Hyenas Impressions: Payday meets Apex Legends

I have played some conflicting games before in my time, but Hyenas may just be the cream of the crop. After getting a brief taste of this title at Gamescom, where I also got to speak with Creative Assembly in an interview that will soon be available on Gamereactor, over this past weekend, I have sat down and clocked in a few hours with the Closed Beta for the title - and I'm left with one impression: confusion. Because on one hand, Hyenas has a lot going for it, with niche and unusual gameplay that is backed up by tight mechanics, but on the other hand, I can't figure out which demographic this game is tailored to.

The idea of Hyenas is to jet off into a massive spaceship carrying tons of "merchandise" to rob it blind. The catch is that other Hyenas (aka robbers) are looking to do the same thing, and it ultimately comes together into an experience that is essentially the love child of Payday and Apex Legends. The reason why I find this design to be so unusual is that the PvE and heisting systems in Hyenas don't match up particularly well with the PvP elements, and for this reason, those who come to the game for one of these two areas will find the other rather difficult to stomach.

Hyenas is not an easy game. Like a title as Apex Legends, the PvP element is fast-paced and high-skill, and if you're not a competent shooter player, you will spend a lot of time in the respawning screen or worse, queuing for a new game when you're eliminated. As for the PvE side of things, it's not very demanding at all, and yet makes up a large portion of the Hyenas gameplay loop, which is, similar to a battle royale, themed around looting and becoming more powerful to grow in value and strength. As we often see with battle royales that try to lean too much into PvPvE, one side of the game usually doesn't come across as well thought-out as the other, and from what I've experienced, this is currently Hyenas' biggest downfall.

And I say this as someone who appreciates the character design and the unique abilities that have been crafted for each. I love the art direction and the cel-shaded theme. The merchandise that buys into Sega history and allows you to steal Sonic plushies, or find Out Run and other arcade cabinets around the map is a true highlight for retro game lovers. And the fact that there are licensed songs to 'steal' as well all adds to the fun. But the problem is that the heisting part of Hyenas isn't the most engaging part of the gameplay, and I can't help but feel like Creative Assembly should have either just have made a Payday heisting competitor, or instead buy into the battle royale trend and focus solely on PvP action. The hybrid nature leaves too much to be desired.

Granted, I have only been able to experience the Plunder Riot game and some action against the AI so far, so perhaps the other modes that Creative Assembly has in store will drastically affect my impression of this game. But so far, I think Hyenas has a long road ahead of it, and that it may face some trouble with engaging players, in the same way that Hyper Scape, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt, Scavengers, Realm Royale, and so many other now extinct battle royale types failed to overcome during their brief life spans.