Some fans of Splatoon 3 are creeped out at the transformation process of the Inkling depicted on the back of the game's box art. The game's playable Inklings and Octolings can shapeshift in-between a squid and kid forms, which allow for players to either swim through the ink that's on the ground or run on land. The process of going through these two forms has been depicted in past Splatoon games before through concept art, but some fans are seeing the transformation for the first time and are calling the process creepy.
The Inklings being able to shift between kid or squid forms is an integral part of the game, but the characters are commonly seen covered in ink before they turn into one form or the other. The development process of Inklings was also shown in the first game, showing that they grow up from a tiny squid into a full Inkling. Splatoon 3 shows how they transform in-between these two, as well as showing the middle stage when going from one to the other.
This middle stage is on certain copies of Splatoon 3, with some noting that the art might be missing depending on which region or version of the game that was bought. In any case, the middle stage of the Inkling transformation shows them reforming from the ink, with all four limbs also there. The Inkling's head also is more squid-shaped like the form it is shifting from, though the bottom tentacles are also still hanging down. Once the Inkling's kid form is complete, their clothes also appear on them as well from the ink, along with their hairstyle and weapon.
This piece of art has been seen before the game's launch, but that hasn't detered players from commenting on how creepy it looks at first glance. Some fans commented that the process reminded them of how Inklings shifted from their Squid form when Splatoon was first shown off, with early footage showing the Inklings' eyes bulging out of their sockets before reforming to their default state. Others were also reminded of the previously mentioned evolution process concept art, with the middle stages always seeming the creepiest.
Despite this creepy looking process, the transformation between squid and kid is integral to the game, as moving around ink in the squid form is a crucial element. Splatoon 3 introduces two new techniques while swimming, the Squid Surge and Squid Roll respectively, which help to give players more movement options while splatting their opponents.
Splatoon 3 is available now exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
