAMSTEC shared a picture of a train station-like building from the Octo Expansion. On the roof, there’s chimneys spewing some grey smokes: those are actually inspired by Black Smokers, hydrothermal vent found on the seabed.

【動画】これがブラックスモーカーです！（インド洋中央海嶺、水深2451メートル。「しんかい6500」撮影）【JAMSTEC×Splatoon 2】 pic.twitter.com/M9sG94j8AD

— JAMSTEC 海洋研究開発機構 (@JAMSTEC_PR) April 9, 2018

April 4th

Today, the Squid Research Lab shared some more details about the inhabitants of the underworld (the Deep Sea Dwellers), that you meet in the subway. Their appearance is quite different from the creatures living on the surface, presumably due to them adaptating to their special environment. They do not reply when Agent No. 9 or Cap’n Cuttlefish try to talk to them.

There seems to be a unique ecosystem / society in the underworld…

April 2nd

Today, the Squid Research Lab announced that the Shinkai 6500 (a manned research submersible, used as model for the Autobombs) would appear in the Octo Expansion!

March 28th

Today, the Squid Research Lab introduced a new character found in the Octo Expansion: Denwa (Japanese name, lit.: Phone). He’s the one who tells Agent 8 how to navigate the Underground. He also gives them the NAMACO Terminal and the NAMACO Card (Japanese names), that are required to use the Deep Sea Metro. It looks like Denwa is quite the knowledgeable fellow, too!

When you’re in a train car, the NAMACO Terminal allows you to display the Deep Sea Metro map. From that map, you can select a station and head there using the subway network.

There’s a ticket gate in each station, and it leads to the mysterious underground facility. Using NAMACO Points, stored on the card (just like money on actual smart card using in public transports in many countries), you can tackle various challenges. If you manage to clear one, you get some points as rewards.

The amount of points you get depends on the weapon use (presumably because they are harder). If you’re not too sure which weapon to use, just stick to the one recommended to you!

March 20th

In Octo Expansion, players will be able to meet a unique sea cucumber called “Namako Shashou” (lit. Conductor Sea Cucumber) in Japan. He basically serves as a guide in the underground facility. He may look a bit fishy (pun totally intended), but he’s a pretty qualified individual who can do many things. If you ever find yourself in a tough spot, make sure to go talk to him!

Once you’ve cleared Octo Expansion, you will be able to play as an Octoling in multiplayer. As explained below, an Octoling plays the exact same way as regular Inklings. But there’s just one (minor) difference: they look slightly different in their “squid” form (or rather we should say “octopus” form!).

Here’s a video clip showcasing it:

【オクト】これがタコの若者がタコに変身した姿だ。
いや、ヒトの姿が変身後で、こっちが本性……とか、細かい話は面倒なので置いておこう。
見た目は違うが、インクの中を素早く泳いだり、スーパージャンプをしたりと、できることや性能はイカとまったく同じだ。 pic.twitter.com/4RkrLFBcds

— Splatoon（スプラトゥーン） (@SplatoonJP) March 19, 2018

In Ver. 3.0.0, more than 100 new pieces of Gear will be added to the game. Some of them are new, and others are new variants of Gear already in the game.

March 13th

First, some details about the Octo Expansion. The protagonist is one No. 10008, also known as “Agent 8”. They’re a young Octoling who have lost their memories due to some sort of trauma, and don’t even know how they ended up in the underground. Moved by the music of the Squid Sisters, they decide to aim for the surface, and escape.

The expansion is all about an enormous facility located deep underground, where various experiments used to be conducted. This place is quite mysterious: nobody knows who built it, and for what purpose. The whole thing looks as if stopped in time, and completely separate from the outside world.

In the Octo Expansion, Pearl and Marina from Off the Hook appear in their casual clothes. Just like Marie and Callie in Splatoon, and Marie in the original Single Player campaign of Splatoon 2, they help Agent 8 make their escape by providing useful (and sometimes not so useful…) advice via wireless transmissions.

It looks like players will be able to enjoy new songs by the duo, but also discover how the two came to meet and form Off the Hook!

But that’s not all: the duo will also help you in a much more direct manner… If you ever get stuck in one of the 80+ levels from the Octo Expansion, Pearl and Marina will let you skip it and progress through the story (which implies that the levels are going to be particularly tough… then again, the footage from the Nintendo Direct already made that pretty clear).

And you don’t need to worry about using that option: you will not be penalised if you ever decide to skip a level. You will still unlock the option to play as an Octoling in multiplayer by reaching the end of the expansion, which is great news for players who may think the levels are a tad too tough for them.

Looking at the screenshots below, it looks like you can “pay” to continue from a checkpoint after dying in a level. To ask Pearl and Marina for help, you have to press the X button when the “icon” is displayed on the screen.

And in case you’re wondering: Octolings play the exact same way as Inklings in multiplayer, so you will not be at disadvantage if you decide to stick with Inklings.

Also, the most common gear can be used with either “forms”, so you don’t have to worry about your freshness level dropping when switching to an Octoling or to an Inkling. You will be able to switch from one to the other from the customisation screen, just like you already can for your gender, haircut, etc..

Cap’n Cuttlefish is one of the characters you will get to meet in the Octo Expansion. He used to lead the Squidbeak Splatoon, the protecting Inklings from the Octarians. He may be a bit old nowadays, he’s still a proud warrior, and in fact, he’s currently patrolling with Agent 3 (the protagonist in Splatoon)… well, he should have been. For some reason, he ended up stuck in the underground with Agent 3.

As you’ve probably seen in the Nintendo Direct footage, Agent 8 needs to take the subway (called “Shinkai Metro” in Japanese, lit. “Deep See Metro”) in order to navigate the underground. The place seems to have developed independently. The passengers of the subway all look rather scary, and quite different from the inhabitants on the surface, but they’re apparently good people.

Each station of the subway network is directly connected to the experiment facility. The levels are filled with various obstacles and mechanisms that attack Agent 8, and that you need to navigate through. It looks like each level offers a different type of challenge, with some of them only allowing you to use special weapons, for example. To clear the levels, you will need to learn to use all the different weapons and techniques.

Next, some details about Ver. 3.0.0. As mentioned during the Nintendo Direct, Callie will appear in the Octo Valley (near Cap’n Cuttlefish’s shack). Apparently, Callie will share some juicy details (aka. stats!) about Agent 4 if you talk to her! The update adds a new rank: Rank X. Check out this post for more details!

Also, the Squid Research Lab reveal that ABXY, the Squid Chiptune band, is make its comeback in Splatoon via the Ver. 3.0.0 update for Splatoon 2. Indeed, it will include two new songs from them: