I played the Hyenas beta and I still don’t know who it’s for
It’s no secret that the multiplayer FPS market – especially the battle royale and extraction segment – is currently hella crowded. Ubisoft’s massive failure HyperScape still feels new and seems more reserved and sincere than YAGER’s The cycle: limit also have difficulty finding an audience. At this point, betting large sums of money on these two subgenres is a poor decision unless you carry brand recognition with you or have a truly earth-shattering twist on a formula that already seems tired. Now SEGA and Creative Assembly believe they can crack the code with it Hyenas by waving around at the first one, and after some time with the game I still don’t know who it’s for.
Despite the flashy marketing campaign and robust production values (plus Creative Assembly’s extensive experience) Hyenas isn’t exactly making a splash online, even after a generous closed beta, which at least feels very polished. I was lucky enough to jump into it and try out the game for about three hours. Unfortunately, when SEGA finally decided to release it in theaters, I was very confused and pessimistic about its chances. While many of my doubts relate to my thoughts on the BR and extraction subgenres and their current state, the game itself also has several issues that are difficult to fix this late in the process.
Image via SEGA
A common opinion among closed beta players, and I have to confirm it Hyenas It just feels way too cynical and market-tested. The first sign came when the people at SEGA themselves said that developing the game had been a challenge and confirmed that they had not yet decided on a business model, even though the game looked almost ready to play and absolutely free to play both from the outside and inside . Two minutes into the game tutorial you will be faced with more bad news: Hyenas proudly wears the worst parts of border areas‘Personality (something that hurt both the third main game and already New stories) at a time when people are getting over cheap sarcasm and self-parody.
Hyenas is essentially about stealing shit from the rich and corporations in the distant future (and in space). This is a basic requirement that we can agree with. It’s also about shooting other hyenas in the face, because everyone wants as much prey as they can carry. Honestly, there was probably enough juice in it to make a breezy single-player game with cool characters instead of a derivative online FPS, but the big publishers like to chase the competition, especially if they’re late to the current trend. Unfortunately, and as I mentioned before, it’s difficult to break into the BR/extraction space without a strong identity, and SEGA relies on IP power and a shabby and outdated “How are you, fellow kids?” attitude to the whole thing sell.
Related: Hyenas reveals what his Plunder Riot gameplay mode looks like
Image via SEGA
It’s hard to play two or three games Hyenas, sit down for a while to collect your quick thoughts, and then say that this is 100% a game that Creative Assembly wanted to make. Don’t get me wrong, it’s well made and the studio’s artists in particular should be very proud, but it feels the opposite of real, especially when you look at what CA’s production usually looks like. Hyenas looks and sounds border areas; Most of the core design philosophy comes from Apex Legends; and the structure is, well, that of your average extraction shooter. I’m afraid a game that just feels and plays “good enough” is no longer enough in this area.
If any, Hyenas shows that CA has no problem developing first-person games. The shooting is snappy and the movement is fluid even in zero gravity. Even if SEGA and Disney do not sign a new contract to enable the studio to produce a successor to the fantastic Alien: IsolationI wouldn’t be mad if these developers continued to try their luck outside of RTS games. But it’s definitely not that. Players who play competitive online titles are often underestimated, but they’ve become pretty good at seeing through disingenuous facades, and I seriously doubt that Hyenas has a good chance despite some ingenious details, such as the overarching map design and stress-inducing PvE elements.
Image via SEGA
The business model (which I guarantee will be a traditional F2P model) should be the least of SEGA’s concerns. HyenasThe “bold new take” on sci-fi shooters is about a universe where space scavengers risk their lives to loot bags of merchandise and dress up like Sonic the Hedgehog while making irritating jokes and just referring to Ready, player one Diehards will enjoy it for more than a few minutes. All of this probably sounded like a great idea five years ago, at the end of the golden era of “anything goes” for geeky content. In 2023, we’re generally too jaded to care about even more nostalgic noise without saying or saying anything meaningful to the minimum some unique moves.