Foamstars is PlayStation’s soapy Splatoon

Out of the countless competitive shooters on the market, Splatoon has always stood out. Nintendo’s quirky shooter series became a massive success, particularly in Japan, largely due to its distinct, exceptionally polished turf-inking gameplay. With this success in mind, it’s somewhat surprising that not many imitators have come out to compete with the series. But now, it looks like Splatoon will finally get some direct competition in the form of Foamstars, a new turf-covering shooter using soap and foam instead of ink. Sony unveiled this new title in the midst of today’s PlayStation State of Play showcase.

The trailer that debuted alongside the game’s announcement depicted two teams squaring off in an arena with a neon-lit background. Both teams fire out bubbles that leave behind mountains of brightly-colored foam when they hit the ground. Of course, the teams also have a wealth of other special foam-based weapons at their disposal, some of which look more than a little similar to the specials and sub-weapons from Splatoon. Instead of swimming through ink, the teams move quickly through the foam by using surfboards.

“Foam-to-foam combat”

A press release for the game states that players compete in teams of four, again like Splatoon. Players use foam both to surf around the arena quickly and to lay out makeshift terrain. Piles of foam can serve as cover against enemy attacks as well as high vantage points, which separates the gameplay at least a little bit from Splatoon.

Foamstars seems like it could turn out enjoyable enough, but will it have the staying power that Splatoon has? There’s reason to doubt this, especially since the game is made by Square Enix, which has not had the greatest track record in recent years in terms of its multiplayer offerings. Ultimately, we can only wait until the game comes out to see if can serve as a viable alternative to Splatoon.