Sega Shouldn't Give Up On Hero Shooters After Hyenas

Summary

Hyenas' eclectic character design and lack of unity detracted from the game's potential success.
Sega's unwillingness to fully commit to Hyenas led to its cancellation despite a $100M budget.
Reviving a Sega Superstars hero shooter could leverage existing IPs and avoid past mistakes.

Sega attempted to dabble with the hero shooter genre with Hyenas, the company’s most expensive endeavor yet. However, the concept didn’t land well with fans, resulting in the abrupt cancellation of the project in 2023. Since then, Sega has yet to revisit the genre, but it may be sitting on a great opportunity to give it one more try.

Hyenas leaned into Sega’s past with its themes, but this could be pushed further by utilizing the Sega Superstars branding. Rumors have recently been circulating that a new Sega crossover game could be releasing soon, so if the company does plan to bring its IPs together, it may be worthwhile using Creative Assembly’s work on Hyenas for a new Sega hero shooter.

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By José V. Rossi

Hyenas Was Unfortunately Set Up To Fail

Hyenas featured an eclectic cast of characters, each with their unique aesthetic that differentiated them from one another. The lack of unity among its characters was an intentional design choice, representing how they don’t conform to the world around them. Though some of the characters were well-designed, others didn’t hit the mark. This is reminiscent of how fans responded to Concord’s disappointing character designs, showing just how important it is for a hero shooter’s cast to land with players.

Sega was also unwilling to commit fully to Hyenas. Despite the game’s budget exceeding $100M – Sega’s most expensive game at the time – Sega canceled the game before it released, believing that the project would not generate the profits the company was expecting. This doesn’t mean that the idea of Hyenas was inherently bad, but that it wasn’t as safe as relying on trusted IPs.

While Hyenas was a gamble that Sega wasn’t quite willing to follow through with, it may be a better opportunity now for it to revisit the concept. Though the company has faced financial issues in recent years, Sega expects its earnings to grow next year. Being in a more stable financial situation means Sega can take more calculated risks with its game projects. This could include another try at the hero shooter genre, using existing Sega characters to safely secure an audience.

A Sega Superstars Hero Shooter Makes Sense

Sega Is Still Dedicated to Crossovers

Hyenas seemed to draw upon the Sega brand often, from the Sonic series statues that could be stolen to the Sega arcade containing cabinets for OutRun and Thunder Blade. The default design of one of the game’s characters, Hero-Ki, is a cosplay inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog, but he also has skins for other heroes and villains from the Sonic series. Considering this, as well as Galaxia’s retrofuturistic aesthetic being vaguely reminiscent of Space Channel 5’s Ulala, Sega could fully commit to a hero shooter based on their existing IPs.

Releasing a new game under the Sega Superstars now may be Sega’s best opportunity. This series of games, including the Sonic & All-Stars Racing series and Sega Heroes, breathed life back into characters that had not seen a new installment in their own series in years. Now that Sega is reviving its older series, new players would have the opportunity to get to know the Sega cast prior to the reboots with a crossover hero shooter.

Along with the rumors that a new Sega crossover title is in the works, it’s clear that the company is still eager to inject its older properties into newer titles. Even after dropping the “All-Stars” branding of its predecessors, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds features cameos from other Sega characters. By including recognizable characters from classic game series, a Sega Superstars hero shooter could avoid the fate of Hyenas and Concord by having a playable roster full of already beloved character designs.

What the Game Could Look Like

As is the case with any Sega crossover game, there would be no doubt that the Sonic series would be at the center. Even with Sega’s recent partnership with DC, Sonic characters have joined the Justice League. If a hero shooter crossover were to happen, fans should likely expect the blue blur and his friends to be the priority. Many of these characters already fit in with the typical hero shooter archetypes, so their movesets could easily translate to the genre.

To tie in with Sega’s upcoming series reboots, it’s a possibility that these games would also be represented in the hypothetical Sega Superstars hero shooter. This would include fan-favorite characters from Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi, but would likely add representation from the Sega properties recently revived by Lizardcube as well, such as Wonder Boy, Streets of Rage, and the yet-to-be-released Shinobi: Art of Vengeance.

If a new Sega Superstars title reused ideas from Hyenas, it’s possible that the game could be set in the far reaches of space. Sticking with this would give Sega plenty more opportunities to represent more of its game series. Galaxia’s outfit, calling back to Ulala, established that Space Channel 5 would fit well aesthetically, but so too could some other underrated Sega heroes. Other space-based series like Space Harrier, Burning Rangers, and Phantasy Star could fit well in this setting.

Though the disconnected aesthetics of Hyenas were thematically fitting for the game, a Sega Superstars hero shooter could benefit from its own distinctive graphical style. Sega’s older games continue to hold up because of the focus on unique visual identity over realism. By giving this game the same treatment, it would stand out from others in the same genre, as well as keeping the art style appealing for decades to come.

While Hyenas was set to release in an overcrowded market, a Sega Superstars hero shooter might fare better. With Marvel Rivals’ dwindling player count, Sega could fill the gap now that the genre has less competition. By backing its initial extraction hero shooter concept with characters that fans are already familiar with, this proposed Sega Superstars game may be just what Sega needs.

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