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.