All the Splatoon lore you need to know before Splatoon Raiders

If you’ve only ever interacted with Splatoon from a casual distance, it may seem like there’s not much story to Nintendo’s multiplayer series. You’re a kid-squid who shoots ink guns. What more is there to know? Anyone who has followed the series closely for the past decade, though, will tell you that Splatoon has some of the richest, weirdest lore in all of video games.

That detail is relevant to know before you jump into Splatoon Raiders, the shooting series’ first single-player-focused game. While most of its emphasis is on treasure hunting, there’s a lot of worldbuilding nestled into collectible scrolls. (You’ll learn all about the economic crisis plaguing Splatsville, for instance.) Even if you don’t need to know much about previous games to enjoy Splatoon Raiders, it’s still worth diving into one of Nintendo’s strangest worlds. Hang on tight as I walk you through a history lesson that only dips below the surface.

The Switch 2 exclusive is a full-blown looter shooter that goes way deeper than you'd expect

The human apocalypse

Image: Nintendo

Despite its vivid color palette, Splatoon is a pitch-black post-apocalyptic story. 12,000 years in the past, humanity found itself doomed thanks to an environmental crisis. The sea levels began to rise, and the government refused to deal with it properly. (Thank God that’s only science-fiction… right? Right?) A series of natural disasters — or a manmade one, potentially caused by a bomb destroying Antarctica — left the world underwater. Humans had no choice but to escape to underground domes, including a megastructure dubbed Alterna, while others escaped to space on the Ark Polaris.

A scientific project kicked off in hopes of allowing the quickly-dwindling humans to return to Earth’s surface one day. Research began into liquid crystals found in squids’ bodily fluids that contain some kind of psychic power! An AI was created to pass knowledge down to future generations! A professor made his cat, Judd, immortal and cryogenically froze it for science!

Unfortunately, none of those innovations could save the human race. Alterna’s leaders set up an extinction moment by creating a rocket called the Spirit Lifter, which was meant to take humans back to the surface. Every last human tragically died when a test launch accidentally ignited the liquid crystals kept in Alterna.

I swear to God that this is actually what happens in this Nintendo series.

Squid-kids, rise up

Image: Nintendo

After humanity’s demise, the world lay mostly dormant for 10,000 years. The water levels eventually receded, and nature began to regrow. But the aftermath of the Alterna incident had major repercussions on evolution: the liquid crystals were swept into the seas and ingested by underwater critters, who inherited the human traits contained within the supernatural stones.

Long story short, sea creatures eventually rose up to the Earth’s surface and began to walk on land. That included an evolved squid considered to be the missing link that led to the Inklings we know in Splatoon. Another race descended from octopi, the Octarians, also rose during this time. Thus kicked off the Mollusc Era, as the early Inklings settled in the area surrounding Alterna. That area came to be known as the Splatlands, which is where Splatoon 3’s story takes place. Several cities were eventually founded, including Inkopolis and Splatsville.

There are two other important details of note during this era. One is that the crew of the Ark Polaris attempted to drive the ship back to Earth after sustaining damage, but were left drifting in orbit for 10,000 years instead. Also, Judd the cat was freed from his cryogenic tube. Yes, that last detail is actually important.

The Great Turf War and its aftermath

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Despite humanity’s best efforts to keep future generations from repeating history, the sea levels once again rose. Octarian and Inkling relations went south quickly as the two races began fighting over the limited land left. Thus began The Great Turf War. A tense back and forth nearly saw the Octarians reigning supreme thanks to the creation of Great Octoweapons, evil machines that act as bosses, but the Inklings eventually turned the tide and won the war. The Octarians are forced to live underground in abandoned human shelters, while the Inklings enjoy an age of prosperity thanks to the birth of the electricity-producing Great Zapfish.

How do you commemorate a historic victory? By turning war into sport, of course! Turf Wars (the series’ primary multiplayer mode that has players inking territory) become a national pastime. Judd (yes, the cat) becomes the judge for these battles, for some reason, while rising celebrities Callie and Marie become Inkopolis News anchors who cover Turf Wars. Music becomes a way of life, commerce thrives, and all is well and good in the world of Inklings.

Well, mostly. During this time, the Octarians get their revenge by stealing the Great Zapfish. The New Squidbeak Splatoon is established to get back the stolen fish from Octo Valley. This sets up Splatoon’s single-player campaign, where Agent 3 rescues the Zapfish, fights the Great Octoweapons, and imprisons the dastardly DJ Octavio. Two years later, the Great Zapfish is stolen by the Octarians once again and Callie goes missing, setting up Splatoon 2’s single-player campaign. Agent 4 is recruited to solve both problems, once again thwarting DJ Octavio and freeing Callie from his mind control.

We also learn that humanity’s AI has gone haywire after sitting dormant for 12,000 years. It’s now known as Commander Tartar, and it wants to destroy all life on Earth, so it establishes the Kamabo Corporation and starts harvesting DNA from test subjects in hopes of creating a new race that will take out Inklings. Agent 8 thwarts the machine in Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion with the help of Marina and Pearl, another celebrity duo on the rise.

Salmonids and Mammalians

Splatoon Raiders

Image: Nintendo

If you’re wondering how any of this ties into Splatoon Raiders, we’re almost there. First, just know that the Ark Polaris eventually returns to Earth before Splatoon 2 begins and everyone onboard dies except for a bear test subject who became intelligent while floating in space. When it gets to Earth, he takes the name Mr. Grizz, and forms Grizzco Industries. The company’s goal is to harvest Golden Eggs. Inklings take shifts at the company defeating waves of Salmonids, a fishy race that migrates to Inkopolis every 70 years.

But before that, there’s Splatoon 3’s Return of the Mammalians campaign. The Great Zapfish goes missing again, but it turns out DJ Octavio isn’t the culprit. It’s actually Mr. Grizz, who is on a mission to make mammals Earth’s dominant species again by covering the planet in Fuzzy Ooze — something he needs to get on a Golden Egg-powered rocket to pull off. An Inkling in the Splatlands saves the day with the help of Deep Cut, a pop music trio, and all is well.

That’s a long walk-up to Splatoon Raiders considering that you don’t need to know much of this. All that you need to know is that Deep Cut heads to the Spirhalite Islands with an Inkling mechanic. They all wind up stranded after a storm and left fighting off Salmonids as they search for treasure. There’s a lot more lore to discover in the full game that deepens Inkling history, but you can find that for yourself when you dive into Splatoon Raiders.