Hyenas - What We Know So Far

Players may know Creative Assembly for its work on the terrifying "Alien Isolation" and the "Total War" series, but the studio's current project aims to deliver an entirely different kind of experience to fans. The team is doing away with leaping xenomorphs and army management in favor of something that's a little more nebulous: heists in space. 

Creative Assembly's newest title, "Hyenas," will task players with stealing priceless pop culture treasures from the exploitive rich who ruined Earth in the process of colonizing Mars. Encouraging harrowing encounters between other players and the environment, the shooter will set five teams of three loose aboard a Plundership to see which crew can make it out with the best haul. While Creative Assembly has made a name for itself by creating quality strategy titles like the critically adored "Total War: Warhammer 3," there's no denying that a zero-g showdown between competing burglars sounds pretty fun. Here's everything we know about "Hyenas."

After seeing some of the bizarre and wacky action "Hyenas" aims to deliver, some players may be wondering when they'll be able to get their hands on the title. As it stands, "Hyenas" is due out some time in 2023, but a month and day have yet to be announced. That said, it's not all doom and gloom for those itching to try the title out. Creative Assembly has opened up registration for a PC Alpha test, which will initially be available to US and European players.

While the "Hyenas" reveal hoped to stoke some excitement, commenters on social media weren't exactly left with the impression Creative Assembly aimed for. One user said, "Another 'cartoony' scifi shooter with 'tude.' [I] was hoping for something closer to 'Alien Isolation.' This looks meh." Others echoed the feeling, either wishing Creative Assembly had made a successor to "Alien Isolation" or that "Hyenas" wasn't an amalgamation of prominent gaming trends. On Twitter, the reception was no different, with one person writing, "[people] waiting for 'Alien Isolation 2' and they are showing this garbage."

Hopefully, once players are able to see more of the game via the Alpha test, perception will swing around.

While there's still a lot that players don't know about "Hyenas," its announcement trailer creates a firmer idea about what to expect from Creative Assembly's upcoming project. While the sequence shows off almost a minute and a half of intense sci-fi action to a cyberpunk beat, it's difficult to know if the trailer is exclusively a cinematic or includes snippets of gameplay.

The video showcases a menagerie of scenes and action, setting a tone for the kind of energy "Hyenas" looks to bring to the table. Viewers see vehicles floating in zero-g, a squad of mercenaries breaching a subway car, and a man in a Nixon mask all within the first ten seconds. The trailer doesn't let up from there, showing off more mechs, mercs, and explosions before cutting to a short snippet highlighting the man in the Nixon mask sliding over cars and running across an exploding bridge from a side-scroller perspective. 

"Hyenas" just oozes light-hearted and zany energy, made all the clearer by a scene towards the end of the trailer. A character in an astronaut suit enters a room and firmly asks their teammates to get a move on. The others, who are beating a goon with a stuffed bear, say that they're very busy. The trailer concludes with another montage and text reading, "Fight in zero-g, steal epic merch, escape to win."

It's tough to say exactly what gameplay will be like in "Hyenas." Though there's a trailer, much (if not all) of what's been shown appears to be from in-game cinematics or promotional material. That said, based on what the trailer generally establishes, some description from Creative Assembly itself, and a touch of inference, players can get a basic sense for what's in store when "Hyenas" finally becomes available.

Players will need to utilize both their characters and the environment, as both open opportunities for success. Creative Assembly said in its written announcement of the title, "When it all kicks off, blisteringly quick movement and lethal combat combine in hazardous, and often switchable, zero-G zones, providing dramatic opportunities for you to master your environment to trap and eliminate other crews." With environments losing gravity at the flip of a switch and the variety of skills and abilities distributed between characters, it'll be worth seeing just how wild encounters in "Hyenas" end up.