Hyenas’ closed beta check has simply concluded, and to my shock, I’m eager to play it once more. Artistic Meeting’s tackle the extraction shooter style is vibrant, fluid, and teething on the brim with nostalgia; it’s not excellent – video games hardly ever are! – but it surely’s gone to point out that the reside service shooter style isn’t lifeless within the water simply but.
Should you’re a fan of Apex Legends’ motion, the camaraderie of Payday, and even the moment gratification that looting chests in Fortnite supplies, Artistic Meeting has managed to take a web page from every ebook and ship a ragtag band of misfit heroes destined to finish fast-paced heists in a zero-gravity surroundings. It’s wacky, and never with out its points. However most significantly, it’s a good time when you familiarize yourself with it.
Hyenas is surprisingly distinct from different shooters, and actually fairly easy. Organize your get together of three and choose from one in all a number of eccentric heroes, who every have their very own potential and arsenal of weapons. Then, gear up whereas tackling hordes of NPCs, and eventually, breach a Vault and seize the merchandise inside earlier than another events do. As you blast via all of this and attain the extraction level, you’ll end up locked in a showdown between remaining survivors, all vying to flee with as a lot merchandise as attainable.
That is all whereas the sound of the 80s and 90s blares in your ears, which feels slightly odd in outer-space. A climactic bid to flee with Pat Benezar’s ‘Love is a Battlefield’ being blasted throughout the Plundership was not on my bucket-list for video games in 2023, nor was breaching a vault to the tune of Salt N Pepa’s ‘Push It’, however contemplating simply how a lot of Hyenas pays homage to the 80s and 90s, it’s total very apt.
Hyenas is much more riveting than it sounds when dumbed down although. Alternating between heroes corresponding to Sonic-cosplayer Hero-Ki and their glue gun or Doc Hotfix, a assist participant who thinks he’s dwelling in an FPS recreation, make for some fascinating match-ups. Traversing the inclines of the Plundership in zero-gravity as you steal from billionaires which have since fled to Mars can also be fairly the adrenaline rush, even when a bit too actual proper now.
All in all, Hyenas hails again to the nice ol’ days of Borderlands with its cell-shaded enemies, zany jokes, and outright ridiculousness – all whereas being extremely refreshing. It’s all about stuffing your pockets with as a lot loot as attainable earlier than dashing to flee, and it supplies a thrill that’s onerous to come back by in new live-service titles. I hold considering again to XDefiant – Ubisoft’s newest reside service shooter that underwent beta exams earlier this yr – which introduced Ubisoft’s hottest IPs into one first-person shooter, and simply how boring all of it was.
It’s protected to say that I used to be anticipating an identical rendezvous when making an attempt out Hyenas, however the Alien: Isolation and Complete Struggle developer has pulled out all the stops to ship a shooter that would definitely see itself cemented as one of many higher extraction shooters on the market. That stated, it does have its pitfalls.
On the time of writing, just one map is offered for Hyenas, and it’s an enormous map full of secret passageways and electrical assault programs to navigate that may reward you drastically. Extra maps and extra recreation modes that may assist Hyenas set itself aside from different video games prefer it, and hopefully, the cosmetics retailer sticks to utilizing in-game foreign money slightly than asking for my hard-earned money upon launch… I wish to gown Hero Ki up as Tails with out a payday mortgage, please.
Whereas I definitely anticipate that Artistic Meeting positively has extra up its sleeve, Hyenas is already off to an explosive begin. It’s simple sufficient to leap into for brief bursts with associates, or you’ll be able to spend hours upon hours combating different gamers over your prized merchandise (in my occasion, a Sonic figurine) whereas having fun with the dulcet tones of Rick Astley.
HYENAS will launch on PC, PS5, Xbox Collection X/S, PS4 and Xbox One, however doesn’t but have a launch date.
