On June 8, 2022, the Twitter account Splatoon 3 North American posted photos of the new enemy Octolings in the story mode. It showed photos of Octolings with a furry hairstyle to match the theme of the Mammalians.
As you can see in these photos, the Octolings have goggles on that appear to have the same goo or slime we see little buddy absorb in the trailer. Maybe they are brainwashed or mind controlled like the sanitized in the Octo Expansion. The Octolings are also Black now. Nice job Nintendo for diversity.
Personally, I kind of like the design of the Octoling. Although the hair may need a little more work it looks good. I can’t wait to see the final design of the character when the game comes out this September.