The initial free game for February 2024 on PlayStation Plus has been officially confirmed, and it’s a fresh addition to the lineup. Different people have different views, but let’s focus on the positive side.
PlayStation Plus members have had a bit of a mixed experience in the past year. Some months had not-so-great free games, prices went up, and extra perks didn’t really impress. People are hoping for better. We’ll have to wait and see how everyone feels about the latest free game, but I think it looks pretty good.
So, Foamstars from Square Enix seems a lot like their version of Splatoon—well, let’s be real, it’s pretty much a copy. But you know what? It seems like Foamstars is going to be lively and enjoyable! And, you know, in a world full of serious shooters, I’m all for something colorful and light-hearted.
For those who haven’t been keeping up with Foamstars since its announcement, it’s a third-person shooter that seems like a Fortnite-themed foam party. But, based on the positive previews I’ve come across, Foamstars is apparently much cooler than my quick description suggests.
PlayStation shared the news on social media, confirming that Foamstars will be the main attraction in the February 2024 PlayStation Plus lineup, set to launch on February 6. As of now, the other two games for the lineup are still under wraps.
As per the “Last Chance to Play” PS Plus tab on PS5, it looks like 10 PlayStation 4 games are about to exit the subscription catalog, likely around February 20 when the next set of games is expected to be included.
During a recent press event, VGC asked Foamstars producer Kosuke Okatani about the use of AI in the game, and he confirmed its involvement.
Okatani explained that while the majority of the game was crafted manually, they utilized Midjourney—a popular generative AI tool. They are using a tool that turns written instructions into pictures. With this tool, they created a few pictures used for icons in the game.Specifically, these AI-generated assets are linked to the in-game album covers for the music tracks.
Okatani highlighted, “All of the core elements in Foamstars—the essential gameplay and the aspects that make the game enjoyable—are all made by hand. However, we did want to experiment with AI as well. In terms of the game content, this makes up about 0.01% or even less, but we have dabbled in it by creating these icons in the game.
Square Enix later explained in a statement to VGC: “We used AI to make the album covers for the music in FOAMSTARS‘ soundtrack. As game developers, we’re always exploring new technologies to see how they can help with making games.Here, we tried out Midjourney by giving it simple instructions to create unique and abstract images. We were impressed with the results and decided to use them as the actual album covers players will encounter in the game. Our development team handled everything else”
People are talking a lot about using generative AI, like Midjourney, in creative industries, especially in video games.. Some people criticize these tools because they might replace professional artists and use their work without permission to train the AI.
It’s pretty rare for PlayStation to give PlayStation Plus members a game on the very first day it’s released, but when they do, it’s awesome. We’ve seen it before with games like Sea Of Stars, Rocket League, and Fall Guys – all really great games.
Let’s hope Foamstars is just as fun as those other great games! We’ll know for sure on February 6th. But you know how it is, until then, some folks might grumble about why PlayStation didn’t include Ghost Of Tsushima 2 and Red Dead Redemption 3 in the free games for the month. That’s usually how it goes.
