Square Enix revealed their upcoming multiplayer third-person shooter Foamstars at the recent PlayStation Showcase and the game has already been drawing comparisons to Nintendo's Splatoon series. From the trailer shown, it looks like players will battle for territory around urban-themed maps using weapons that shoot colored foam rather than the ink of Splatoon. With the popularity of Nintendo's series, it's surprising it took so long for other developers to create games of a similar genre, but Foamstars could end up being the first in a new wave of Splatoon-like games.
Nintendo is no stranger to seeing look-a-like games spawn out of their popular IPs as the Pokemon series has had its share of clones over the years from big name spin-offs like Monster Hunter Stories and Dragon Quest Monsters to indies like Temtem and Nexomon: Extinction. The series has been fundamental in establishing the monster collecting genre which has remained popular due to the number of titles that follow a similar format. While Splatoon hasn't reached the same heights as Pokemon in terms of sales, its cultural impact is starting to be felt similarly with titles like Foamstars potentially opening the floodgates for other Splatoon clones to follow.
Foamstars Could Be a Crucial Step for the Splat-like Genre
When the original Splatoon was revealed at Nintendo's E3 2014 presentation, it was hailed as a unique new direction for shooters that emphasized territory control using colored ink in a departure from the typical gritty, kill-based shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield. Although confined to the underperforming Wii U, Splatoon quickly developed a dedicated fan base thanks to its unique personality and simple yet addictive gameplay. Now with two sequels under its belt, Splatoon has become one of Nintendo's most popular franchises with little in the way of competition from similar titles prior to Foamstars.
It's not unusual for a hugely popular game to see similar titles follow suit trying to capitalize on the success of the original. The explosion in popularity of Fortnite resulted in the growth of the battle royale genre that spawned other hits like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone in quick succession, creating a diverse ecosystem within the genre for fans of those style of games. However, Splatoon's popularity has only been growing since the original game released in 2015, yet it has taken nearly a decade for a true competitor like Foamstars to emerge.
However, many are approaching Foamstars with caution due to Square Enix's history with mishandling online multiplayer games that has led to situations like the shutdown of Babylon's Fall just under a year after launch. While this skepticism is warranted, there are other features of Foamstars that look to be innovative additions to the Splat-like genre, such as the physics of the foam that allows it to pile on top of itself to create barriers and add verticality to maps as the match progresses. Foamstars also differentiates itself stylistically from Splatoon by leaning into the more realistic J-Pop aesthetic rather than trying to emulate Splatoon's nautical post-apocalyptic theme.
Even if Foamstars doesn't have the same staying power as the Splatoon franchise, it could be an important step for the genre as a whole. With Foamstars being the first true Splatoon clone, it could give future games a foundation to build upon and experiment within a genre that has been dominated by Splatoon since its launch. Much like how indie developers have made solid contributions to Pokemon's monster collecting genre, Foamstars could be the inspiration smaller studios need to take a crack at the Splat-like genre which could result in the next indie breakout hit and ultimately help move the genre as a whole forward.
Foamstars is currently in development for PS4 and PS5.
