Foamstars (Splatoon/Overwatch like game) from Square Enix

[weirdfeline]

Fun new game available for free this month ($30 otherwise) with PS Plus Essential. It's basically Splatoon meets Overwatch.

The core gameplay is about spraying the ground with foam so you can traverse faster by surfing on it. Unlike Splatoon the goal isn't to foam the most of the ground. The main mode is Smash the Star where teams race to get 7 "Chills" (instead of kills) and then the best player on each team will become the Star Player and chilling them ends the game. I guess this would be like Turf War if the focus was on kills.

There's another mode called Happy Bath Survival which to me is the most like the COD Warzone Gulag? 2 teams of 4 battle but 2 players on each time are on the outside of the arena foaming the ground to help the players inside and it's a best of three.

Rubber Duck Party is similar to Turf Control in Splatoon or Escort in Overwatch where you fight to control a rubber duck and get it to the other team's side before the time is up. Probably the most chaotic mode.

In a separate menu they have Foamstar Missions and Squad Missions which are basically PvE horde battles so like Salmon Run but without collecting eggs but featured in many other games as well like GTA Online Survival or Horde in Gears of War.

There's a small hubworld but also just a quick menu to navigate around. There's lots of stuff to collect and there's a practice spot in the hubworld that you can full decorate with furniture and whatnot.

The Overwatch part comes in because this is a hero shooter so all the characters have different abilities and different methods of shooting so instead of swapping weapons like in Splatoon you swap characters. It also has a battle pass (unfortunate for what is supposed to be a paid game, I know) that is similar to Overwatch because it contains an unlockable character where it's late in the free tier of the pass or an instant unlock with the premium pass.

Seasons only last about a month in this game so new content will be added on a monthly basis including new characters and maps.

It's easy to write off new games like this expecting them to soon die out and I'm not even saying that won't happen but I've been enjoying the game and hope it sticks around for a while. I believe new content was promised for at least a year but we'll see.

[kamikazekeeg]

I'll probably grab it just because I can through PS+, but not sure if I'll play it, knockoff Splatoon wasn't something super exciting looking, but who knows.  Was abit miffed they used generative AI for some ingame images of some sort, so that's a negative as minor as that may be, but still.  We'll see, I'm not really lacking for stuff to play at the moment.

[peggysturtle]

Played it with a friend for a little bit, just 1v1 on the capture the duck mode. It was fun, but got boring after a bit. Can't see myself returning to play much online.

[kamikazekeeg]

I would be surprised if this game makes it the full year.  That it's free for PS+ users is nice, but it being a 30 dollar sale, probably means it's not going to see much growth.  There's a lot of other more interesting live service multiplayer games out there right now that it's competing with, free ones at that, and that's going to be problematic for it I'm sure.  I guess for purely Sony fans, it's "We have Splatoon at home" for Playstation, but that only draws so much attention.

[dhaabi]

Foamstars is a game which seems fine based on trailers. But, if I'm actually wanting to return to that style of game (notably quick matches), I'll just play Splatoon since I already own it. Live service models are not appealing to me in any way.

[weirdfeline]

Foamstars is a game which seems fine based on trailers. But, if I'm actually wanting to return to that style of game (notably quick matches), I'll just play Splatoon since I already own it. Live service models are not appealing to me in any way.

Splatoon is pretty much a live service model though adding new maps and weapons in their first year of release.

[dhaabi]

Foamstars is a game which seems fine based on trailers. But, if I'm actually wanting to return to that style of game (notably quick matches), I'll just play Splatoon since I already own it. Live service models are not appealing to me in any way.

Splatoon is pretty much a live service model though adding new maps and weapons in their first year of release.

You're right in that Splatoon relies on a live service model, and it always has. Perhaps it didn't bother me as much then due to the limited time I had for gaming during that point of my life, but I now prefer games with a definitive ending. And, like I said, I already own it.

I also didn't mention that I've also invested plenty of time into Splatoon years ago, which would be another factor to prioritize returning to it instead of any one of the dozens of other games like it. Another strength Splatoon offers is that its games are supported for years with servers remaining supported even longer due to a consistent player base, unlike most of its fad counterparts. To my knowledge, there aren't any in-app purchases either, but I may be wrong if something's changed since I've last played. That said, I don't want to return to these types of games, including Splatoon and definitely not Foamstars.

[weirdfeline]

Pete Dorr, known for his great taste in games, says its better than Splatoon in this stream title: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2056469184

[pzeke]

[...] It's basically Splatoon meets Overwatch. [...]

As far as I read, the game incorporates gacha, so fuck that.

[...] Was abit miffed they used generative AI for some ingame images of some sort, so that's a negative as minor as that may be, but still.  We'll see, I'm not really lacking for stuff to play at the moment.

Adapt and survive. AI-generated art isn't going to become some kind of Skynet or a V.I.K.I. (we'll leave the argument of whether she was right or wrong as food for another topic, though). AI is essentially the digital version of Rob Liefeld, where instead of feet, it cannot draw hands. Hell, there's plenty of artists who fail at that, too! So, tell you what: when AI art stops struggling to get hands right, then we'll talk? Skylarking aside, and I know I shit on them a lot, but it's Square Enix, so of course they were going to find a project where they could use and take advantage of AI art, even though, as far as I checked, it's used sparingly (for album covers). The thing is, now Splatoon has its own Palworld.

I would be surprised if this game makes it the full year. [...]

"Foamstars seems cool; Foamstars seems doomed." Just a random headline I read somewhere on the Internet. Seems accurate.

Pete Dorr, known for his great taste in games, says its better than Splatoon in this stream title: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2056469184

Pete's a dork to the fullest; he's been living outside the box for years now. I like the guy, but opinions are just that.

But yeah, not my type of game anyway.

[weirdfeline]

Foamstars will be shutting down in October.. JUST KIDDING! It's going free to play! No new platforms announced so still just PlayStation. Hopefully this revives the game!

[alligo]

Another flop.

[kamikazekeeg]

About what I thought.  Either they shut it down, or slip into F2P to try and salvage things, but I still think it's still on track to end in the timeframe I said.  I think it's similar to the Concord situation, where it just didn't have any sort of audience and I doubt F2P solves it.