10 Video Game Villains That Became Heroes In The Sequel

Despite its cute art style and colorfully messy gameplay, Splatoon is actually filled with a lot of dark undertones. For starters, the game takes place thousands of years after humans have gone extinct due to polluting their own planet, and its adorable squid protagonists are constantly at war with another species of the villainous Octolings.

The original Splatoon paints (no pun intended) the Octolings as a group of brainwashed and fiercely loyal soldiers that are indoctrinated by their evil octopus overlord to fight in his wars against the Inklings (yes, we’re still talking about the game where you splash people with paint). Through the entire single-player campaign, you fight the Octoling soldiers until you finally reach the finale, where the Inkling idols, the Squid Sisters, perform a song so amazing that it creates a spark of revolution amongst the Octoling-kind.

This moment becomes the foundation for Splatoon 2’s DLC, the Octo Expansion, which introduces new playable Octolings, freed from their overlord’s propaganda and ready to fight against his regime.

Of course, it’s still all done with buckets of paint and squirt guns, but considering all this convoluted lore, it’s nice to know their splashtastic fun isn't part of some bizarre dictatorship.