HYENAS Gameplay Preview – Interesting ideas but unnecessary progression system

HYENAS is an interesting take on the extraction shooter genre. The extraction part is not focused so much on obtaining loot like in Escape from Tarkov, where any gear you bring in is lost forever if you die. Games like Tarkov create a high risk versus high reward style of play where bringing in better guns and gear means a better chance of getting out alive but also carries the higher risk of losing everything with other players targeting you.

HYENAS instead focuses on forcing combat encounters through the extraction mechanic. How this game works is five teams of three players compete to be the first team to extract. Only one team makes it out alive with loot. To get the loot, your squad needs to successfully clear a vault. The vault spawns multiple waves of NPCs.

Just like battle royale games, you can totally third party the team raiding the vault. There is a risk however if you wait too long. If a team clears a vault and escapes in time, you will lose. The NPCs that spawn can also call in reinforcements, making the wave take much longer to clear. All of these mechanics mix together to create an interesting take on extraction and squad shooters.

There’s a whole lot of nuance to the gameplay. If you rush a vault haphazardly without looting upgrades first, you can die to a team lying in wait. If you successfully clear a vault and rush the exit, all the enemy teams can rush you and take you out while you wait to extract, since there is a timer that must cleared before you get to exit. You can also risk going after all the enemy squads in an attempt to steal their loot and get out with an even bigger haul. There’s many small decisions to make based on whatever intel you have.

As for the upgrades, they appear in the green sections of the map. They keep the upgrade system very simple with grey, blue, and purple shields like in Apex. You can get three attachments for your guns, and up to two types of grenades. The grenades can have utility like creating a foam wall. The performance of the attachments and grenades progress the same as armor except it goes up to gold, usually located in the vaults.

While the game was definitely interesting to play, it had the same problems as other battle royales. If a teammate goes off on their own and plays too aggressively, you will be down a teammate and most likely lose future encounters. You can still revive a teammate but there’s some overhead to do so. The game is heavily reliant on teamwork and cooperation.

This is another major problem with the game however, mostly in how the progression system is designed. According to what I’ve read, the developers are leaning towards making HYENAS a paid game. However, when I played the closed beta, it had all the trappings of a free to play game with daily challenges, many progression trackers, and so forth.

A paid game relying on FOMO and manipulative tactics often found in free to play games does not bode well for the longevity of the game. There are also two forms of currency, which may suggest a possible cash shop in the game. I sure hope this isn’t the case.

The lack of clear direction and vision doesn’t stop there. There is an issue with how the different currencies work in the game. You can get the default currency by completing dailies or by selling the loot you obtain with successful extractions. So far, you can spend the currency to unlock new characters as well as additional skins. If you choose to add the loot to your collection instead of selling them, you gain reputation points. It wasn’t clear what the reputation points do either. There is also a second currency with no explanation as to what it did as well.

That’s three different stats to track in a supposedly paid game, all doing different things. It should simply be one currency that unlocks everything. This just feels like the game is going to add a cash shop later down the road. It feels very confusing and dishonest at this point.

Aside from the lackluster progression system, there are some interesting design elements. The game has multiple characters you can choose from, each with their own unique primary weapon, tactical ability, passive perk, and secondary weapons. Each character feels pretty different since everyone has a different load out. The tactical abilities are all different as well.

I personally enjoyed playing the character wearing a Nixon mask. He had a shotgun and an automated sentry turret. It allowed me to create some space while getting up close and personal in a more aggressive play style. You can tweak your play style by which grenades you equip.

The game also has a decent movement system. You can run and slide around but added on top of this is a zero gravity mechanic. Some areas have no gravity to begin with while some rooms have switches to turn the gravity on or off. During my time with the game most people just played with the gravity turned on since it was easier to move and shoot but who knows what kind of strategies people may come up with once the game is out for a while.

Overall, HYENAS has some interesting mechanics that do show some promise but the UI is confusing and the progression system relies on common FOMO tactics found in free to play games. There might be something special here if the developers focus on making the game as fun as possible without diluting or confusing the focus with needless and useless tactics to prolong engagement, especially if this game is going to cost money upfront.

Additional Info

Steam Store Page : https://store.steampowered.com/app/1989910/HYENAS/
Review Score: N/A as of this writing (09/12/23) – game isn’t out yet
Developer: Creative Assembly
Publisher: SEGA
Release Date: Coming soon
MSRP: $TBA

Time spent: 3 hours (in the closed Beta)
Achievement Score: N/A