Following up on IGN’s tease from yesterday (which had nothing to do with Ecco, sadly), Creative Assembly has revealed its next game, Hyenas. Published by Sega, Hyenas is nowhere near what you would expect from the house of Total War.
Hyenas is a multiplayer-only game set in a sci-fi dystopian universe. After the destruction of the planet, the ultra wealthy are attempting to feed their nostalgia fix by plundering Earth of its plushies and novelty keychains. You play as a character tired of living under the heel of the capitalistic oppressors and decide to take some of that wistful booty for yourself instead.
“Earth is gone, the rich have colonised Mars and the rest of humanity is living their worst life in The Taint, a giant orbiting slum,” reads the Steam description. “While humanity is trying to survive, the Mars billionaires are more worried about fulfilling their nostalgic dreams. Plunderships, massive retail spacecrafts dedicated to selling salvaged pop-culture artefacts from Earth, our artefacts, at space-high prices to satisfy their desires.”
Not quite expected
So, no, it’s really not another Total War game, or the next Alien Isolation. Creative Assembly is clearly working outside its comfort zone, but the premise does seem interesting. Multiplayer matches consist of five teams of three players. You work to fight or stealth around each other in low to zero gravity ships, taking as much pop culture booty as possible before escaping. It sounds similar to that of Hunt Showdown, which also placed you on a team trying to accomplish goals and avoid other players before making a hasty exit.
Except, Hyenas is a game that’s nowhere near as dreary as the swampy battle royale. Creative Assembly’s creative director, Charlie Bewsher, who revealed the game alongside IGN today, stated that Hyenas is game designed like a “graphic novel cover.” It’s bright, cheerful, and looks to lean heavily on humor to tell a tale rife with anti-capitalist themes. Character conversations provide lore, as well as the in-game gadgets and environments.
Weaponry includes your usual assortment of pistols and rifles. But there are also turrets you can deploy and tools to make your heists go by easier — like a foam gun that can trap enemies or create defense points or bridges.
It certainly looks intriguing. The provided reveal trailer shows off some promise, even if there’s very little gameplay of note. Some of the “artifacts” include things like a teddies and a Rubik’s Cube. But I also liked that Sega and CA snuck in what looks to be a Sonic keychain. Because of course.
Hyenas is coming to PC via Steam in 2023. You can play it before then in an Alpha Test, which you can sign up for at its official site.
