Foamstars – a welcome alternative or a shameless copycat? (Picture: Square Enix)



Sony and Square Enix’s party shooter Foamstars has already garnered an unfortunate reputation as a Splatoon clone.



We’re honestly kind of surprised it took this long for other major game companies to start aping Nintendo’s Splatoon series. Ever since the first game launched in 2015, what was once a fresh new IP for the company has evolved into a major franchise.



While it’s fairly popular over here, it’s an absolute juggernaut in Japan, with Splatoon 3 becoming the country’s biggest video game launch ever … at least until Pokémon Scarlet & Violet arrived.



So, of course, Sony is eager for its own alternative, having announced a 4v4 party shooter from Square Enix called Foamstars at last night’s PlayStation showcase .



Details are slim but, rather than ink, players’ guns fire foam that, aside from taking out opponents, can be used to alter the terrain, allowing you to surf along the top of it or build defensive walls.



It’s not quite a 1:1 copycat, since there’s no mention of matches being determined by covering the stage with more of your foam, but at the moment it’s not entirely clear how it works.



However, even if the foam doesn’t function 100% exactly like Splatoon’s ink, it’s hard not to notice the similarities. Even some of the special abilities shown in the trailer look exactly like ones featured in Splatoon.



Unfortunately for Foamstars, it didn’t take long for the internet to label it as a ‘bootleg’ Splatoon, with a lot of people sharing their unfiltered criticisms of it.





Foamstars looks like if Square Enix asked an AI how to make their own Splatoon. — Sharon ⚡️#FlashPack (@Sharito742) May 25, 2023







Let’s talk about #FOAMSTARS . I did an audible eewwwww when I realized what it was. Hey @SquareEnix you just gonna do a clunkier, less charming Splatoon? Anyone who watches that is going to just think Splatoon looks better and it looks like it plays better. You’re wasting money — Alex_tooda_Bee (@Alex1_RSR) May 25, 2023







Square Enix made a bootleg Splatoon but with foam LMAO FoamStars #PlayStationShowcase pic.twitter.com/LqbABYA4Qv — FAR (@FAR5222) May 24, 2023







LMAO WOW so sony has the audacity to throw shade to the switch and the steam deck by making a half-assed wii u controller, but they also come up with a blatant Splatoon ripoff that doesn’t even look appealing, just brand-safe colorful generic “artstyle” Foamstars is embarrassing pic.twitter.com/r3wpBoLLS4 — Meido 2.0 💾 (@MeidoIDKFA) May 24, 2023







foamstars is a good example of how important clarity in game design is and how nintendo applied it to such an exaggerated shooter like splatoon cause damn pic.twitter.com/hrE94QFGzz — Mlick (@Mlickles) May 24, 2023







SQUARE ENIX OUT HERE RIPPING OFF SPLATOON, I’M CACKLING pic.twitter.com/K3EbJW8MiI — Ultima📛 | #вʟм (@UltimaShadowX) May 24, 2023





Even aside from the Splatoon comparisons, there’s a general sense of disinterest in the title but, like all things, it’s not without a few defenders willing to give it a chance.





I am so glad Foamstars will also be on PS4 cause I genuinely wanna play it But my boyfriend has a PS5 so most likely when it comes out, I will have moved in with him so….either way I AM gonna play this when it comes out. pic.twitter.com/4vpZDVUI1x — 💛🤍Wing Wolf (Pay Me To Draw)💜🖤 (@GirlyWolfPup) May 24, 2023







Foamstars looks the closest thing to Splatoon anyone has made so far. Someone at Square is obviously a fan. The inkstrike and killer wail were so clearly in there as well. I’m ngl I will try it out — Snorth (@Snorth93) May 24, 2023







Is it weird that Foamstars is the game from the PlayStation Showcase I’m most excited for? pic.twitter.com/1KfCRCPCLK — GamerToon🐰(Hyped For Zootopia 2) (@Gamer_Toon16) May 24, 2023







Took a look at Foamstars and I’mma be real I never understood the mindset of being genuinely upset or dismissive when a game you like is being copied The only two outcomes are either – Another game exists like the one you like – The game goes away on its own and you lose nothing — joey (@_JOEZCafe) May 25, 2023





Things aren’t much better on YouTube. The official PlayStation channel’s upload of the trailer has around 4,200 dislikes compared to 2,400 likes at the time of writing, and most of the top comments, even the positive ones, reference Splatoon.



‘The ‘we have Splatoon at home’ edition.’



‘Bro they didn’t even try to hide the extremely Splatoon-esque specials.’



‘To be honest, I can be happy for people who are genuinely interested in this. Buuut you know! You know exactly what they were doing. We all know. It’s obvious.’



‘Looks interesting, as someone that enjoys Splatoon I can see myself getting in to this game.’



Foamstars is in development for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.









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