Foamstars Review (PS5) – Foamstars is the latest new IP from veteran developer Square Enix and marks a bold new venture into the seemingly ever-popular hero-shooter genre. Foamstars has an undeniable sense of style and character that is apparent from the very minute you boot up the game for the first time.
Despite this strong first impression, small annoyances managed to rear their head enough that my time with Foamstars very quickly descended into frustration and wanting to tap out of the party sooner than I had hoped.
Foamstars Review (PS5) – A Party With Some Seriously Mixed Vibes
Foamy Festivities
From reveal to release, Foamstars has been saddled with comparisons between itself and the breakout Splatoon series from Nintendo and this largely comes from the core concept of throwing foam on the floor and using it for mobility across a multitude of maps.
While it’s easy to see why these comparisons may emerge, I’m pleased to say that Foamstars is more distinct than first impressions would have you believe and is exceptionally fun to boot on a base level.
Taking the form of a hero-shooter, players are given the option of an initial 6 different “Foamstars” to pick from, with each having a particular set of abilities to help them dominate the competition.
These range from close-range shooter ΔGITO, the more support-oriented Rave Breaker, to the pin-point accurate Penny Gwynn. Each character has reasons to pick them and different playstyles are encouraged seeing as each team can only have one of each character in battle.
The headliner mode in these PvP battles is “Smash the Star”, a mode in which teams of 4 go against each other to see who can get 7 “chills” (another word for kills) fastest and defeat the opponent’s “Star” player. The result is a frantic and fast-paced mode that is fun in short bursts.
Other modes include “Rubber Duck Party” and “Happy Bath Survival”. “Rubber Duck Party” is this game’s twist on the classic payload type of game mode and involves teams fighting over the possession of a giant rubber duck.
By dancing on top of the duck, it’s possible to make it travel even faster. The commitment to both the foam theme and the party theme is commendable and definitely creates a memorable atmosphere.
“Happy Bath Survival” is far closer to a traditional team deathmatch mode, in which two players from each team are in the central arena, where the remaining players are supporting their teams from the rafters.
This was probably my least favourite mode overall but the change in pace was appreciated. These two modes rotate on an hourly basis so it doesn’t take much time to get back to the mode that you prefer – although I would just prefer having everything on offer as I choose.
A Distinctive Sense Of Style
The setting of Bath Vegas is a great backdrop for the battles that you’ll be taking part in across the above-described modes. Each environment is vibrant and distinct from one another with some really entertaining theming.
At launch, there are 3 maps for each mode and each one takes place in a totally different location. From an outdoor plaza, amusement park or diner, there are a wide variety of options on show.
Each map is picked randomly before the game begins but each one was interesting in its own way. The music was also a great backdrop to the fast and frenetic battles that take place, with a distinctly jazzy theme that runs throughout the entire game; each battle’s energy was amped up significantly by the soundtrack.
Each Foamstar that you can choose from also have very distinctive character designs that help you to immediately pick out a favourite among the initial roster of 8 characters. I enjoyed seeing what each member of this eclectic cast could do as I experimented around.
While the quality of various models was inconsistent, this ultimately means very little when so much of the game is being spent focusing on movement.
I found myself impressed by how much effort has been clearly put into trying to flesh out the world of Foamstars. It doesn’t all land by any stretch, but every time I entered the multiplayer waiting room, there was a new piece of in-game media for me to see. These range from in-world advertisements to podcasts with different characters.
I always appreciate these small touches and it helped with the strong first impression that Foamstars left on me.
Tapping Out Early
Unfortunately, this seemingly strong foundation starts to stumble at the very first hurdle as I found myself coming up against annoyance after annoyance across all parts of the game. For what will eventually be a paid-for title, the amount of monetisation is frankly egregious.
While this is completely restricted to cosmetic items for each Foamstar, the act of locking these behind individual bundles that each cost more than the full game is something that can’t be ignored.
Least of all that these are largely kept under the so-called “Recommended” options in the shop. While some cosmetics are unlocked naturally, the most attractive ones are locked behind expensive bundles or the premium season pass, a staple of this type of game.
There’s also the disappointing revelation that some form of generative AI has been used in the creation of the album art for the ingame soundtrack. In a game that is so full of details in other areas, this corner being cut comes off as a big disappointment, especially considering the size of the publisher this title comes from.
Other parts of the game are designed with bespoke needs and a strong style, so it feels bizarre to see quite bland and generic images in some other parts of the game.
Matchmaking was also an issue for me, with the experience of getting in and out of new games being a constant source of frustration. Instead of immediately connecting for another round, each player is kicked back to the main lobby and forced to navigate clunky menus to get back into the action.
This isn’t helped by how matches can sometimes take minutes to find at a time, and while you can mess around in the lobby, this only does so much to remedy the issue. There are moments where games can hang on the results screen for nearly a minute after a game, really damaging the pace if you want to jump in for a few quick matches.
Partying Is No Fun Alone
Like the thing that the game is themed after, playing Foamstars by yourself is about as fun as being alone at a party. That is to say, it isn’t. While a game like Foamstars shouldn’t be judged solely for its single-player offerings, what is here is woefully half-baked and falls short of my admittedly low expectations.
Single-player and PvE missions take the form of exceptionally simple wave-based combat encounters with very little variation between each round. Each character in the base roster of 6 has their own “campaign” that shines some light on their origins and why exactly they’re competing in the Foamsmash. And while I appreciate the commitment to building up a world with actual characters, none of these are presented with any real sense of seriousness or weight.
Not helped by the voice-acting throughout the game generally being quite flat and delivered in exceptionally weird ways. While none of the cast was particularly bad, I struggled to invest myself in a cast of new characters when everyone sounded so disconnected and distant from the situation.
Each mission is clearly constructed to get you thinking about where and how you might want to use that character in the multiplayer, but more could be done to accommodate for players who aren’t as interested in playing online. Other games in a very similar style have managed ambitious single-player campaigns and so I’m sad to see that the fun movement mechanics are left somewhat unloved.
While Foamstars is forecasted to receive content updates for at least a year, this initial launch has left a questionable impression that raises some questions about what exactly lies in the future. While there’s a solid foundation here, I feel like it hasn’t been given quite the environment to properly flourish into its own.
Foamstars is now available on PS5 and PS4, and is available as part of the three free games for PS Plus Essential and higher-tiered subscribers.
Battle Pass code for review generously provided by publisher.