Hidden Agenda

Hidden Agenda is a narrative-driven adventure game designed to be played with a large group, where you and your friends must come together to make tough decisions. Featuring an interesting control scheme known as PlayLink, players use their mobile phones or tablets to link up and interact with the game. Similar in style to games like Detroit: Become Human and Heavy Rain, Hidden Agenda puts players in the middle of a dark and twisted story of crime, where your choices can often spell life or death. Whether played alone or with a group of friends, Hidden Agenda will test your reflexes, observation skills, and decision-making as you attempt to solve a grisly string of murders.

Main Game Features

• Up to 6 player cooperative play
• Branching story paths
• Two unique modes of play

Story

In Hidden Agenda, you control Becky Marney, a homicide detective trying to investigate an old case involving a serial killer named “the Trapper”. The Trapper earns his nickname from his MO, in which he rigs his victims to explode, often killing any first responder in the process.

Although police already have a suspect convicted and on death row, Marney believes that there is much more to the crime. In order to solve the twisting case, Marney must investigate old leads, search through shady crime scenes, and question her most trusted co-workers. One of the big features of Hidden Agenda is its branching story, which is affected by major decisions you make along the way. Most actions, from the dialogue choices you make to the evidence you discover, have some sort of impact on the story. Whether small or far-reaching, you'll never truly know, and must be cautious or suffer the consequences.

Gameplay

There are two major modes in Hidden Agenda, Story and Competitive. Both modes contain the same content, but are structured in slightly different ways. You can play Story mode either alone or with a group of up to six players, uncovering the mystery of the Trapper as you go. In Competitive mode, a multiplayer group plays the game as normal, but one member of the squad has a secret objective to complete. This adds a new layer of deception to the mix, as the player with the hidden agenda will try and skew decisions in their favor. While Story mode offers a more straightforward and cinematic journey, Competitive mode is the best option for multiplayer groups looking for an excitable experience.

In both modes, players assume a mostly passive role in the story, making choices as they appear on-screen. Generally speaking, Hidden Agenda feels like an interactive movie, but the variety of gameplay sequences helps keep the experience refreshing. In addition to making dialogue choices for Becky (and a few other characters), you'll also have to complete quick-time-events during action sequences, and discover clues during hidden-object style sections. Players who are quickest to react will earn “Takeover” points, which can be used to overrule your friends during any decisions. This element can be annoying if you have a particularly mischievous member in your group, but not bad enough to ruin the fun.

Conclusion

For fans of other cinematic interactive adventure games, Hidden Agenda is a unique title that's best played with friends. Although the raw gameplay elements are light, there's enough narrative tension and interesting game mechanics to result in an entertaining social experience. If played solo, Hidden Agenda has a compelling if slightly predictable mystery that will keep you interested throughout.

Pros

• Intuitive and interesting controls
• Great for large multiplayer groups
• Satisfying plot

Cons

• Limited gameplay
• Takeover mechanic can be annoying
• Requires a mobile device to control