I’ve no idea what I’m doing, but it’s working. I spam every ability at my disposal, not quite sure what they do, but I must be doing something right when a sea of pink foam cascades from my weapon across the map floor, combining with the other patchwork pockets of blue and pink bubbles. My suds have engulfed a player on the blue team, so I whip out my surfboard and ride the effervescent waves up to them hoping to land a devastating smack that will take them out. I would look over my shoulder to see which poor journalist I just battered, but Foamstars is too fast-paced for those sorts of shenanigans. I’m quickly back on my board, looking for my next frothy victim.
I didn’t have high hopes for Foamstars following its reveal earlier this year. Comparisons to Splatoon dominated the conversation around Square Enix’s party shooter, and its general ‘foam party’ vibes made my over 30 bones creak.
However, after getting a taste of Foamstars at Gamescom 2023, I am somewhat of a convert. This sugary sweet shooter is as wholesome as it is adrenaline-pumping, but I fear the bubble-party may burst not long after it starts.
A star is born
During my time with Foamstars, we played one mode: Smash the Star. This PvP mode sees two teams of four going head to head, aiming to knock out members of the other team seven times. Once you’ve taken out the required number of players, a star will appear over the enemy team’s best player. This player is the ‘star’, and they’re granted a bunch of extra buffs and strength. You’ve got to take out the star to claim victory, so these boons stop you rolling over a team too quickly.
I’m not lying to you when I say I had not a bloody clue what I was doing in the first few rounds of Foamstars, but my team was winning. Initially, I didn’t really think about the character I was choosing, I frankly chose the coolest until I could get used to the mechanics. As soon as we surfed into the game, it was a blue and pink whirlpool of chaos as everyone tried to work out what they were doing.
I spammed my abilities. One seemed to lob a kind of bubble mine at the enemy and I’m still not quite sure what the other did because its effects got lost in a mountain of foam. At this point, I was not enjoying myself. We kept winning but I chalked that down to the blue team having even less of an idea of what was going on.
Then something odd happened. By match three, I was picking characters based on our team composition and my own play style. I was looking out for our own star, and for my fellow teammates, and I was actually playing well. I think I was, anyway. The team fell together and I fell into line. I couldn’t explain to you what I did, but I was somehow succeeding, tapping into the muscle memory instilled by older first-person shooters. I was having a blast and, most importantly, we were wiping the floor with the blue team
Burst the bubble
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Foamstars. It’s a complete, fun, party that is sure to attract squads looking for their new Wednesday night game. But it’s hard right now to see the long-term appeal of this sweet party shooter.
What I played of Foamstars I enjoyed. But I’ve satiated my sweet tooth now and feel I’ve more than got my fill. Saying that, there’s a lot of this game we’ve not seen yet, including further online modes and a single-player. So maybe I shouldn’t kill the music on this party quite yet.
