In recent years, many 4v4 multiplayer arena shooters have been brought to us with varying levels of success. Some, like the crowd-favourite Splatoon series, survive the distance, but most don’t last long. Games such as Knockout City or the soon-to-be-laid-to-rest Rocket Arena are among many other online games that hit the ground running but fail to hook players in the long term. So of course, to chase the oversaturated trend, more are developed in the hopes of cracking the next microtransaction gold mine of online multiplayer games. 

FOAMSTARS is the latest in that pool, and while bright and bubbly much of it feels superficial which is sad considering the gameplay does scratch that arena game itch. Players take on other groups in 4v4 battles that revolve around either knocking out opponents or seizing a control point that happens to look like a massive duck. FOAMSTARS knows the assignment and is unashamed to lean into that bathtime aesthetic, although the neon lights are really more gamer PC. Like any good bath bomb though, the bubbles are just half the experience. FOAMSTARS aims to engage players with an eclectic roster of playable characters, each with their own skills and weapons.

Diving into FOAMSTARS, the game starts players off with a basic movement and combat tutorial before you’re shown how to knock people out or save teammates from being knocked out. It’s interesting to see how straightforward the game is. One might even think they were playing Splatoon if they squinted. Players have a foam weapon and a kit of 3 varying abilities depending on the character. Players are also able to switch between the different characters in the lobby area in the game and even test out their abilities in a small test arena space.

The game looks impressive, with a playable lobby area resembling the top floor of a skyscraper above Bath Vegas – yep, you read that right. It feels like it wants to impress you, though it’s not long before an array of menus including the shop, cosmetics section and various other input menus begin to confuse the player. Players can either load into an online game or complete PvE missions for characters from the roster. These missions feature wave-based combat, allowing players to learn a little lore about the participating hero. When competing online, all lobbies are 4v4 and the game modes are basically Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill (hill being a giant moving duck) and a hybrid survival mode where two fight and two assist them outside the arena against the opposing team.

It’s also worth noting that the gameplay with foam-to-foam combat feels considerably slower compared to Splatoon. Foam attacks feel somewhat mitigated with all the characters having varying kits with some including charge abilities. In the heat of battle, opponents getting too close to you is never a good thing but often it’s required if you’re going to have any hope of knocking them out. Foam also piles up in the arena, with opposing colours negating the other. Like Splatoon, players can travel quicker on the surfboard on their own colour and players can reload without needing to submerge. This is a very welcome difference.

What I did find tedious was the length of games feeling quite short. Often in Smash The Star, games would feel shorter than the queue time. It does feel as though the amount of knockouts needed to get the final player could be increased slightly just to mitigate the length of the game, especially for new players or players after more of a challenge and match length. Even in the custom mode, the maximum amount of knockouts before the star player is activated is capped at 7.

Considering FOAMSTARS trades in the familiar Splatoon paint for various hues of foam, one could be forgiven for finding that substance lackluster in-game. Players can quickly cover areas in piles of foam, though it lacks that bubbly aesthetic that one might expect. Up close, it’s a pastel hue that isn’t shiny or even bubbly. Once foam is blasted onto the area it simply dumps itself down on the ground. It is only when players move over or blast more that it wobbles, reacting to those inputs. Foam definitely is an interesting choice for projectile, and while it does the job I’d be remiss if I did wonder if it could been a little more iridescent. Considering the game’s penchant for the neon aesthetic a more bubbly foam would’ve felt less doughy and fun in the iconic level spaces.

When one opens the store they are greeted with an array of cosmetics but upon further inspection it’s revealed that these will definitely cost you if you’re looking to personalise your characters at all. With prices soaring above $50 for many skin bundles, it’s sadly a choice that further adds to the sentiment that any long-term time investment in this game will be costly. The game does position itself as a live service experience, with a battle pass loaded with 40 tiers of cosmetics so there will be content available for players putting the time into it but considering the state of local servers this could be easier said than done. 

If you’re after a new multiplayer game to play with friends, this will likely be a fad for a few days before you’re onto the next thing. As I’ve stated, there is a good time to be had here but it never quite hits that meter of player enjoyment. Dopamine sinks when players are queueing for long periods in between shorter games no matter how many times you bust your ultimate on the unsuspecting arena of opponents.