A Tall Order | Splatoon 3: Side Order REVIEW

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Side Order, the second wave of the single-wave expansion pass for Splatoon 3 is here! I reviewed it, this is the review, here you go.
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This video was edited by the excellent @Yoshiller!
"Reloaded Installer #11" by LHS.
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[@ArloStuff]

FRESH PINNED COMMENT Head to www.squarespace.com/arlo to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code "arlo"

[@quintonconoly]

Ok

[@lyzioen]

you should try some reviewing old games - like og mario or the legend of zelda the minish cap

[@iversiafanatic]

Arlo, you know you can restart any run from where you died, right? You just gotta talk to marina and use PRLZ. :P

[@Superstrike_11]

What was the silly title going to be for your Splatoon 3 review? PLEEEAAAASE tell us

[@BigaloMax]

Just when I point out that the game does actually have a BIT more lore if you beat it whit all weapons including agent 8 splatter shot (which is the hardest mode cause it limits how many hacks or chips you can use) but you can just look that up on Google if you want

[@anniacal676]

There honestly is quite a bit of lore in Side Order, you just only see it by clearing with multiple weapons. They designed it so your first clear is the end of the self contained story and every subsequent weapon clear adds lore to the whole thing via dialogue and Marina's Diary.

[@shawnwilcowski]

And multiple runs after that!

[@rune2O2O]

i think people ripping on the game for being too short/too easy/too repetitive just forget or ignore this. i was so shocked that i only unlocked one dev entry my first go

[@CallMeVidd]

Yeah but that is way less exciting. Octo Expansion and the campaigns had us do challenges while it builds up to a climactic ending that we see play out and gives us background lore through collectibles on top. Here the story is the tutorial and the sunken scrolls of this game are 99% of it. Doesn’t really feel like you’re working towards anything As a new mode I like it a lot but it was marketed as a campaign which it is not

[@BubblesZap]

Yeee, I think it works well for this tower style game!! That way you can get story satisfaction for some fans and lore for some people that are super into it!

[@Noteturtle90]

In a vacuum, Acht being octonapped by tartar is fine. With the context of OO, this is probably the largest retcon in the series.

[@auggie4269]

I will say there are more lore tidbits sprinkled throughout the ‘postgame’ as you complete every palette

[@nolangerrans6083]

Indeed although I’d also say that side orders story was more about paying off lots of previously introduced plot points as opposed to introducing lots of crazy new stuff. Dedf1sh’s story, the Octoling integration into inkling society, the chaos vs order splatfest results, etc. It’s telling that it’s the first campaign where we get to play again as a previous main character, as the story is very involved in the outcome of octo expansion’s story

[@Sonicmaster54]

@@nolangerrans6083Exactly. That’s all it was. And establishing Pearl and Marina’s gay relationship….and that was it…

[@Antasma1]

@@nolangerrans6083That’s fine IMO even if not the surprise some people were looking for

[@movieman9364]

Yeah you’re weird buddy

[@Sonicmaster54]

@@movieman9364 That’s what they did fr. Play the DLC. Nintendo gave in to the LGBT Community

[@_Fizzy]

Making a review on the DLC before the actual game is such a power move. Love it!

[@Alaois]

Wouldn't be the first time

[@Debloko666]

I would guess that he was busy when Splatoon 3 released, and when he got time was already late to make a review of it. Not sure if Arlo got Splatoon 3 on release as well.

[@user-ft8hd9cq4k]

What😊

[@quintonconoly]

18:38 He’s not doing one

[@shawnwilcowski]

Too late that’s why

[@ChaloopaJoe]

A lot of the lore stuff comes in the dialogue between characters in the elevator along with beating the tower with all weapons. Nothing as huge as 3's campaign, but if you're a Splatoon lore fan there's some great stuff here.

[@ZMYaro]

Yes! And the whole thing is a bit of a sequel/epilogue/side story to the Octo Expansion, where you get to see what Off The Hook, Agent 8, and the Deepsea Metro folks have been up to since, as well as find out more of the backstory of what was going on down there.

[@cluless5227]

For People who are worried about not being good at the weapons, this DLC makes the weapons super easy depending on upgrades and tones. Even if you are a complete nooby you could use weapons that you are uncomfortable with and easily pass through all the floors. I recommend playing a variety of weapons its super fun

[@DavidMondeel]

Actually surprised myself by beating the tower the first time with a weapon i usually never use. It really has triggered me to try out other weapons. Really love the Side Order DLC! What a treat!

[@EvoBeDevo]

You too eh? I'm noticing this is a trend. Personally hate using the Splatana and yet that's the first weapon I managed to clear the tower with. Maybe the fear of not wanting to attempt another run in the future with the weapon makes one more cautious and therfore more successful?

[@sleepycyborg3241]

I absolutely love the writing and lore of splatoon so the game has made me try out a lot of different weapons that I would never even consider touching in multiplayer. I’m usually a Heavy Splatling main but my best run so far was actually using Frye’s kit and a splatana. I wrote the splatana off as a weird close range but not weapon but now I’ve gotten to floor 28 with it (I died there :() and it’s something I definitely wanna give another shot!!

[@BubblesZap]

​​@@EvoBeDevo almost same!! Nearly cleared it first try with Splatana despite always being horrible with jt, just really hits the style of gameplay well I think combined with Crab being surprisingly OP despite loathing it in Salmon Run lol

[@rosemary3029]

My first time beating side order was with shiver's palette

[@LARKXHIN]

Almost same! I failed on the final round of the final boss with Big Man's kit _ a slosher of all things. I usually hate sloshers.

[@colindoyle4370]

I like that Arlo talks about a lot of smaller things other than JUST the gameplay, like the sound design and vibes

[@lelouch6865]

I mean I wouldn't call sound design small, it honestly can make or break a game

[@joshk147]

Splatoon has such a refined feel in terms of sound design, sfx, music, visual design, ui/ux, and it all ties back to the in universe lore. Splatoon in particular has never considered these things "small," and it really shows

[@jimlight5137]

15:08 I’m a roller main. I hate switching to other weapons, especially ones that are slow to fire. Let me tell you… the umbrella upgrades and chip section had me FLYING through the stages and I beat the game for the first time with umbrella!

[@williamgaines9879]

I'm a Dualie main due to my speed agility love that Dodge roll lol

[@-astraldove-]

Exactly!! Quick charge with chargers is suuuper fun too 😭😭 it’s ridiculous how overpowered you become

[@Arc11295]

Oh man if you max out quick charge just one level of homing shots with the charger breaks the balance completely. It’s kind of bad without quick charge bc there can be so many enemies on some levels but with quick charge maxed you literally don’t have to charge it anymore, it just fires

[@Wiilio]

The chip that prevents your shield from coming off makes brella a breeze, yeah!

[@ZMYaro]

I wrote my comment before I read yours, but same! I would normally never think to choose a brella, tried it on a whim just expecting to farm Prlz that run, and ended up clearing 30F for the first time with it!

[@OrcaIguana]

As a comp player, i think the difficulty is very fair. Running hackless is actually really quite enjoyable, challenge runs are quite difficult, and the replayability is actually really good with the different weapons having totally different biases and chip loadouts. I think it really is geared towards higher end players, expecting them to actively choose difficulty, which of course leads to players trying to be absolutely optimal leading to easier gameplay and less fun unfortunately.

[@inakamoto]

I watched Prochara's play through of Side Order. He's a pro Splatoon player, and very much one of the higher ranking players in the community. On the one hand, yes, he beat Side Order on his first go, but if you were to ask him if it was easy, my assumption would be that his answer would be, "No." Like, there were moments when he was freaking out, like he felt that he might actually lose on his first run through. He was really into the gameplay, and Side Order really seemed to get his blood pumping, in the good way Bottom line, anyone who says Side Order is "easy", they are lying. It gets easier, sure, but you have to turn on quite a bit of those hacks to get to that point. Without the hacks, Side Order is grueling

[@jacksonlovesnintendo]

2:33 Wow I had the total opposite opinion about Splatoon 3’a campaign length. I felt that it was super meaty and 100% completion was ~30-hours for me. Not only that, but the production value and level designs were so consistently fantastic that I felt extremely satisfied and happy with it. At least for me, considering that the single-player campaign is a compliment to the wealth of multiplayer offerings, I am really pleased with anything over 10-hours.

[@The_MEMEphis]

Just a bunch of floating platforms in space no actual environments or sense of world

[@jacksonlovesnintendo]

@@The_MEMEphis man I totally disagree. Just because there wasn’t a “grass world” doesn’t discredit the incredibly unique concepts and visual aesthetics that colored the levels. Especially the skyscrapers and reversed skyscraper theming was so cool to me.

[@cheddarsunchipsyes8144]

@@The_MEMEphisthats part of splatoons charm. im so tired of generic campain worlds

[@20000dino]

I thought the level design was actually quite lacking, especially in comparison to Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion. I really only liked 30% of the levels on Splatoon 3’s story mode.

[@The_MEMEphis]

@@cheddarsunchipsyes8144 that is genetic it's literally as generic as you can get just the most basic level design possible

[@WeeklyMusicalShitposts]

The hack system by spending prlz makes is super easy to be really OP, even with weapons that you're not great with. I can understand if you don't think it would be fun to try to master all the weapons, but I _promise_ you can absolutely beat the tower with every weapon, no matter what your skill level after a few good permanent upgrades (and a bit of good chip luck)

[@rosemary3029]

Some people love a challenge (one life,no hacks)

[@illusive-mike]

I also thought the brella build would never work for me... and then I found the chip that stops the canopy from flying off and turned it into a roller side-grade while Pearl annihilated the enemy using a chain-reaction build. In general, I would agree that the difficulty is somewhere in the middle, where it may be hard for newcomers and too easy for top-tier players, but there are release valves on both sides. For veterans, there's an upgrade to earn more Prlz in successful runs with few upgrades and a vendor to spend them on cosmetics, while for the less experienced players the modifier stacking can get ridiculously good after some investment into hacks and with good RNG for the run. And being a few pallettes into the "post-game", it definitely feels like there's a lore bomb coming on the final run (which I'm absolutely certain will use a specific pallette that is almost certainly contained in either locker 33 or locker 36). There's one space in the bestiary where a new final boss card would fit nicely and one character with no pallette of their own...

[@KoPT01]

In terms of difficulty, the last palette you unlock adds a WHOLE other layer of challenge: each hack point you activate reduces your max color chip count by 6. So if you use five hacks or more, you can only get six color chips. But if you clear it with 4 hacks or fewer, you get a cool badge to show off.

[@jameslawrenson1208]

It was hard enough just to clear it.

[@Billigoat21]

I'm trying to beat it with no hacks, it's REALLY challenging.

[@ddnava96]

I took it to the next level and beat it with 0 hacks. It took me 10 tries but it was so satisfactory to finally beat it

[@Artista_Frustrado]

this DLC really makes me curious as to what Sploon 3 would have looked in the Timeline in which Order won the Splatfest & we had to retrieve Pearl from the Tower of Anarchy. & yeah this DLC showcases my biggest understandable gripe with the Splatoon devs, they never update the Single Player content & for some things i really wish they did

[@notoelegancko89]

I'd never call an hour of playing an ultimately unsuccessful run in say Slay the Spire, Dead Cells or Hades a waste of time, as I love every minute of it

[@omegaminoseer4539]

As someone who lost a four-hour run on a speedrun, I can tell you that NO time is ever wasted. The only time that's wasted is when you are chasing that high from being in The Flow State. It was so intense that I audibly swore; I was so close to a Top 3 Score on Lego Battles on DS. I've never had so much fun playing a game in my life.

[@dappertron]

After playing a bunch, I now desperately want a version of Salmon Run that also has a chip system like Side Order's, and every player can choose their own upgrades.

[@Antasma1]

I’ve said it would be awesome if they took the chip system and created a Splatoon equivalent of Kirby Air Ride’s City Trial or Smash’s Smash Run

[@ProChara]

This was a really fun review to watch I agreed with pretty much everything. I think more hardcore players have very little to complain about, hackless challenge runs offer extra rewards so its easy to make it more difficult and replay it. I will say as someone who doesn't do well with most classes in the game the pallets you get for them do a good job of making them more accessible, especially for stuff like charger. Its a bit rough starting out but you can upgrade into it being a lot more simple to use fast it felt like a good way to try more classes out without the difficulty they have in multiplayer.

[@user-zw3on4bx2t]

Chara watches Arlo? You don't say.

[@leolightfellow]

I love how the Splatoon games have so much hidden lore to find. For example, people have translated the fictional Splatoon alphabet and found various messages on stuff throughout the game, just like in Final Fantasy X. :)

[@decepticonsoundwave297]

The swear shirt.....

[@leolightfellow]

@@decepticonsoundwave297 Exactly! That was hilarious! :)

[@ddnava96]

Actually, Splatoon has several different alphabets, some of which have been decoded more than others

[@leolightfellow]

@@ddnava96 Interesting. I didn't know that. Makes me wonder what other messages are lying in plain sight. :)

[@ddnava96]

@@leolightfellow rassicas uploaded a 38+ min long video about the inkling language more than a year ago if you're interested in that sort of thing c:

[@Artista_Frustrado]

at this point i hope whenever Arlo gets curtains he still has the note written on them

[@darkop3191]

One of Splatoon's strongest points is the soundtrack. From the very first Splatoon to present day. Single player, multiplayer, co-op Salmon Run - doesn't matter it's a treat.

[@cloudypotato3112]

16:20 I almost 100% and I think they did a good job of putting one of the lore bombs at the end, also the random dialog on the elevator does reveal some interesting stuff.

[@Antasma1]

Which part?

[@seanbroderick2224]

Arlo is a content machine lately

[@SupremeMarioGamer]

Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is my standard-bearer for rouge(lite/like) games, so I've been unsure about Side Order since its reveal. I've only had a few dozen runs in Enter the Gungeon, & I haven't even tried Hades yet. That said, I hope it goes the Isaac route of additional updates that include new enemies, bosses, floors, challenges, etc. to really round out the package. But that's IF they add updates to Side Order at all.

[@squiddu]

Compared to Octo Expansion, this has FAR more merit for updates, I feel, and I wouldn't be surprised if a couple things are missing anyways since it looks like they might've released it early to get it out on a gimmick date (02/22)

[@SpaceLobster21]

@@squiddu yeah, I'd love to see some updates to this. At the moment, it's super fun, but it does feel a little underwhelming in terms of content.

[@FranzGu]

yea idk its still nintendo, so there is a high chance that we wont get any updates. It would love that though. Endless mode and a global leaderboard for highscores would be great

[@CheesyLizzy]

6:09 Yeah that'd be really cool 😄 At the start of the next campaign they could easily have Sheldon or someone say "Oh Marina told me all about the Pearl Drone and that sounded really helpful for battles so we built you this new drone."

[@Reen579]

Gotta love notifications

[@kyubeyz_7062]

Agreed

[@best_mate456]

I love this dlc so much. Replay it as much as possible

[@starsofskies2328]

The lore is actually expanded on the more you replay the tower and beat it with different weapons. It's small but it's a nice bit of lore and though I haven't beat it completely yet I assume the big lore drop might be at the end

[@agentboi4794]

Bro casually picks the worst octoling hair and thought we’d let it slide

[@Neoxon619]

EPD 5 has become much more cognizant about avoiding crunch over the last few years, so that would explain the multiple delays. It’s also the reason why they switch to a seasonal model for the other content in Splatoon 3 & New Horizons being pushed back to March 2020.

[@bensnacks]

I feel like you would reconsider your opinion on the value/replayability if you finished more palattes. Theres a bunch more story as you go through. I was worried about brella, sniper, and stamper, but like the first run through, the game makes the weapon so over powered with the chips that it keeps it very fun. I really hope you give another pallete a try. No spoilers, but the last locker has a really cool twist.

[@laggalot1012]

Honestly, you really should try getting out of your comfort zone. I dislike the Brush weapons, but I managed to win with it when I realised how I could take advantage of its unique strengths. You might be surprised at what you can do, and it's part of the appeal of Side Order, imo. Notable for the challenge nuts among us, you can adjust or turn off your permanent upgrades at will if you want more of a challenge, and after the first run, you unlock an additional all-or-nothing challenge setting, that multiplies awarded Pearlz depending on how many upgrades you have active (more if fewer are active), but you get nothing at all if you fail. This helps lend the game some replay value if it seems too easy. Additionally, you get a chain bonus for taking chips of the same colour consecutively, so that's another challenge you can impose on yourself for additional reward. Salmon Run performance might be a better reference for skill level, though, given how Side Order plays. Personally, I think Side Order hits a good difficulty balance. I'm X-rank worthy in every mode but Clam Blitz. I am not someone who measures difficulty by how often you hit the failstate, granted, but I really feel the tension.

[@TheNdsFan]

I like how the cookie monsters video game channel exists

[@nintendoworld62]

Man, I love splatoon

[@autismandgaming4532]

MILS

[@EliasDesAiles]

I really enjoyed the DLC. Took me about 35 hours to 100% it. There is definitely more lore to see if you complete it with more weapons, and the game makes this easier with the drone letting the combat basically happen independent of you if you really aren't feeling a certain weapon, but I suppose not everyone is gonna want to try that. It feels like a good follow-up to Octo Expansion, which I adored. I'm curious how different it may feel for someone who doesn't have that history with the characters. Glad you enjoyed it Arlo. Looking forward to seeing your thoughts on Splatoon 4 someday.

[@st1734]

the brella class has priority on drone upgrade chips. so you can make pearl really OP and she kinda plays for you with that weapon! thats the really clever thing about side order, they have very smart chip priorities for the classes. like how charger has priority on support. so charge rate, ink recovery and all that are common. you can get to a point where the charger is instant full charge and youll never run out of ink. so you can spam the hell out of it for max damage and never have to stop its insane

[@pronouncedArceus]

For those of you worried about beating the tower with weapons you dont like, I urge you to give it a chance. You can giga buff your main to the point its more broken than a grizzco weapon -- im talking 1000% fire rate luna blaster, instant charge aimbot sniper, etc

[@MegumiMary]

"no major lore revelations" um.. he did say he didn't do all the pallets so he obviously didn't read all the dev diaries and find out what the hell this whole thing was about....

[@toyfan1769]

Diary entries 👏 do 👏 not👏 substitute👏 actual 👏 stories 👏 Who cares if he didnt do all the pallets. The dlc does not have enough dialogue, content, or variations to be played over and over again, like an actual roguelike. There is no reason to repeat pallets if not for lore/cosmetic rewards. Look at Binding of Issaac, there is thousands of items, bosses, varieties, rooms, enemies, paths, story, and so much more. Splatoon doesnt have that. So, he was right. There are no "lore bombs", because hiding lore behind boring grind and in a journal entry, is not a lore bomb.

[@MegumiMary]

@toyfan1769 i didn't say it was a subsitute I just said that there were some major lore revelations in the diary entries

[@MegumiMary]

@toyfan1769 also if he doesn't want to finish all the pallets he doesn't have to I'm just pointing out that there were lore revelations but he didn't know because he didn't finish the pallets

[@rockwizard5]

so glad you mentioned the music :3

[@SpaceLobster21]

heck yeah I loved the music so much in this DLC, the first boss theme in particular is *chef's kiss*

[@Sh_Wh]

You can focus on buying all of the hacks and expanding the shop via clearing the spire if you don’t want to play with all of the pallets. There is always something to do.

[@Cronosonic]

I'd say they got the difficulty balance just about right - I'm a veteran who considers himself pretty good at the game and even with the Splattershot (which is practically easy mode) it took me a few good runs to triumph. ProChara, a _high-ranked competitive player who goes to tournaments,_ managed to beat his first run but he was a complete nervous wreck in the final stretch, lol. I wouldn't give up on the postgame just yet - half the fun for postgame runs is practicing with weapons you aren't normally good at and figuring out how to turn them into _game-breaking monsters._ With the right chip selection (and a couple of upgrades to improve the chip bias towards a palette's preferred types), a run can start feeling like you're gonna have a bad time to suddenly annihilating your enemies. Granted, my go-to-when-in-doubt game breaking strat is turning Pearl into a DPS machine, she can basically turn the game into Vampire Survivors. But specific weapons can be monsters with the right upgrades, like a Charger with a bit of auto-aim and max charge speed, or a Roller that can roll over _everything,_ or a Splatling that can practically fire forever while hurting multiple enemies with each shot. The Brella you weren't keen on using? It can be turned into an auto-shotgun with a shield that doesn't detatch and can tank a ton of damage before it breaks with a single chip, letting you play defensively while Pearl handles the damage-dealing. And some specials like Crab Tank and Booyah Bomb are not only good for damage dealing, but fantastic panic buttons to keep you alive in the event your armor gets broken and you're about to lose a life. The final palette is a challenge palette that forces you to limit your hacks (the more hacks active, the less chips you can equip), which forces you to minimize your hacks, step out of your comfort zone and put all that experience from previous runs into practice, both in terms of playing around the maps and enemies and careful prudent chip selection (it also gives you the ability to skip floors if you don't want any chips on a particular floor, but the cost increases as you go up). Thankfully, it's a splattershot-type weapon, so it's fairly balanced from the get-go.

[@imx_via]

I got to the final boss on my second run, but I did watch alot of videos on Side Order (no guides, just playthroughs) and was strategic in my color chip picks

[@loganking1392]

Gotta say, love the arlo recommends website. I was kinda on the fence about getting the pikmin collection, but I checked your recommendations and saw it wasn't on there, so I decided against it. Thanks Arlo!

[@dashyburd]

You can totally beat the spire with the brella, but you don't HAVE to use the brella! Wanna know how? Get the high Chip Bias, Floor and Vending Machine Reset hacks and enable every drone related hack you like. Pearl will eventually just do everything for you, blasting any enemy that so much as looks at you funny. :) That's the thing that keeps me coming back after clearing the tower with every weapon, asking "hmm what wacky build should I try today?". Make nuclear bombs with Splash Damage and Radius? Bring back Bomb Rush using support chips? Aimbot build with a charger? I think they did an amazing job with this DLC, at least with the difficulty and all the upgrades.

[@redDawnyy]

Despite its small amount of bosses and relatively short story, I absolutely loved Side Order. Its aesthetic, its gameplay, its music. So good. And thank you for pointing out the great sound design - Splatoon's sound design is excellent but it seems like very few people appreciate it enough to bring attention to it. Also, as someone who finished every single palette without buying hacks or retries, I don't know how to feel about a ton of people calling Side Order "easy" when they're stacking on those extra lives and other hacks. If anyone wants this campaign to be a little more difficult, push yourself and do hackless runs. It's genuinely fun.

[@nicc_nocc77]

The umbrella run is actually insanely fun though, just go for a mono drone chip build and it's essentially AFK gaming. No joke. In fact mono builds were easily the most enjoyable runs within the entire DLC!

[@splashofazure]

ive been seeing a lot of comments from the community saying that its "too easy," and while I partially agree, I dont think its the Dev's fault. for most roguelikes, there's usually a learning curve to understanding the mechanics of the game, optimizing decision making, and perfecting your performance. But Splatoon has been out for almost 9 years, and anyone who has stuck with the franchise is already beyond familiar with all of those skills, and are much more capable of beating a run with fewer handicaps. in other roguelikes ive played, It took multiple attempts to actually make decent progress because i was still learning the game, but Im so familiar with the controls,, mechanics, and enemy design of splatoon that I made it to Floor 26 on my first run ever.

[@SetsuneW]

I want them to do a compilation of the Splatoon 1-2-3 Single Player content, maybe release it as an early Switch 2 title. It'd be cool if it was a big MK Trilogy-style game with the multiplayer too, but I'd settle for all the single player campaigns and DLC.

[@BeanBeanKingdom]

I also thought I'd never do it with some weapons I'm particularly bad using, but the chips really let you build them up into something completely different from their normal specializations. I ended up having a blast with the Splatana and Blaster despite basically never using them beforehand and I cleared all 12 runs.

[@inspica380]

Did we get two back to back sponsors in one video or does arlo just really like that brand of cheese... lol

[@Gabisack]

It’s interesting that point of view on rogue likes/lites in the intro. I’m pretty big on that genre and I would compare it to my time spent playing board games. Weather it’s literally a card game like Slay the spire or an action game like Hades, Enter the Gungeon etc … You try new synergies and new ways to play the game because you get different tools to pass similar obstacles. A bit like how good board games are very replayable and you can try out new things and combinaisons every time. Just like a board game, you can win at the game and they add incentives to go back and finish it better or harder. As opposed to « classic » solo games to which I don’t go back as much, at least not right away. Often they are also shorter to « finish » because finishing it once isn’t really the goal. At least that’s why I don’t feel like I lost a ton of progress when I die in a rogue like. I do understand it can be frustrating tho which is why I prefer rogue lites over pure rogue likes.

[@naggl3s]

Even for people on lower skill levels, i highly recommend using the other weapons. For one, you unlock Marina's logs, which are the true meat of the story in my opinion, as they're basically this game's equivalent to Octo Expansion's chat logs, which added a lot of character to Cuttlefish, Marina, and Pearl. And 2, I think Nintendo added a lot of chips to make very hard weapons much easier for people who are not skilled at them. Take the charger, probably one of the most intimidating weapons for newcomers out of all of them. It has a very high chance of getting auto aim, meaning that the trouble of missing your shots are no longer a problem, and it also has a high chance of getting a chip which reduces its charge time, which just makes it a machine gun at max chip upgrades. There are definitely weapons that will be harder, but I think Nintendo designed this rougelite in such a way where you can play any weapon at any skill level.

[@arttukettunen5757]

2 things I want from side order to the real game: Piercing mechanic to some weapons in salmon run, helps especially shooters at clearing, and they have shown that they could implement piercing other than infinite piercing with chargers. The payload inking tower, but as a multiplayer mode. It would be unique enough as instead of sitting on a tower, you need to focus on inking it. The foundations are there, this new anarchy/ranked gamemode would be so nice

[@chunkymonkey7983]

8 ball as a soccer mode

[@yournerdking218]

The funny thing is brella is one of the easier weapons to use in this mode because of how stupidly powerful perl drone is

[@ebobro2175]

I really love side order! I’ve already gotten all of the weapons, which I honestly thought would’ve taken longer! I didn’t feel super frustrated every time I died and lost a run, even when one of those was on the last phase of the final boss (after I’d beat it the first time). I can easily recommend it!

[@Antasma1]

It’s plenty difficult for me. You should know get a little lore in the form of Marina’s diary and new dialogue that comes from every run. Also, investing in permanent upgrades do make them feel less like a chore, especially since going for 1 color only runs both multiplies your earnings and tend to be broken

[@aeidla]

oh arlo. youre missing out on so much of the story by not using the other pallettes and i will be real: the weapons i was most nervous to try CONSISTENTLY ended up being my funnest runs. they have specific chip upgrades only applicable to certain weapons, they get SO overpowered. you have so much reason to keep going i promise

[@ZMYaro]

Really funny that you mentioned the drella as the weapon you never wanted to try because I initially had the same thought. Then, after a failed run with the dualies, I figured I would do a Prlz-farming run with the brella, pick up some chips I usually skip, maybe get the 10F key. That run ended up being my first 30F clear. I don't know whether it was lucky chips, or they scale the difficulty for the brella's firing rate (it definitely wasn't _easy_, and I did have to use a few continues on the final boss, so I would have been dead without that upgrade), but I was absolutely astonished how doable it is with the brella.

[@theCrazyJohn]

I was having a hard time getting anywhere close to the top. I never play with the umbrella EVER, yet I used it to mess around and ended up winning with it. Every weapon has different upgrades you can get that make its “downsides” into much more fun gimmicks!!

[@Whait1min]

I actually love Acht so much!

[@ValiantPixel]

They are also one of the first non-binary Nintendo characters. It doesn’t make any difference to me but I’m sure someone out there is happy about it.

[@metaculos6068]

​@@ValiantPixelYup! I'm sure plenty of people are. I never thought nintendo would do something like this, just goes to show how much society is progressing for the better.

[@-astraldove-]

I will say that even with weapons that are harder than others, the color chips that are available to you can make them absolutely OP. For example, with the quick charge color chips, you can basically turn a charger into a shotgun 😭😭 and if you’re bad at aiming, the homing shot color chips can be super helpful as well

[@ElieDGames]

Eee I’m so glad you liked it Arlo!!! 💜

[@gravity_mxk5663]

Arlo please play the whole tower with the umbrella! It’s so fun it gives you tons and tons and tons of drone power ups it’s incredible, you just hold up the umbrella and let Pearl go super Saiyan lmao

[@lucywoomy]

Tbh the hacks (lives, damage delt, damage taken and lives) really make the difference in the difficulty. In the beginning I really had trouble but increasing the damage REALLY helped. It makes using any weapon easier, even those I’d never even touch usually. If you get bored, give it a try and upgrade your damage to try new weapons. I assure you it’s fun.

[@anubion42]

i really do recommend playing even with weapons you dont use. The chips absolutly help with weapons you're not comfortable with. I get not using the charger, or bow, at first but my first clear was with the brella because of the chips i got. Close range damage, everything melted. Not super cool with the splatling? nab some homing. ranged damage. The modes made to let you use new weapons

[@PurplIsSmugAndPlaysPVZBFN]

Aww man, if you do all of the palletes you can get Agent 8’s! This weapon is the octo shot that has a color chip limit the more hacks you have. If you have most hacks on you will be left with six color chips to use. You also get the option to skip floors if you don’t like a certain challenge selection. This is really fun and very easy so if you get the other weapons done you can do this fun end- game challenge!!!

[@doesboknow2]

Based on your thoughts here, I think you’d REALLY enjoy Hades, even if it’s also a roguelike. It gives the same permanent progression, along with classic Supergiant Games storytelling and constant incentives to work toward. I say this as someone that doesn’t play a lot of roguelikes myself for the same reasons you state.

[@Doublee73]

The single biggest and easiest change they could've done would be to add a couple more bosses and make the clone Inkling challenge its own level category. Would have been a HUGE boost to the variety of each run

[@Xenado22]

Id rather a Tall Arlo

[@MasterStacona]

there are ways you can make the brella really op, also there is a colour that lets you disable umbrella launch same with the charger can become crazy op and the weapons unlock in random order except for the last weapon is always last, there is a reason for it you will see

[@RedPandaStan]

side order can def be hard for experienced players if u self impose a no upgrades rule. i think the diff is perfect

[@chickenx777]

honestly i thought i'd never beat it with the brella, but it ended up being the weapon i used in my first successful run! first time trying out the brella too!

[@felineentity]

Please please try the other weapons. I thought i would hate running the tower with the sniper or the brella, but thanks to them attracting certain colours and the unique upgrades to them, they actually transform into really easy to use weapons. Getting a single homing shots upgrade on the sniper makes the octoling wave boss an absolute power trip. Getting ink on moving on the roller lets you roll *forever*. And you can get these upgrades fairly early. And if you really, really hate a weapon, just get some drone upgrades. Pearl wrecks house fairly quickly and you can beat the last boss without ever hitting the shoot button if you get enough chips for her.

[@anidiot4702]

he just said zoo wee mama unironically

[@TopsyTurvy686]

I feel Side Order would have been more universally appreciated if it was a replacement for the single player game and came free on launch. People who play Splatoon already get infinite replay value due to it being online. Side Order offers that same infinite replayability value proposition, but for offline singleplayer. It rounds out the game so well, but locking it behind a DLC paywall changes the expectations.

[@sweetfeathery]

I might pick up Splatoon 3 just for this dlc alone.

[@Jme_hde]

I would’ve had ZERO problems with the lack of lore and story if this came out earlier. When you make people wait literally multiple years they are going to have high expectations. I struggle to believe with how long it took them to develop the actual gameplay they couldn’t have developed more story at the same time.

[@AdondeBoy]

Hey Arlo, I also thought that trying to beat the Spire with a brella or a charger would be hell, but I tried it anyway and I can tell you they were somehow some of my favorite kits, you can also try to get chips that enhance your weapon in the ways you want, I wasn't feeling confortable with the brella on my first run but I tried to get the chips that made it a bit faster or that gave it a bit more range and stuff. It was great and I honestly think that this whole "stepping out of your confort zone" is very much intentional as the devs encourage you to try and beat every pallette

[@user-fz4jr5ix8i]

I love the final pallette though, it is the most fun way to play side order.

[@MattisticStatistic]

I really implore you to come back to this later down the line, because weapons you'd think would be weaker (Charger, Slosher etc) are some of the most busted 0-100 weapons in this game.

[@user-xc9ux3cc7r]

such a good review! I think side order deserves to be one stand alone game of itself. such a good DLC!

[@funeralpyreee]

as someone who’s already beat it with all palettes: i beat it with the charger, a weapon i am notoriously HORRIFIC at using. i beat it with the charger my first try. if you get the right chips and permanent unlocks, its definitely possible.

[@Doublee73]

The fun for experienced player is to do self-imposed challenges. I'm doing a single color run with (almost) every weapon using no hacks outside of buffing chip bias and membucks. Its really hard and really fun to dump all of your chips into one category

[@KelyxTheMage]

The brella is actually the weapon I first beat the tower on because of the Pearl Drone chips. The Brella has a bias for Pearl Drone chips and Pearl Drone gets mega busted with just a little bit of investment.

[@rosemary3029]

The tri stringer(shiver's palette)was the first weapon i beaten the tower with

[@ethannutter8982]

Arlo I cannot express enough how badly I think you need to try out the other weapons you don't like, trust me, as someone who also just likes splattershot and dualies, I gotta tell you once you start getting color chips with the other weapons it makes a WORLD of difference and makes the weapons so much fun! For instance I picked the brella knowing I wasn't good with it, and the upgrades I got with the color chips made me feel unstoppable and it ended up being one of my favorite runs! Same with the roller. You GOTTA try it!

[@rosemary3029]

I wasn't good with the tri stringer but i beaten the final boss with it

[@imx_via]

.Personally I have come to love it as a replayable small handheld type game, something I can play when I have a few minutes ("a few" being 2-20), like a 3ds kind of experiance

[@Shroomiton_]

14:58 I beat my 3rd run with the umbrella, and the times before it I lost with the dueles and splattershot lol

[@MikeyInsanity]

Heh, Brella was actually the weapon I beat the campaign with. And it's not even a weapon I normally use, it just felt "appropriate" considering the character it's associated with. I've since also beat with the Splattershot and Heavy Splatling.

[@sunchaser117]

This video is a good explanation of the DLC for those who have not purchased it yet.

[@AnimalPuff]

Let me add on to the list of people here telling you this: even if you suck at other weapons, Side Order makes it much easier to get somewhere with them. It helps to go for chips that will cover what you're worried about, or just keep in mind how you think a weapon works and build to make it fit you more. Plus certain weapons will show you certain chips specific to them, which makes picking chips easier It'll take a little bit of doing, but if you're at all interested in seeing more of the story or even just giving yourself a pat on the back for finishing a run with a weapon you're not great at, you'll probably be able to do it

[@little.prince]

Dang- I really wanted to see that splatoon 3 review

[@mysryuza]

The first night I played this game, the game was so painful to go through that I vented on my post. Day/Night 2 on the 22nd, I tried again and managed to get through it the first time… with Brella. After that, it somehow felt easier when I returned to the Order Shot and Dualies (may have been the hacks but idk), I found myself dying less in the hard levels (I didn’t run on one life, but idc), and paid more attention to the difficulty and type of challenge. Now, I’m just SLAYING the levels. The drone chip buffs makes Pearl special spam and omg the ink speed, range, damage, and piercing buffs feel so convenient. Pearl ended up fighting way more aggressively than I am lol. The “Runners” and “Infinity ball” levels are ones I recommend tackling as freebie levels. The last palette with escort trying to get up the spiraling tower thing… it was the most painful thing in this game because I had only 6 chips. More painful than Brella, Charger, and Splatling. I’m surprised it took me only a day to get through the story, and merely a few days for me to complete the palette. I think it’s good for training before you head over to Salmon Run without worrying about losing your rank.

[@naomii_star]

15:01 the brellas actually fairly easy if u gwt the chip that makes in not shoot like the undercover brella

[@HaxHaunter]

i think you're missing out if you do not try out all other weapons even if you are not used to them.+ keep in mind, the upgrades you get from the palettes will make your weapons a lot stronger and better than what you may be used to from their base versions. you might get surprised if you try out the Charger for example and how with the right palettes you can trivialize even bossfights. I recommend to really give it a try a couple more times and you might get surprised and want to dive into the tower more.

[@Next0gen0]

I've oficially completed the DLC 100% with All weapon's, and I gotta say it was one Awesome experience. I'm not the person who cleared the tower on the first one, but the 3rd one. So I'm decently good for not playing the game in so long. With that said, the difficulty defiantly ramps up near the end when you unlock a certain something that I won't spoil. Sufficed to say it's the equivalent of beating an optional boss in a Soul's game. Overall I felt like the DLC was a Great experience and definitely worth the price tag, with a ton of fun challenge's and potential for sooooo much future content idea's. Imagine this, but with a Co-op experience like Salmon Run. My biggest complaint's about Salmon Run is that it is fun, but gets to repetitive after awhile, and the difficulty make's it too hard to jump back into after awhile away from it. This could fix both those problem's in a future Splatoon game. Heck, it could probably be a Game by itself. My only complaint is, STOP RELEASING EVERY GAME IN FEBRUARY! There Are Other Month's In The Year!

[@kirbo4218]

personally the take on kinda reaching “the end of a game” because you don’t want to try other weapons isn’t a great one; the DLC makes the other weapons veryyy flexible and you never know till you give it a try

[@20000dino]

Exactly. I found that take pretty annoying lmao.

[@xplax24]

I was worried that I would suck with most weapon types since I main N-Zap, but I was surprised how right color chip upgrades make everything so overpowered. Charger is particularly OP when upgraded, but I had the most fun with range and fire-rate upgraded Splatana.

[@hege1316]

I hate umbrellas, but decided to try it for earning key or two. Beat the first run with it. It became so good with the upgrades.

[@doge229]

Regarding some of the weapons that you may not be comfortable with: You'd be surprised at how fun they can be when you get the right color chips with them. As you get close to maxing out your hacks, you'll basically be able to force the game to give you what you need to become OP as hell by the time you reach the second boss of the run.