What Are They? Can We Stop Them?!

'''What Are They? Can We Stop Them?!' is the 4th level in Splatoon 3's'' story mode, Return of the Mammalians.

Access
After walking down the corridors leading past the second kettle, the player will encounter a drop-off. Jumping off of said drop-off will bring them to the third kettle, and the drop-off after that leads to the kettle for this stage. The player must make sure to clear out any Fuzzy Ooze in their way, but they should have enough Power Eggs to do so if they completed the first three levels.

Checkpoint 1
Breaking the Crates in the player's path leads to a long, wide corridor with Octotroopers scattered throughout. The player can make use of the ink in their color spread around in thin trails to maneuver around the enemies, popping out occasionally to splat their foes if they so choose. Walls will pop out of the ground after a few seconds of traveling forward, and the player can use them as cover from any opposing fire. Near the end of the premade ink trail, pillars will begin rising out of the ground, including one with an Octarian on top of it. They player should be sure to splat this Octotrooper before it gets too high up to reach, and they can always throw Smallfry if their main weapon can't reach. An Octotrooper or two may be hiding behind some of these pillars, and it's always important for the player to check behind them. Once all the enemies in the area are taken care of, a walkway made of grates will be lowered down with some more Octarians below. If the player has a Splashdown charged, they can jump off of the walkway and activate it to splat the enemies with ease. If not, attacking from above with the Hero Shot or throwing Smallfry as a distraction is always a good option.

After these enemies are defeated, a pillar will rise out of the ground, with the top of it eventually touching the platform leading to the next section of the level. The player should ink a path up the pillar to the dash track on the closest side and ride the track to the top, where they can walk along the corridor to a checkpoint.

Final Checkpoint
After the corridor with the checkpoint is passed, the player is dropped off of a ledge into a room full of Octotroopers hiding behind pillars. The Hero Suit's Recon ability can help the player to scope out any sneaky Octarians when hiding in ink, and Smallfry can attack crates while the player splats enemies for a less backtrack-y time. There is armor in the crate just to the left of the area with the checkpoint, which the player should be sure to pick up. The pillars in the area can be used both for cover and as a vantage point to get the high ground on the Octotroopers. Pillars will begin to rise out of the ground again after all the area's Octarians have been defeated, and the player can ink the nearest one and climb it to get to the next part of the level. Inking the pillar as it rises and using a Squid Surge to reach the top is a fast way to ascend to the ceiling. Atop the ceiling are several Octotroopers standing between the player and the Zapfish. The player can choose to splat them or simply swim past to grab the Zapfish and finish the stage.

Quotes
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S3 Icon Cuttlefish.png Cuttlefishgreen
"This place is packed with Octarians! Take aim, and then take 'em out!"

"Heads up, Agent 3...your special gauge is full. You can press to activate a orange!"

"You might make good use outta those walls. See if you can get any closer..."

"Ba-BAM! Way to make a mess!"

"Your orange special is ready for action again. Press when you wanna make a splash!"

"You thinking of just jumpin' in there? Be careful..."

"Try pressin' to throw your orange and distract 'em!"

"Nice inking! Looks like you activated some kinda pillar..."

"Looks free and clear up ahead...and that sets off my alarm bells! Be careful, Agent 3!"

"Ha! I knew it. That won't be the last of 'em. You can count on that. Stay on your toes!"

"There's always at least one more hidin' out... That's a Cuttlefish guarantee!"

"Well done! Looks like you got a whole mess of pillars movin'."

"You're on a roll! Nicely done, Agent 3. That oughta be the last kettle, but...do you see anything else that looks fishy around here?"
 * After the mission:

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