The Alterna Logs unlocked by completing each region reveal these environments to be the fragmented memories of a long-dead humanity brought to life through unique crystal domes built underground. Each stage in Return of the Mammalians is set in an abstract space except the final Wily's Castle-style gauntlet, so puzzle elements are free-floating among upside-down cityscapes or broken computer graphics. Very few of these missions use wholly unique assets Splatoon 3 gets a lot of mileage out of clever block and enemy placement, seeing how each weapon can interact with stage hazards like conveyor belts or Octozeppelins. Sometimes players will be asked to draw patterns with their Inkbrush, destroy crates to match a whale sculpture, fully coat a Moai statue using a paint bucket, and more. For example, one mission creates a giant robot to climb using switches and moving blocks. However, the diversity on offer with each stage's goal is vastly expanded beyond the typical run-and-gun enemy gauntlets or stage gimmick showcase from popping balloons on rails to crossing gaps with soaker blocks that expand when inked. RELATED: A Legend of Zelda 2D Dungeon Maker May Work Well as a Mobile Game How Splatoon 3 Level Elements Could be Edited TogetherĮvery level in Return of the Mammalians is built around specific weapons or special techniques (though many offer more challenging weapon variants).

These diverse tasks and Splatoon's abstract mission layouts are perfect for iteration, and opening things up to players would add a lot of creativity. Splatoon 3's story begins similarly before the tutorial area is revealed to be subterfuge, opening into a more mission-based system around the land of Alterna that's comparable to Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion DLC. Those story modes set players on a journey to rescue the Great Zapfish from DJ Octavio, typically by completing platforming stages designed to teach how each weapon type works.

Return of the Mammalians is a big step up from its predecessors, Splatoon's Octo Valley and Splatoon 2's Octo Canyon. Plenty more Nintendo franchises could support level editors akin to Super Mario Maker, but Splatoon 3's story mode offers a strong case for Inklings to get their own custom creation platform. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening remake included a basic dungeon editor, but this was mostly in service of extra objectives rather than creating a community resource. Nintendo opened the floodgates for potential level editors with the release of Super Mario Maker on Wii U, though it hasn't really tapped into that idea beyond a Switch sequel in 2019.

Mario maker level editor