So I’ve been playing and I’ve beat Side Order already, and I have some thoughts.

Spoiler Free TL:DR is I like it, but I feel it’s unfinished.

If you want my full thoughts they are below but be warned.

—THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW—

Side Order, or as Nintendo creatively calls it in their credits “Expansion Pass” 😒, is a first in the Splatoon series, a Rouge Like DLC, with a tower that is 30 levels deep. Where as are you climb, you’ll get random power ups and buffs, upgrading yourself and the Pearl Drone (best feature in the whole DLC) as you climb.

The way the game is laid out is exactly like Octo Expansion, but gone are the tailored made levels. And in are a gauntlet of battle arena’s and challenge missions, usually culminating in a handful of repeating mission types of your choice.

As a game mode it’s a perfect mix of challenge and randomness that makes each climb fun. It fits perfectly into Splatoon’s post-apocalyptic and dystopian aesthetic. And with the weapon variety and unlocks, there’s a lot of replay value. A Lot more than Octo Expansion.

But if I am perfectly honest, while I do like Side Order and the content it has on offer. And I personally feel it’s well worth the price. For some reason it feel unfinished.

I don’t know if it’s how often the same 2 or 3 levels get repeated. The fact that there is only a handful of game modes. Or the lack of enemy and boss variety. It just feels like the devs made a good first part of a game, and said that’s good enough, and shipped it.

After my 3rd or 5th run on the tower I was actively looking for the ??? levels since it was something new. But even then what I did was the same across the board. And it made me think back to Octo Expansion, from the creative level designs, grind rail challenges, 3D Picross levels, that made me yearn for something a little more.

I don’t think it’s fair to judge Side Order to Octo Expansion, they are two completely different beast. And with Splatoon 3’s signal player campaign I can see why Nintendo felt they needed to do something different.

I just feel that this game at a bare minimum needs some extra enemies, bosses and floors, especially on the lower levels, to make it feel a little more complete.

As it is I feel it’s like 85% done, and it needs a little more to go from being a fun experience to an excellent one. This is defiantly worth getting if you already have Splatoon 3, but unlike Octo, I don’t think it’s worth getting Splatoon 3 for this expansion.