Creative Assembly has concocted an action-packed, quirky, and downright fun hero shooter called HYENAS. A PVP and PVE first-person shooter that combines the gear-up mechanics from Apex Legends with the vault-breaking, run-and-gun, extraction-type gameplay from Payday 2.
This unique blend of game modes pits 5 teams of 3 on an open map where gravity is toggled on or off in certain areas to keep the situation fresh. It adds extra levels of fluidity to the game as you boost around the map and offers great replayability as some of the main rooms allow you to enable zero-G.
“Plunder Riot” has players breaching vaults and securing merch that will add to your total Clout Points. Once you’ve earned 10k Clout Points, which can also be snatched from your opponents after defeating them, you’ll be able to extract, but doing so will alert all players and spawn MURFs (AI security forces you’ll be fighting throughout each match) at your location. Hold out long enough, and victory is yours.
There are 8 classes available in the beta to utilise in PVP or test them out safely in a PVE version of the game mode to find a HYENA that resonates with you.
Each HYENA offers a strong personality to keep you entertained while you cut through hordes of MURFs and a unique playstyle that gives each of the 3 team members a tailored role in your squad.
To name a few standouts, we have:
Hero-Ki: This Sonic cosplayer thrives in close-quarters combat with his SMG and the ability to disguise as any visible enemy player. Sneaky bugger.
Digit: This upbeat pyromaniac comes equipped with an LMG to keep the bullets spraying with surprising accuracy. He can also throw pyro-disc turrets to burn any enemies who come too close. He proves useful at defending the vault door and engaging in tight corridors.
Galaxia: This drag queen is all about being in your enemies faces and doing it glamorously. She comes equipped with a shotgun and a deflecting shield, which, if used properly, gives you great survivability and the power to slay all who get in your way.
In the beta stage of HYENAS, some abilities feel underwhelming in comparison to others, such as Prima’s 1Up zero-G ability that allows her to float around. In many situations, it leaves you vulnerable to enemy fire but is fun to soar around the map.
The map itself is rather large and can be confusing at first, as your squad will spawn in a different location each time. Learning the map is vital to securing the early gear drops that empower your team.
Surprisingly, for a game that markets its zero-G mechanics, most of the firefights occur away from the zero-G areas. They are more used for boosts to zip you around the map faster to get to the vault locations.
Once you spawn in, you’ll want to scavenge as many shield upgrades, health pickups, and weapon attachments as possible to give you an advantage when inevitably engaging in PVP. If you’ve played Apex Legends, then this will feel right at home.
Creative Assembly has done a knockout job of crafting a fun yet unique FPS, but without any standout skins, the longevity of HYENAS will be tested in the coming months.
Other games that tried to put a new twist on the genre, like Ninja Theory’s Bleeding Edge, have been killed off in a market that thrives on battle passes and frequent updates. Creative Assembly will need to dish out a regular content plan to keep HYENAS fresh and exciting; otherwise, the player base may slowly dwindle. Hopefully not, because Hyenas is a blast to play with friends and can be just as engaging solo.
HYENAS will release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X & S in fall 2023.
A beta key was provided by PR for the purposes of this preview.
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