Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion
| “ | Pale summer moonlight shimmers on the seafloor. | ” |
— The opening poem of the Octo Expansion. | ||
Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion is paid downloadable content for Splatoon 2 comprised of an additional single-player campaign mode.[1][2] It was revealed during the 8 March 2018 Nintendo Direct and was released on 14 June 2018 at 01:00 UTC with version 3.1.0. It is the first paid downloadable content for any game in the Splatoon series.
The entrance to the mode is located at the subway entrance in the alleyway to the upper right of Inkopolis Square, next to Deca Tower. It can also be accessed by selecting Deepsea Metro in the menu.
Players who purchase the Octo Expansion are also given two pieces of gear, the Studio Octophones and Octo Layered LS, which were available prior to the DLC's release for players who pre-purchased it. Completing the mode unlocks the ability to play as an Octoling instead of an Inkling.
Release history
The Octo Expansion was initially revealed with a trailer as part of the 8 March 2018 Nintendo Direct, without a release date.
The full version of the song played in the trailer, revealed to be called Nasty Majesty, was performed during Off the Hook's live concert at NicoNico Chokaigi 2018.[3]
On 12 June 2018, during the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct, Octo Expansion was labeled as a "Summer 2018" release. Later on during E3 2018, a 
launch trailer was shown after the conclusion of the final round of the Splatoon 2 World Championship 2018 Finals, in which the mode was revealed to release the following day. The Octoling Girl, Octoling Boy, and Octoling Octopus amiibo were also revealed to be releasing at a later date.[4] The three amiibo were later released on 7 November 2018 in Japan and Europe, on 9 November 2018 in Oceania, and on 7 December 2018 in North America.
A bundle containing both Splatoon 2 and the Octo Expansion, titled Splatoon 2 + Octo Expansion, is available on Nintendo eShop. A physical version of Splatoon 2 with the Octo Expansion included was exclusively released in Japan on 8 October 2021.[5]
On 22 April 2022, the Octo Expansion was added to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription.
Initial trailer
The Octo Expansion was revealed by a trailer that was shown in the 8 March 2018 Nintendo Direct. At the time of release, the trailer offered little explanation for the identities of the new characters and events shown in it, but revealed the inclusion of Octolings as playable characters.
Nasty Majesty by Off the Hook plays throughout the trailer. The trailer is edited to reveal new elements and characters in time with the emphatic record scratch parts of the song. Initially presented as surveillance footage, the trailer begins with Agent 8 awaking within the Abandoned Station, then boarding a subway car; as they slowly walk from one car to the next, the characters encountered in the mode are shown one by one. In one train car, an assortment of denizens of the deep is suddenly replaced with Sanitized Octolings.
The Player Settings screen used in the mode is then shown, followed by cutscene footage of the Abandoned Station, then the turnstyle mechanic. Gameplay footage of A05 Fake Plastic Station, B12 Brute Rollup Station, C11 Abracadabra Station, A07 Maverick Station, H02 Ballercise Station, G09 B05 Wack 8-Ball Station, I05 B08 Righteous Rails Station, and one of the thang stations is then shown in quick succession. A brief snippet of the cutscenes from the finale is then shown, with Agent 8 reaching the surface, followed by footage of Octolings in Inkopolis Square who then spawn at the start of a battle in the Reef. The trailer ends with Marina singing without instrumentation, as Agent 8 sleeps on the same station floor seen at the beginning. The surveillance screen footage presentation returns, and the DLC's logo is revealed.
Story
The player takes the role of Agent 8, an Octoling with amnesia who finds themself in a strange subway station called the Deepsea Metro connected to a series of research facilities deep underground. As the game starts, the Octoling wakes up to see Cap'n Cuttlefish ready to attack them before he stops, seeing that they do not have a weapon with them and that they are stranded in an unknown location, and he decides on a truce. Cuttlefish informs the Octoling that they and Agent 3 were fighting in Octo Valley before "someone" attacked them, with Agent 3 having gone missing. He then realizes that the Octoling lost their memories of who they are when they hit the ground and asks if they remember anything, which prompts the customization of the player's Octoling. Cap'n Cuttlefish then notes that the Octoling was humming the Calamari Inkantation while unconscious, concluding that they may be one of the Octarians whose "souls were etched" upon hearing the song during Agent 3's battle with DJ Octavio two years prior.
After finding a way through a seemingly abandoned area, Agent 8 and Cap'n Cuttlefish come across Central Station, an empty platform with a telephone ringing. As the Octoling answers the Telephone, it identifies them as applicant 10,008; deeming the name too long, Cap'n Cuttlefish decides to give them the name "Agent 8" for short. The Telephone tells Agent 8 that they would want to go to the "promised land" so they can be free, but to do so, they must collect four "thangs". It provides them with a CQ-80 and CQ Card to help them before ending its speech, and a train then arrives and stops for Agent 8 and Cap'n Cuttlefish. Inside, they meet C.Q. Cumber, the conductor of the train, who explains the functions of the CQ-80 and the CQ Points system. Shortly afterwards, Pearl and Marina of Off the Hook unintentionally make contact with the two from Mount Nantai via Cap'n Cuttlefish's communication device, and they offer to help them escape to the surface.
Agent 8 completes tests in the stations and collects the four thangs. After they collect the third thang, Cap'n Cuttlefish decides to create a missing poster for Agent 3 that he then places on the Telephone, asking Agent 8 to help remind him of Agent 3's appearance, allowing the player to customize it. After Agent 8 collects the fourth thang, the Telephone cryptically asks whether they are "ready to ascend to a higher plane of existence" and "willing to become something greater than yourself", before assembling the thangs to open a door that it claims to lead to the promised land. However, when Agent 8 and Cap'n Cuttlefish enter, it turns out to be a trap: the thangs were parts for a giant blender that the Telephone now plans to use to render them into raw material.
Before the blender can turn on, Marina activates a distress signal from Agent 8's CQ-80, prompting Agent 3 (using the appearance determined by the player earlier) to smash through the ceiling and destroy the blender. Agent 3 lands on the ground unconscious, but drops their employee-model CQ-80, which Marina can use to help them reach the surface. Agent 8 Super Jumps out through the hole Agent 3 made in the ceiling, beginning a lengthy escape as they climb towards the surface and manage to get an energy core to power an elevator. During this time, the Telephone recovers and brainwashes Agent 3. Upon reaching the elevator, Agent 8 is intercepted by Agent 3, accompanied by a tied-up Cap'n Cuttlefish. Agent 8 defeats Agent 3, ending the brainwashing and rendering them unconscious again, and finally reaches the surface.
Pearl and Marina arrive in a helicopter to airlift Agent 8, Cap'n Cuttlefish, and the still-unconscious Agent 3 to safety, but the facility that Agent 8 just climbed through proceeds to rise from the water, revealed to be a statue of a human, with the Telephone in its eye. The Telephone introduces itself as Commander Tartar, an AI created 12,000 years ago by a professor to pass on human knowledge to the next intelligent species. It reveals that it has judged Inklings and Octarians as unworthy of receiving its knowledge and activates the NILS Statue, the mouth of which contains a weapon to destroy and recreate life on Earth, fueled by the blended raw material of the successful test subjects that it seeks to use to create "perfect" life. Marina quickly analyzes the statue and learns it is solar-powered, so she deploys her prototype hyperbombs on its body that Agent 8 detonates to cover it in ink, stopping it from charging. Tartar attempts to fire the weapon anyway, but Pearl counteracts the blast with her Princess Cannon, powered by her loud voice, which destroys Tartar and the statue. With the world saved, Pearl and Marina hug, Cap'n Cuttlefish celebrates, and Agent 3 wakes up. Agent 8 watches and smiles at them, finally free on the surface. As group looks out to Inkopolis in the distance (with the remains of the NILS Statue visible in the water), Cap'n Cuttlefish presses a button on the CQ-80 and the credits play. As the credits finish, Agent 8 looks back at the player and smiles at them. Off the Hook returns to Inkopolis Square, dropping off Agent 8 there as well.
When Agent 8 returns to the Deepsea Metro, C.Q. Cumber tells them that the train is still functioning despite the end of Kamabo Co.'s operations. He explains that they can now collect mem medals and use the vending machine at Central Station. Cap'n Cuttlefish informs Agent 8 that Agent 3 went out on patrol, and he wished to check on the denizens of the deep for a while longer.
After Agent 8 completes every test without using Marina's hacks, the eighth locker in Central Station opens. By interacting with it, Agent 8 has an imaginary battle with their "Inner Agent 3" as Calamari Inkantation plays, with the appearance of the arena based on that of the final battle from Octo Valley. Upon winning, they are rewarded with the Golden Toothpick that was in the locker.
Gameplay
The Octo Expansion adds a new single-player campaign consisting of 80 levels. Off the Hook supports Agent 8 from above ground and their help can be used to skip missions that are too difficult.
The first station has the Telephone, where Agent 8 learns the details on how to escape the Deepsea Metro. The Telephone also provides Agent 8 with the CQ-80 device (a flat controller shaped like a submarine), used to navigate the underground; and a CQ Card, which is used to store CQ Points. C.Q. Cumber will issue an initial 1000 CQ Points to start.
Entering each mission costs a set amount of points, for either one, three, or five lives. The player can then choose between multiple challenges, each with a different weapon set. Depending on the weapon set chosen, a different amount of points is awarded (harder sets provide bigger rewards). Players enter the actual level by pressing 
at the turnstyle.
Lives are lost not only from being splatted but also by failing to comply with certain test conditions. If the player fails to complete the test's conditions to pass, an inflatable balloon of ink attached to Agent 8's ink tank will explode and splat them in the process.
If the player loses all of their lives, they may continue from the last checkpoint with all lives returned by paying more points, return to the station for free (but still having to pay to re-enter the level), abandon the level and return to the subway, or ask for help from Off the Hook to skip the level. Off the Hook can only help Agent 8 skip a level if they fail at least twice. When prompted to ask for help, it requires the regular fee to auto-pass the level, wherein Marina hacks into Kamabo's mainframe to trick it into thinking Agent 8 passed. The resulting mem cake will be gray, with only the quote "Your guess is as good as mine." However, if pressed to ask for help, the player can press X to "Tough it Out" and continue to play the level as normal. If skipped, the mem cake of that level will not be collected, barring players from certain rewards until they have completed the station properly.
If a player finds themselves with less than 100 CQ Points after losing all of their lives, a game over screen will appear instead of a continue screen. The player will then return to the Metro, where Pearl will take money from her father and Marina will convert it into CQ points, transferring 3000 CQ Points to Agent 8. However, the player will be in debt, which can be repaid through Cap'n Cuttlefish. The player cannot unlock the Inner Agent 3 if they have debt (though can still access it if they gain debt after already unlocking it).
The normal Octarians from Octo Canyon are replaced with Sanitized Octarians, which are a distinctive shade of sickly green. Enemy Octolings can use more main weapons and special weapons, previously only seen in online multiplayer modes. For example, in the first test, an enemy Octoling can use an Inkjet. A select number of levels are also special only, meaning Agent 8's special bar never goes down.
Some tests have Agent 8 go against a team of four Sanitized Octolings, in the style of ranked modes. The time limit is always five minutes and Agent 8 has unlimited lives until the time limit ends.
After completing the story, players can play as a male or female Octoling in multiplayer gameplay and customize them just like Inklings. Gear and weapons will be shared between the characters in the same account.
A short gameplay video of one of the missions was published on 30 April 2018. It shows a female Agent 8 on a mission requiring her to defeat a set of Sanitized Octotroopers, Octosnipers and Octocommanders within two minutes. This video also marks the first appearance of canisters similar to the special weapon canisters from Octo Canyon, as well as metallic briefcases. Both are marked with the same logo as the CQ-80 and the CQ Card, unlike the Octo Canyon canisters that show the Ammo Knights logo.
The objectives of the missions were revealed in a short gameplay video of F04 C05 Stamped-Up Station. It is a set of three floating pieces of a goal that must be covered in ink to be activated and be touched for the level to be completed. There are also smaller posts that emit red beacons that function the same as Mini Zapfish.
After three of the thangs are found, Cap'n Cuttlefish will decide to make a "missing" poster for Agent 3, asking Agent 8 what they look like. This determines Agent 3's gender, skin color, and eye color.
During the escape, if Agent 8 dies five times in a phase, their "Skip Charge" will be filled and will be allowed to skip the phase. If so, the sounds of a Splashdown and a Sting Ray can be heard and there will be a simple transitional phrase on the screen, stating that Agent 8 got past the phase. In the final boss, it will be instantly filled after one failed attempt.
When Agent 8 returns to the Deepsea Metro, they will be able to use the vending machine in Central Station to exchange 15,000 credits for an item and go around other stations to claim mem medals to be exchanged for the vending machine. The vending machine has more variety than the Ammo Knights Enhancifier, having the chance of getting more than one drink ticket, upgraded food tickets, cash, ability chunks, and credits. The items range from getting every type of drink ticket to even getting tens of thousands in cash.
Completing all missions with each challenge cleared and defeating the secret boss will change the background of the CQ-80 to one featuring the Kamabo Corporation logo and a stamp with the Inkling text saying "COMPLETE" on the bottom of the map.
Stations
There is a mandatory tutorial station, Abandoned Station.
If a station has dual IDs, the later letter in alphabetical order takes precedence, as inferred by the cost of its test fee and the way two lines overlap each other. Stations with double circles denote where thangs are. Line A is the only line that has a station with 00 as its number, the Central Station.
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