Foamstars – Square Enix's upcoming 4v4 party shooter that's essentially Splatoon but with foam – is running an open beta test at the end of this month.

The beta for the free-to-play family shooter will go live at 2am UK time on Saturday 30th September (6pm PDT on Friday 29th) and run until 5.59am on Monday 2nd October (11.59pm PDT on Sunday 1st PDT). While the game is coming to both PS4 and PS5, the beta is only available on the latter for now – sorry, PS4 players.

The beta will include the playable characters Soa, ΔGITO, Tonix, Jet Justice, Mel T, The Baristador, Rave Breaker, and Pen Gwyn, and feature the Smash The Star and Happy Bath Survival modes.

The former is a "frantic battle wherein each team must battle it out to secure seven knockouts on the opposing team" and defeat your opponent's Star Player, whereas the latter is a battle between two teams comprised of two infield players and two outfield players.

"Victory is earned by defeating both opponent infield players, while outfield players support and provide defense for their teammates!" Square Enix explains.

Players who get involved in the beta will be thanked via an "exclusive cosmetic item" for Soa should you go ahead and download the full game when it releases next year. If you're interested, you'll be able to download the beta from the PlayStation Store, and no, you don't need a PlayStation Plus subscription to get foamy.

"Foamstars puts players in the vibrant world of Bath Vegas, a gorgeous and bubbly metropolis, and the setting for the world's biggest foam party!" Square Enix explains.

"Foamstars blasts players into the ultimate, over-the-top online shooter, that pits teams of up to 4 against each other in an easily accessible gameplay experience using foam! Prepare to experience a fraction of what Foamstars has to offer, while simultaneously testing the capabilities of our servers ahead of the game's upcoming launch in 2024."