Game:

Splatoon (2015)

Duration: 9:02

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2

Well, we're back... and every Octoling stage is necessarily followed by an Octostriker stage, looming over some part of Inkopolis with a massive UFO, raining indiscriminately colorful devastation from on high to anything that dares move under its watchful eye.

Are... we still going to pretend this is a secret war against an unknown foe to be laughed off as the mad ravings of an old man who lives in a sewer grate? ... ... ...probably.

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21. Unwelcome Flying Object
~ Underpass Infiltration ~

Whoa! Wow! This is incredible! ... ... ...how long has it been since I've SEEN the original Urchin Underpass? Well, not the original-original one, since this one has been modified for the invasion's sake... I mean, it LOOKS like it's got a bunch of barricades as if to repel invaders (the logo on them looks like the same as for organized ink sports in Inkopolis, too!), but it's more an obstacle to us than anything else... When you've got a flying saucer with a tubby infinite-Inkstrike-happy mad bomber with total oversight of the battlefield, I guess "strategy" doesn't much matter anymore. (Too bad for them that this is such an incredibly lazy invasion force otherwise.)

It's just weird seeing this place looking as it used to, almost like an underpass of sorts instead of... I don't even know what to call what it is now. That said, the new Underpass is way more fun to play on, the original version's apparent greater authenticity as a believable locale doesn't really matter much by comparison. Then again, what IS this thing supposed to be, really? It's... an "underpass"... but where's the OVER-pass it's under? There's... like, the remains of something hanging over the central area, but it's mostly just some trusses with nothing on top, right? Is that something in common with Bluefin Depot, being the reclaimed REMAINS of an underpass? ...er... what's underneath the remains of an overpass?!

In that case, using it as a Turf War sporting event location feels all the more appropriate, I guess, whether it looks like an actual urban environment or not...

Oh what? The invasion? Nah, no problems there! These guys are all pushovers! (Especially since I upgraded my Splat Bombs to be absolutely ridiculously wide-ranged explosives...

Actually, on that note, there seems to have been some speculation that I've been overly reliant on our various bombs, when a much simpler and more direct run-and-gun approach would be more effective... which is what I'd expect from seasoned veterans of more traditional shooter games, but not from those who fancy Splatoon as their first big step into a severely restrictive and beginner-unfriendly genre!

No, I do believe they're onto something, though... because it's almost comical even to me, watching these unfold from so long ago. That said, I wouldn't change a thing, because I can sympathize most heavily with Agent 3's more questionable actions... well, except the ones on the Tumbling Splatforms, I guess, that was some loony nonsense right there. Stop screwin' around, bucko!

I think I must've mistaken this whole mode as something of a stealth-puzzle sort of activity, a weird combination of Mario Galaxy and Metal Gear, albeit with a healthy coat of squid-kid-friendly paint plastered overtop. The game itself seems to encourage you to use your greater range advantage over various skittish Octarian enemies that will respond directly to your presence and proximity to bombs, so I would argue that I'm only doing exactly what the game's own feedback has directly encouraged me to... even if the extent of overreaction is rather extreme.

No case exemplifies this though pattern more than the presence of an Octostriker, who really WILL attack you indiscriminately for poking your squidly little head out of the ink long enough to get a lock, no matter where you are. Thus, my standard tactic of advancing in the wake of setting a path with a Seeker to test the waters and to provide a handy route forward might seem a bit excessive in normal conditions, it might actually be justified if failing to do so for an uncertain duration will bring down the veritable cephalopod-made hammer of the inky gods on high. Though... my lapses in coverage also point out that the Octostriker is a pretty lousy shot and his leading aim could use some finer tuning. (Then again, when YOU fire an Inkstrike, it's not so easy to aim for moving targets, is it?)

Fortunately, somewhat like the first visit to Bluefin Depot or our stopover to splat some Octolings at the Skatepark, the location of the Sunken Scroll can be rather intuitively narrowed down based on where you can and can't go and where you'd be least likely to bother going, so it wasn't too hard to figure out on the fly.

...jeez, that Octostriker didn't stand a chance! The environment looked like it could've been the most annoying variation yet, but I guess it doesn't matter now!

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