Gay splatoon

The Squids are alright.

Related: The Owl House Season 3 Time Skip Is Confirmed And That's A Big Deal

Our own Lex Luddy recently wrote about how Splatoon 3 has helped her embrace a sense of fashion in reality after dressing up her Inkling, and that visual identity is a big reason why this series has such staying power.

How Splatoon became a safe haven for trans gamers

Nintendo’s Splatoon games have been lauded for many reasons but their unusually friendly online community is one of their greatest achievements.

Throughout three games, Splatoon has fostered one of the most accepting communities in all gaming.

This social feature carried over to the second game, where it formed the catalyst for Splatoon’s unapologetically accepting community.

In 2017, a couple of bad actors made jokes about the naming convention of Splatoon’s main mode, Turf War. This obvious pun was met with a surprisingly amount of hate and, in rebellious fashion, people started showing their support for trans folk, with lovely messages and impressive drawings.

It can be changed up whenever too, giving each squid a fluid identity that is never once set in stone. Fan-made pages such as the Splatoon Subreddit and Discord are constantly alight with openly queer topics, self-expression, and people looking to play and connect with like-minded individuals.

The latest title, Splatoon 3, doesn’t change radically from the previous games, instead, this iterative sequel adds a few quality-of-life improvements that only increases the number of customisation options, including lockers to show off a player’s items and stickers, banner titles and borders – plus free battle passes full of seasonal items and a third Splatfest choice.

While fans are disappointed that little has changed with the series since its inception, the consistency helps maintain a welcoming, accessible community for new players, which has only grown with the continued success of the Nintendo Switch.

Don't miss Gaming news!

Nintendo’s strict approach to voice chat has stopped hate speech circulating, which is an unfortunately large problem in most online games.
It’s been over five years since the LGBTQ+ community embraced Splatoon and support is still going strong; many players have described the profound impact that the game and its player-base have had on the road to self-discovery.

When sea levels returned to their normal levels, marine life was forced to evolve to live on land and eventually develop intelligence. These squids exist and operate within the confines of a culture all of their own, a youthful combination of music, fashion, and excess that we’ve seen evolve alongside them over the past three games.

Everyone else does too, and this acceptance all starts with the character creator itself. This, of course, tends to get a little fruity. What form that takes is up to us, and I choose to view it as a foundation to experiment however I like. The encouragement of painting public property grew into a more contemporary theme of graffiti and rebelliousness that helped shape the world, characters, and overall identity – and to help it stand out from the surrealist worlds of an Italian plumber or the naturalist environments that house a time-travelling elf.
Player expression is a huge part of the Splatoon experience and it’s only grown with each title.

When players create their characters in ‘Splatoon 3’, there is no gender; players choose from body types, or “styles”. order.
Splatfests allow players to embrace the comfortable personality-driven traits of the hosts in a space where there’s no danger of being attacked for one’s opinions. Squids evolve into Inklings, and octopi evolve into Octarians and Octolings.

Splatoon is for everyone, and that definition covers all the bases.
Next: Overwatch 2 Is Already Making Some Weird Mistakes With Its Battle Pass

Nintendo’s “Splatoon 3” A Mode for Queer Self-Expression

Video games have always been vehicles for self-expression. Some of this marine life evolved into humanoid forms.

There’s exclusive in-game clothing that encourages people to express their views, and the My Nintendo store even offers physical merchandise that people can buy to show off a niche part of their personality.

Splatoon’s Splatfests stand out from other live service game events by emphasising comradery and healthy competition, which has helped the community grow with positive morals.

I wasn’t out of the closet when the first Splatoon arrived in 2015, and found myself resorting to games to explore my own appearance and the person I hoped to see myself become after starting hormones and a social transition. This subversion of the shooter genre, which has been defined by hyper-realism and graphic violence, allows for interesting mechanics and riveting gameplay.

The world of Splatoon is set far in the future, long after the extinction of humans.