Sponge



"Sponges! Watch for shrinkage..."

- Agent 1

Sponge Blocks are a mechanic in Splatoon and Splatoon 2's single-player modes, Octo Valley and Octo Canyon, serving as platforms and sometimes barriers. They can even be found in some Splatoon 2 multiplayer stages.

In Splatoon
Sponge Blocks begin as tiny yellow cubes suspended in the air. They rapidly expand when hit by Agent 3's Ink, but shrink when hit by Octarian Ink, making a unique rubbery sound in either case. They have small lights on the corners, which light up in the player's color ink when expanding and purple when being shrunk by Octarians. They become completely covered with Agent 3's Ink no matter how or where they are shot, making it quite easy to swim on them in squid form. In early missions, Sponge Blocks are located over safe surfaces and have few distractions, but later on they are usually over bottomless pits and are surrounded by enemies, requiring careful travel.

In Splatoon 2
Sponge Blocks make a return in Splatoon 2, serving the same function as in the first game. This time around, though, Sponge Blocks can come in different shapes and sizes than before.

Like Inkrails, they can be found in some multiplayer maps, primarily in the redesigned Port Mackerel (they can be found in other maps like Sturgeon Shipyard). In multiplayer, Sponge Blocks start out as one team's color and cannot change colors during a match. They also take more ink to inflate.

Tips

 * In Splatoon, one Burst Bomb immediately inflates a Sponge Block to its maximum size. This can be a useful option in a pinch because of its speed.

In Splatoon
Sponge blocks are also part of the fifth area in Octo Valley.
 * Floating Sponge Garden
 * Unwelcome Flying Object
 * Spongy Observatory
 * Enter the Octobot King!

In Splatoon 2

 * Port Mackerel
 * Sturgeon Shipyard