Get ready, Nyan Heroes fans! The Overwatch-style hero shooter Nyan Heroes just announced on Thursday that it’s heading back to the Epic Games Store for another awesome playtest starting March 26th. And it’s not just a return – Playtest 04 is packing some serious heat with general improvements and tweaks, plus a brand new hero, game mode, and map ready to jump into the action.
Imagine piloting a powerful mech suit as a cat in a free-to-play team shooter – that’s the wild and fun world of Nyan Heroes! This crypto game, complete with its own token and NFTs on the Solana blockchain, has been a roaring success on the Epic Games Store. It’s paw-sitively crushed it, with over 100,000 players diving into its pre-alpha demo. Nyan Heroes even climbed the ranks to become a top wishlisted game and was enthusiastically spotlighted by Epic Games themselves.
For this next playtest, 9 Lives Interactive is unleashing a cool new hero into the fray. Meet Coco, the pilot, and his awesome mech, Gizmo! This dynamic duo brings a strategic edge with abilities to deploy turrets that zap enemies, scavenge enemy scraps to beef up armor, conjure a floating platform for tactical high ground, and, for the ultimate power move, transform into a colossal version of Gizmo that hurls explosives and shields allies.
According to 9 Lives CEO and Executive Producer Max Fu, Gizmo is poised to shake things up: “Gizmo will shake up the meta by protecting his team and providing easier access to high ground, favoring strategic positions, and introducing new levels of protection and vertical control,” he shared with Decrypt.
Get ready to play from March 26th to April 13th, because that’s when Playtest 04 is happening! And for those eager for more, a new airdrop campaign will be running during this period, although the specifics are still under wraps – so keep your eyes peeled for future announcements.
But hold on, there’s more! Playtest 04 is also dropping a fresh, fast-paced multiplayer game mode called Fishball. Drawing inspiration from Call of Duty’s Uplink, Fishball pits teams against each other to score points by grabbing (or skillfully tossing!) a pufferfish-like ball into the rival team’s goal.
“Teams must master distraction tactics while protecting the carrier,” Fu explained, highlighting the strategic depth. “What’s really unique to Nyan Heroes is that the ball carrier can still shoot (but ultimates are off-limits) – giving them a fighting chance to sway the tide of battle.”
Prepare to battle it out on a brand new map set in a meticulously recreated Tokyo! In Nyan Heroes lore, Tokyo was a crucial last stand for the Nyans against the relentless, feral robot Guardians. Sadly, despite their valiant defense, it was a battle they ultimately lost, marking a somber moment in Nyan history.
Now, in preparation for reclaiming their beloved city, the Nyans are honing their skills in a training simulation of Tokyo. This map is cleverly designed to emphasize vertical gameplay and exciting close-quarters combat, which the developers believe will ramp up the pace and perfectly complement the new hero and game mode. Get ready for faster, more furious battles!
And there’s even more purr-fect news! Beyond these major additions, Playtest 04 is also bringing a range of improvements, including enhancements to the heads-up display (HUD), updated voiceovers and music, new secondary weapons to experiment with, and a smoother text chat system. The team assured Decrypt that even more upgrade details will be revealed as we approach the playtest launch.
