Key



"Gotta have a orange to open that !"

- Cap'n Cuttlefish

Keys are mechanics in Octo Valley and Octo Canyon. Keys, upon being collected, can unlock vaults to allow the player to progress. Keys are typically hidden inside a crate or dropped by an Octotrooper.

Description
Keys appear similar to typical keys, excluding the fact that they are roughly the same size as an Inkling's head. The top, curved portion resembles a crab with interlocked claws raised above its head, while the lower portion more closely mimics its real-life counterpart, being a long, narrow cylinder with teeth protruding at various intervals. They are gold in color.

Usage
Players can collect a key by walking or swimming up to it. Upon collection, keys appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen as a small icon. They can be used to unlock vaults, which typically conceal important game mechanics such as launchpads. When a key is used to unlock a vault, it disappears from the bottom-right corner of the screen and briefly floats in the air in front of the vault, before shrinking and disappearing altogether. If the player gets splatted with the key before opening the vault, they will lose the key.

In Octo Canyon, keys can also unlock a glass box that has an Industrial Squee-G inside.

Trivia

 * The crab design comes from the fact that the Japanese word for "key" (かぎ, or kagi) sounds similar to the word for "crab" (かに, or kani).