Nyan Heroes debuts more modes and guardians for cat mech playtest

Nyan Heroes, the team-based hero shooter featuring small cats piloting giant mechs, has unveiled more modes and guardians for its upcoming playtest.

Singapore-based 9 Lives Interactive, formerly known as Rude Robot Studios, is making Nyan Heroes, a hero shooter game that combines unique gameplay mechanics with cat-inspired characters and blockchain technology to target mass adoption.

The game’s open pre-alpha playtest 3 will be available from September 4 to September 25 on the Epic Games store. This latest playtest features an array of new features, including the Payload game mode, arctic map Erebus, Scout and Mage guardians, enhanced passive customization through player Augments, a new “embark” mounting gameplay mechanic, and more. 

Building on the success of the previous playtests, which reached No. 5 on the Most Wishlisted Games chart and Top 30 Most Played Games on the Epic Games Store, Playtest 3 features randomized matches between popular Stronghold mode, where teams fight to capture an objective, and the new mode, Payload.

In Payload, two teams of six attack or defend the payload as it progresses through three checkpoints on the Erebus map. Teams must strategically utilize high and low ground, guardian abilities, and areas that can only be reached when in Nyan form to gain an advantage and achieve victory. 

Players can experiment with team compositions with the addition of Scout and Mage guardians, along with the brand-new embark game mechanic, and “augment” customization. Ayana, the cat pilot of the Scout guardian, excels in exploration and alerting allies to incoming threats.

The cat pilot Yuri utilizes the Mage guardian to cast powerful spells and curses on the battlefield and protect a team’s homeland. The new embark game mechanic allows small nyans to mount teammates’ mechs, playing and shooting alongside them while in cat pilot form.

Character add-ons provide passive effects from boosting health, armor, or speed to adding unique modifiers like explosions and blood. Character reward add-ons will also be dropped at the end of a match. Finally, character emotes have been added based on community demand.

“Our team has worked tirelessly to deliver the next chapter of Nyan action to life,” said Max Fu, creative director and CEO of 9 Lives Interactive, in a statement. “We’re excited for players to compete in the Battledome with new strategies and experiences that are unique to our vibrant, cat-centric world. Thank you to the community for your feedback, and support. It’s time to suit up and face off, and of course, let us know what you think. Good luck, heroes!”

Download Nyan Heroes Playtest 3 through Epic Games here.

9 Lives Interactive is an independent game studio established in 2021. It is using Unreal Engine 5 to make the debut title, Nyan Heroes. The company has 60 employees.