Foamstars Dev Responds to Splatoon Comparisons

The producer of Square Enix’s Foamstars has explained the team is tired of the comparisons between its new online party shooter and Nintendo’s Splatoon. It’s not difficult to spot the similarities between the two games, as both involve the core mechanic of colorful sprays that affect the opposing team, and the comparisons have sparked a conversation online. Nonetheless, the Square Enix team behind Foamstars wants players to see it has more to offer than these comparisons.

Foamstars is an upcoming online party shooter that involves covering both the arena and the opposing team in colorful foam. The foam remains on the field and adds new geography to the map, allowing players to surf quickly over it, create places to hide or shoot from, and block other players. Similarly, the massively successful Splatoon series focuses on spraying ink over the map, covering the terrain and other players in the team’s colors. In both cases, players aim to cover the map in the color of their team. On the surface, it certainly appears that Foamstars is incredibly close to Splatoon in terms of gameplay, mechanics, and even their bright, playful appearances.

However, in an interview with VCG, the team behind Foamstars insists that it is a “completely different game” and hopes that upon release, players will see that there’s more to the game than its similarities to the Nintendo shooter. When producer Kosuke Okatani was asked if he was bored with the comparisons, he said, “First of all, yes,” before explaining further: “There have been many comparisons on the internet, but also, we saw on social media that the people who actually played it saw that it’s a completely different game and I hope you also agree.” Okatani also said that the mechanic used by both games is very unique and would be honored if one day games like Splatoon and Foamstars become their own genre.

Whether or not Foamstars ushers in a new subgenre of shooters, it will need to bring something special to the table to succeed in