Foamstars Preview (PS5) – Standing as the latest IP from the well-established Square Enix, Foamstars is aiming to carve out a new audience in the online-shooter genre, by moving away from bullets and shifting focus to bubbles!
Featuring a cast of diverse new characters and dynamic movement and modes, this shooter seems to be one to keep an eye out for as it lands on PS4 and PS5 at the start of February as a PS Plus free game.
Foamstars Preview (PS5) – Free-For-All Foamy Fun
Foamstars is a largely online-focused shooter that shifts the focus from shooting guns to shooting bubbles! With a vibrant style and unique approach to combat, Foamstars is setting itself apart from the competition in a big way. Matches take the form of four-versus-four and each mode has distinct gameplay and strategies to work around.
The standard mode for basic online play is called “Smash the Star” and takes the form of a familiar approach where one team must get seven “chills” (effectively a kill) and defeat the team’s “Star” when they spawn in. The “Star” is a player with buffed abilities and if that player is defeated, it’s game over. This mode encourages team play and that’s true for much of Foamstars’ gameplay. Teamwork is the name of the game here.
Other modes are also on offer here and they include “Happy Bath Survival” and “Rubber Duck Party.” If those striking names didn’t already jump out at you, these modes offer some interesting twists on the Foamstars gameplay that push it to interesting areas. “Happy Bath Survival” puts two players against two players in a small arena, while the other two players on their respective teams support them from the sidelines.
“Rubber Duck Party” instead resembles a slightly modified capture the flag, and puts players into a fight over a giant rubber duck that they must defend with their lives as they escort it to the other team’s base. In line with the general “party” aesthetic of the game, if you dance on the rubber duck, it’ll move faster.
Bursting with Personality
Foamstars is bursting with personality and style from the word go; each mode has three distinct maps that all look vibrant and unique, really making use of the Bath Vegas setting. The same is true for the cast of characters that you play as, with each having a design that’s completely their own, with everybody having their own flavour to them. The same is true of the soundtrack, that features high-energy tracks that fit the gameplay like a glove.
During my time with the game before launch, I found myself bopping my head to quite a few of these tracks as I was foaming other players up. Foamstars is a game that absolutely stands out in a crowd of other fairly bland multiplayer shooter titles in the genre and will make its mark for sure.
Each of the eight launch characters has distinct methods of combat that each fill a particular niche. The face of Foamstars, Soa is your all-rounder who can slot into just about any team composition, but you might need to find particular situations where the literal sharker Δgito (pronounced Agito) can sneak up on enemies and defeat them from under the foam.
Figuring out how this impressive cast of characters will slot together will be a key aspect of Foamstars as a competitive experience, which it doesn’t seem to be shying away from. Maps are constructed with function first and each one features distinct and manageable gimmicks to change your approach to the party.
Keeping the Party Going
As well as having a broad range of multiplayer options, Foamstars also brings solo and PvE content to the table in the form of missions. While these are absolutely not the focus of Foamstars and are largely meant to be tutorials for newer players, these additions are appreciated and help to round out the package overall.
Foamstars also features rolling challenges for players to keep coming back to over time. These will help to keep the experience of Foamstars fresh for players who decide to really get into the party and each offers their own distinct rewards.
This is true for the familiar Season Pass model that is making its appearance in Foamstars. Featuring both free and premium tiers of passes, players will unlock unique cosmetics and a new character for each season of the game. The premium tier is largely to unlock new cosmetics for characters, weapons and boards so no meaningful content is being locked behind this decision.
Content is set to be refreshed for over a year and this includes new characters, maps and modes too alongside new seasonal cosmetics. If the launch roster of content is anything to go by, these will be just as dynamic and well-designed as the launch roster is. Despite some comparisons after its initial reveal last year, Foamstars has established itself as a distinct and interesting title that is absolutely worth a look.
While there are inherent questions about whether or not Foamstars will avoid the fate of other online-exclusive games in the last year, it won’t be long until we find out whether or not the party gets off to a bang as Foamstars is landing as a part of the February PlayStation Plus Lineup for all to soak up.
Foamstars is due out on PS5 & PS4 as a PS Plus free game on February 6, 2024.