Side Order

Side Order is an upcoming single-player campaign mode comprising Wave 2 of the paid downloadable content. It was revealed through a teaser trailer during the February 2023 Nintendo Direct and is scheduled to release Spring 2024. The mode is intended to be highly replayable.

Story
The mode takes place in "what has become of" Inkopolis Square, the main hub of, in "what would've happened" if Team Order had beaten Team Chaos.

Agent 8 wakes up to find Inkopolis Square is suddenly drained of color and uninhabited. They are challenged to ascend the Spire of Order, which has mysteriously replaced the Deca Tower that once stood there. Pearl is also met in Inkopolis Square, shown accompanying Agent 8 and assisting them in combat, interacting with them through a drone-like robot, the Pearl Drone. Inside the Spire of Order, the player is allowed to transcend between various floors which rewards them with tokens and enhanced abilities upon completion.

The missions take place in a factory-like facility missions where an unknown species of creatures that resemble robotic fish serve as enemies.

Acht, also known as Dedf1sh, appears to travel between Floors alongside Agent 8 inside an elevator within the Spire of Order.

Characters

 * Agent 8

Teaser
A teaser trailer revealing Side Order was shown in the February 2023 Nintendo Direct. The teaser trailer features a slow pan across a dull, stark white version of Inkopolis Square from, focusing on an unknown Octoling character. The Octoling wears their hair in the Tentacurl hairstyle, their ink color is a faded brown, and they are dressed in a short-sleeved white jumpsuit with matching white knee-high boots, as well as a thin, translucent brace on their left forearm. Throughout the trailer, various cryptic static images and short clips briefly flicker on-screen; the images primarily depict the Octoling in strange bright white locations, as well as Off the Hook, while the clips seemingly depict biological components such as cells, blood, and organs. The ground appears to be coated in a thick layer of snow or bleached coral and bits of snow/coral-like specks can also be seen floating in the distance. Branches of presumed dead or bleached coral are present throughout the plaza. Deca Tower looks significantly different in its blanched-out state, resembling a normal building with various billboards affixed to it rather than a battle tower. The tower's entrance is entirely different, and the Great Zapfish is absent from its resting spot. A swarm of fish-like objects "swim" around the Octoling towards the end.

A dull, slightly out-of-tune music box melody with steady electronic percussion accompanies the teaser, which slowly grows more intense; towards the end, someone can be heard speaking.

Trailer
A Side Order trailer was shown in the September 2023 Nintendo Direct. In it, the Octoling is shown in an updated version of the dull, stark white version of Inkopolis Square alongside the Pearl Drone, a drone resembling Pearl. The Octoling's ink color is significantly paler then in the previous trailer. The Octoling is seen descending into a factory-like facility via a grappling attachment on the Pearl Drone while carrying a new type of Dualies. Octopus-themed trinkets are shown encased within clear block packaging on an assembly line.

A stage with prominent white walls, black ink on the ceiling and a series of ascending lift chairs is shown, focusing on an inky, black orb-shaped mechanism; after a moment, black coral effects burst from the mechanism, and many fish-like mechanical creatures with red eyes and see-through gelatinous components burst out. The Octoling is then shown in a dark area lit up by bright yellow strings of Matrix-style code, and the same Dualies from before materialize in their hands. The fish-like creatures are shown moving in a new, dimly lit grey facility area with prominent pipes overhead. The Octoling is shown descending via the Pearl Drone onto a pyramid-shaped stage where the fish-like creatures, bursting out of a black orb mechanism, begin to attack them; as the Octoling attacks, damage markers are shown on screen. The scene abruptly cuts to the Pearl Drone flourishing then posing, then to the Octoling approaching the unknown tower in place of Deca Tower, then to more combat gameplay. The scene changes once more to show a suspended in air white block crumbling in Inkopolis Plaza, then to a pan of the metal pipe system seen before, now with more visibility on the black greeble effect seen on them.

The Octoling is then shown across from an elevator alongside the Pearl Drone, seemingly inside the facility; Dedf1sh is revealed to be a passenger on the elevator as its doors open. The Pearl Drone animatedly assumes she is a threat, loudly commanding "Sic 'em, Eight!", revealing that the thus unknown Octoling is Agent 8, to which Dedf1sh explains she isn't an enemy. Inside the elevator, Dedf1sh introduces herself with her first name Acht, noting that she and Marina "go way back", then hands the Pearl Drone a color chip, suggesting they place it inside a Palette. Agent 8 is shown placing the color chip into a Launchpad-like controller panel via snapping it in place, leading into a "Floor Selection" screen, then a skill tree screen. Agent 8's Dualies are shown to have a Curling bomb and Reefslider kit, while the Pearl Drone is equipped with a Splat bomb. Agent 8's ink color tint changes between the menu screens shown, instead having a prominent blue tint. Gameplay footage of different Floors is then shown; in some of them, Agent 8 is equipped with additional visor and antenna-like gear as well as holograph-like extensions of their Dualies, and the Pearl Drone is seen locking on to targets. A can with Marina's logo on its packaging can be seen during a combat clip.

The footage then cuts to a clip of Agent 8's octopus ghost entering a crystalized shell resembling their form, seemingly spawning into a stage. After a cut to black, Agent 8 is shown running in slow motion alongside the Pearl Drone towards a very large six-tiered mechanical contraption; each of its tiers has separate types of protruding components and spins independently of the others. After another cut to black, the mode's name is shown with glitch effects alongside the black coral effects.

The trailer opens with the same musical box tune heard in the teaser trailer, then cuts to a slow paced electronic glitch song with prominent industrial percussion. Midway, the song swaps for a more intense eletronic song, then at the end into a different slow, echoed song.

After the trailer was shown, the unknown tower was revealed to be named the Spire of Order, and the mode's release date was stated as Spring 2024.

Following the trailer's release, an official Japanese website went online.

Quotes
"As for the second wave, we're flummoxed! What is that strange tower? Why has everything turned white and ghostly? What's on that Octoling's mind? We're going to get to the bottom - or maybe the top - of this, so stay tuned for further updates on our research."

- @SplatoonNA on Twitter

"A new single-player campaign called Side Order super jumps to the Splatoon 3 game in the second wave of this DLC. See what has become of Inkopolis Square, the central area featured in the Splatoon 2 game!"

- eShop description

"Challenge yourself to a new single-player campaign, Side Order! See what has happened to Inkopolis Square from the Splatoon 2 game, and what would've happened if Order thwarted Chaos to rule the city!"

- Official DLC webpage

"As Agent 8, you wake up to discover Inkopolis Square has been drained of colour and its residents have gone missing. Alongside a drone who claims to be Off the Hook member Pearl, ascend the floors of the Spire of Order and strengthen your abilities as you climb the tower in a single-player experience that’s designed to be replayed over and over!"

- Official UK DLC webpage

Teaser images
Throughout the teaser trailer for the mode, several cryptic static images flash on screen very briefly.

Trivia

 * Side Order marks the second DLC to feature Agent 8 supported by Off the Hook, the first of which was.
 * Side Order marks the second time a musician has been interactive in-game, the first being Harmony.

Etymology
A side order is another term for a side dish, a food item meant to accompany a larger main item as part of a meal. The title is a pun on the mode being a side story about Team Order, the Splatfest team lead by Marina that lost the Final Fest in.