Splatoon 3 Previews Side Order DLC And Fresh Season For March 1

Nintendo has shared new trailers for upcoming content in Splatoon 3.

Splatoon 3 was originally released on September 9, 2022, and immediately set records. Within the first three days, it sold 3.45 million units, immediately making it one of the best-selling titles in Japan. It received a Metacritic of 83, and a strong OpenCritic rating, with a top critic average of 83, and 93 % of critics recommending the game.

What’s remarkable about this title is it is still receiving new content. While Nintendo sought to set a precedent of placing all content on disc when they made the first Splatoon for the Wii U, Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3 on the Nintendo Switch have had real full sized DLC, on top of seasonal content that is now only partly on carts. Nintendo may find itself accidentally making this title a full live service game if they keep going like this.

As reported by NintendoEverything, Nintendo shared a new description for Splatoon 3’s upcoming DLC, Side Order. This is the description Nintendo shared:

“In Side Order, you play as Agent 8, a resident of Inkopolis who wakes up in a new “world of order,” where the color spectrum goes from white to … a little less white to … kinda gray to … well, that’s pretty much it. What’s an Octoling to do? Figure out how to bring a little color back into the picture, that’s what! Alongside a drone who claims to be Off the Hook member Pearl, Agent 8 must battle to the top of the Spire of Order against hordes of surprising enemies and obstacles.

On each floor of the Spire there are objectives that change each time you make an attempt, and they get harder the higher you climb. Objectives may include defeating enemies, securing specific areas for a set amount of time, and overcoming other skill-testing challenges. Use the color chips you receive to customize your Palette to your liking with enhancements such as increased firing speed, raised damage output and more. Fail to reach the top and you’ll have to start over – but the color chips you collect will be converted into a currency that can be exchanged for some permanent and helpful upgrades. Those upgrades might just give you a fighting chance of reaching the top next time around.

Designed to be replayed over and over as you update Agent 8 with powerful (and colorful) abilities, Side Order is a fun, challenging way to level up your Splatoon skills, for newcomers and vets alike.”

What Nintendo describes certainly evokes comparisons to De Blob, Epic Mickey, maybe even Ikaruga. But mainly, this sounds like a roguelike mode that apparently promises ‘permanent, helpful’ upgrades that the player may bring over to the multiplayer or main narrative campaign. That would certainly be helpful to players who are having a hard time levelling up on online play, either because they’re not being matched up to similar players, or online connection or other issues.

Nintendo also shared a new trailer for Fresh Season, which starts on March 1, 2024. Surely, the big highlight is the new Marlin Airport battle stage, as well as the post-apocalyptic aesthetic of the Bonerattle Arena Salmon Run Stage. The trailer also showed us new variations of brellas and Dualies, and a new bomb type called the Fizzbang, which looks like a New Year’s Eve firecracker finger hazard.

You can watch the trailers for Splatoon 3’s Side Order and Fresh Season below.