No surprise this Tuesday afternoon. Sony has just announced the first game that will be offered to all PlayStation Plus subscribers in February 2024. A title that will therefore be available upon its release.
This month, all PlayStation Plus members are in for some fun, regardless of the formula they choose. Anyone can enjoy the trio of monthly “free” games called “A Plaque Tale Requiem.” Anyone who has opted for the Extra and Premium plans can still discover Resident Evil 2 Remake and the crazy Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands today. If you normally have to wait a few weeks to discover the next titles on offer, Sony is breaking the rule a little and is already revealing one of the PS Plus games for February 2024.
A first game for PlayStation Plus from February 2024
The first PS Plus game for February 2024 has been revealed. Anyone who has subscribed can get out of their bubble with a new excursion on day one. This time we don’t have to turn to the independent scene, but to that of Square Enix. The partnership between the two Japanese giants goes from strength to strength as Foamstars has been available to all subscribers since its launch. On February 6th, PlayStation Plus members are invited to a huge foam party to discover this new colorful and energetic 4v4 multiplayer game, heavily inspired by Splatoon. Here players compete with Moss and can attack, build and defend while choosing from a colorful cast of characters.
At launch, Foamstars features three game modes (Hunting for the Star, Survival in a Foamy Environment and Rubber Duck Party) with three maps each, each intended to be entertaining and strategic. They are chosen at random to spice things up. With the Foamstar Squad Missions mode there will also be PvE, both solo and in teams. The aim is to defend the city of Bath Vegas against various randomly generated invasions. This will be an opportunity to train and learn more about the characters.
AI invites itself to the party
Square Enix is already planning for the future and the release on PlayStation Plus should give a big boost to its game, which, according to early feedback, is more fun than it seems. Additionally, free seasonal updates will be available throughout the year. They will bring new game modes, new maps and characters and of course cosmetics. It’s inevitable these days that a Premium Season Pass for $5.99 will allow you to instantly unlock new heads and get new items for the season.
However, this first game, offered on PlayStation Plus in February, revives the controversy surrounding the use of AI in the artistic field. As part of a press event VGC asked Kosuke Okatani, producer of Foamstars, on this point, which seems to be one of the cornerstones of Square Enix’s future strategy. And yes, the multiplayer game used the infamous Midjourney tool to convert texts to images, specifically to create in-game icons, particularly for the album covers for the in-game music. On the defensive, the producer explains that all important gameplay elements were created entirely by the teams, but they also wanted to “test things with AI.” » The use of artificial intelligence would then only make up 0.001% of the game content.
Foamstars will therefore be available free of charge to PlayStation Plus subscribers from February 6th to March 5th, 2024. Of course, once added to the library, it will be available as long as a subscription is active.
