Hello I didn’t pay attention to the direct after the Splatoon announcement so I took pictures.
So Wave 2 of the Splatoon 3 DLC pass will revisit the Inkopolis however as you can tell not everything is the same. This will definitely be another story mode campaign that will have agent 8 as the main character. There were many images that flashed that I took pictures of and I’ll review each one.
As you can see the Square is much different than what it was in Splatoon 2 whether this is the actual Square in its current state or a alternate version (like how we saw it recreated in that one level in Octo Expansion) is to be determined. The Lobby is replaced with this manor like building which I suspect will be the sort of hub area between the levels. Other than that the décor shows a lot of coral-like structures particularly dead coral that have been bleached by chemicals like we see in IRL oceans. This may tie to the central theme of the story where chemicals are affecting the world and the creatures of the campaign.
Here we see 8 sporting new gear for this new journey. The Splattershot looks more like a rifle with a stock and an extended barrel which might imply upgrades like in the Alterna Campaign. She also has another device in the other hand which might be a fizzy bomb or a new sub altogether. There's a multicolored device chained to her waist but the use of this item is unknown. There are also a lot of elevator themes which may be how 8 will travel between levels and the hub in the main plaza.
These shots of 8 I believe are taken in the same place, this large room with weird black pillars, bleached walls and floors with red veins spreading like ivy. Agent 8 may still be recovering from the events of Octo Expansion as we know from the mem cakes she experienced great loss of her previous life before the metro station which may come back to haunt her.
This shot suggests this as this may be a flashback to when she was still an octoling in the octarian army surrounded by her peers before losing them in the metro.
This shot is very interesting as it shows the visage of an inkling (noted by their pointed ears). This could by Captain 3 since Agent 8 had ties with them in Octo Expansion. However it could also be Agent 4 since canonically 8 and 4 are roommates and an appearance of the captain would be slim given how they are currently in Splatsville at this point in time.
This image seems very important as it was mostly shrouded in darkness in the trailer, however when brightened it gave me no clues on what this figure is. A device of sort that may be the cause of the bleaching in the Plaza or some entity that may be important.
Lastly we know that Pearl and Marina will be tied to this story. The two shots here show them in their outfits they had in their most recent collab with Damp Socks. What is to note is that Pearl has her shades down and her eyes not showing, may be implicating that it may be some form of hypnoshades. Marina is showing to be glitching out as if were seeing her through a messed up monitor. Hopefully this campaign will go more into their relationship and the events that happened after the Final Fest in Splatoon 2.
My personal predictions/theories
With the themes of coral bleaching and ties to Octo Expansion and the Order side of the Final Fest. I think we are revisiting some form of sanitized ink concept.
With the Kamabo Corporation in shambles in the epilogue and the Tartar's creations being salvaged, there could be some entity that might have got their hands on some sanitized ink and done experiments on it like Grizz did with the color crystals, refining it and altering it to suit their needs.
Pearl and Marina's involvement with the events of Octo Expansion would connect them to this story (also y'know the Plaza itself has heavy ties to Off the Hook overall).
I'm hoping. HOPING that we see more 4 content and that the inkling was indeed 4 because there isn't nearly enough representation than with 8 or Captain.
In the mem cakes in Octo Expansion, we know that 8 also had a friend and I'm hoping that picture of the other octolings is a sign that we'll be going in-depth with this aspect of 8.
nothing quite replicates the feeling of being a high school freshman on the receiving end of tenuous advice from seniors quite like perusing the posts in the splatoon lobby