Hidden Agenda

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 146 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 146
  2. Mixed: 49 out of 146
  3. Negative: 31 out of 146
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  1. Burnouts3s3
    Oct 25, 2017
    5
    -GAME REQUIRES A SMART PHONE TO PLAY. Using an app through the smartphone, it as as a controller to select choices with finger swipes. Often jerky and hard to detect on PS4.
    -$20 game in which you make choices and get different endings based on that. Only 1 save slot; each playthrough lasts 2-3 hours. Endings are varied and complex, accounts many choices.
    -Game stars a female    -GAME REQUIRES A SMART PHONE TO PLAY. Using an app through the smartphone, it as as a controller to select choices with finger swipes. Often jerky and hard to detect on PS4.
    -$20 game in which you make choices and get different endings based on that. Only 1 save slot; each playthrough lasts 2-3 hours. Endings are varied and complex, accounts many choices.
    -Game stars a female protagonist, Detective Becky Marney, who investigates the leads of The Trapper, a serial killer who creates bombs. Antagonists are mainly white males. Also contains details of child rape/abuse.

    Worth a look see. Watch a playthrough before deciding. Recommend rental through Redbox.    … Expand
  2. TatsMcGee
    Sep 8, 2018
    5
    Hidden Agenda is one of the new PlayLink released by Sony. PlayLink is Sony’s attempt at Jackbox games where instead of a controller, you use a smartphone. Its meant to be more inclusive and something you bring out for parties or get-togethers. Not everyone has 4+ controllers (hell I only have 1 working controller) but this way everyone can play as long as they have a smart phone or even aHidden Agenda is one of the new PlayLink released by Sony. PlayLink is Sony’s attempt at Jackbox games where instead of a controller, you use a smartphone. Its meant to be more inclusive and something you bring out for parties or get-togethers. Not everyone has 4+ controllers (hell I only have 1 working controller) but this way everyone can play as long as they have a smart phone or even a tablet. You just download the app on your phone and everyone can play the game.

    In this particular game, it’s an adventure game a lot like a Telltale Game where you have a couple choices in a dialogue. Often times it will be an option of, do you want to come off as annoyed or apologetic, do you want to come off as cynical or optimistic, calm or frustrated. Everyone votes and its simply popular vote wins. If there is an even amount of people and the votes are split, the game will not advance until there is a majority vote. So it does encourage you to talk to friends which can be fun sometimes.

    The game’s story started out interesting, it’s about rehashing an old case and trying to determine whether a person who is on death is an actual murderer. As the game progresses, the story feels like a CSI episode at best. There are a lot of plot hole and liberties taken that don’t make a lot of sense but overall it’s an okay crime-solving story. I do want to mention the ending because it was one of the worst endings I have ever encountered in any medium. There are multiple ending and the one I got, the game just ended. The game had just reached its narrative climax, something happened and then the game ended. From climax to end was maybe 5-10 seconds. I felt cheated and it fowled an overall pleasant experience. I do want to try and play this game again but I can’t do it right now. Maybe in a few months, I’ll try it again.

    The game comes off as feeling very average, its an average story, gameplay wise its like Telltale and Jackbox got together and created this game. The difference is, Telltale is better at telling stories. It’s not a terrible game and it looks nice but it looks too nice. Uncanny Valley when describing this game, I found myself looking at the characters eyes and teeth far more often than I probably should have.    … Expand
  3. wesker2012
    Jan 14, 2018
    5
    A really big disappointment. Gameplay was very limited and choices felt very meaningless and obvious. Acting was very dry, stiff, and boring. Waste of money.
  4. SuperkenGaming
    Oct 31, 2017
    7
    Hidden Agenda
    Intriguing game that makes a huge mistake
    Hidden Agenda is a playlink game from the team that made until dawn... This time instead of the butterfly affect, the story focuses on the ripple effect... As a playlink game you can only play this game using a smartphone There’s a solo story mode and a competitive mode that can be played with up to 6 players… The app is a    Hidden Agenda
    Intriguing game that makes a huge mistake
    Hidden Agenda is a playlink game from the team that made until dawn...
    This time instead of the butterfly affect, the story focuses on the ripple effect...
    As a playlink game you can only play this game using a smartphone
    There’s a solo story mode and a competitive mode that can be played with up to 6 players…
    The app is a pretty hefty download, over 200mb, but I had no issue using it and it connects to your PlayStation instantly..
    This is a narrative focused choice based game... my initial play through took me an hr. and a half...
    Playing with others and making decisions is what adds to this games fun and length…
    As in competitive mode ever player has their own hidden agendas and end game agendas…
    having your agenda completed in the story will get you more points..
    You’re also awarded points for finding clues and guessing who’s agenda is who’s…
    finding clues will give you take overs... you can use these take overs to stop other players from making a choice in a certain situation…
    This sets up for an intriguing party game of deception and manipulation
    Playing solo though..
    Supermassive games does a great job at telling the story of this mysterious trapper killer
    You play as both a detective and district attorney trying to get to the bottom of who this killer is…
    to clear the name of the current suspect before he’s executed, or maybe even prove his guilt
    the story is full of twists and turns
    I failed to solve the case in my story and I was so ready to start a fresh play through and get to the bottom of this case…
    And then at the end of the credits...
    The game reveals the killer…
    Completely killing any urge I had to replay this game…
    The fun is not knowing who the killer is...
    There’s perfect party potential to have a group fail and want to hop back in for another 2 hours to get it right….
    Robbing players of this feeling by just giving them the answer kills this game and its potential…
    Hidden Agenda kept my attention...
    And I appreciate the competitive nature of bluffing your way to the top like a game of poker…
    But this game fumbles big time at the end
    I give Hidden Agenda
    a 7/10    … Expand
  5. Sc1ss0rman
    Nov 6, 2017
    7
    Hidden Agenda is essentially a scaled back version of Until Dawn. Though the game runs a bit short at around 2 hours (as little as 45 minutes if you really mess up), it makes up for that with far more endings and alternate scenes than it's predecessor. Basically, they took out the needless walking, removed all except for the most important choices and streamlined the interface (although IHidden Agenda is essentially a scaled back version of Until Dawn. Though the game runs a bit short at around 2 hours (as little as 45 minutes if you really mess up), it makes up for that with far more endings and alternate scenes than it's predecessor. Basically, they took out the needless walking, removed all except for the most important choices and streamlined the interface (although I marked it down from an 8 to a 7 because of the lack of DualShock4 support). Overall, it is a fun, if sometimes corny, crime drama That will keep you entertained for at least 3 or 4 playthroughs, even more if you play it with friends to see what kind of outcome they get. 7/10

    Pros:
    -Decent Graphics
    -Better Face Animations
    -Story Doesn't Drag
    -Lots Of Alternate Scenes
    -Multiple Endings (Unlike Until Dawn)

    Cons:
    -Playlink
    -Game Sometimes Changed or Ignored My Choices
    -A Few Of The Endings Are Just Variations of the Other 3 Endings
    -One of the Endings Is Rather Abrupt    … Expand
  6. joaopontesvaz
    Mar 5, 2018
    7
    Graphics: 7.2 Sound: 8.0 Gameplay: 6.5 Fun/Story: 8.5

    A different approuch that some may call it a playable movie. I like the concept despite the lack of interactivity despite its very good plot.
  7. mrkp
    Jan 14, 2020
    6
    неплохая игра, чем больше человек в неё играет, тем интереснее. Второй раз проходить уже скучно
  8. elolugo
    Oct 26, 2020
    5
    Get it on sale. Good game but too short. It's like a movie really. Pretty intriguing but only the first playthrough

    Drops in FPS, textures loading while ingame makes this game immersion breaking
  9. piuscorvus
    Jul 1, 2020
    6
    I played this one expecting some more experience like Until Dawn (even though I wasn't amazed by that one) but it didn't meet my expectations. Just like Until Dawn, it looks really good, I would even say that character faces have far too much makeup, which was the case with Until Dawn. Every character is so polished that everyone in the game has that “beautiful” baby-face, which to my eyesI played this one expecting some more experience like Until Dawn (even though I wasn't amazed by that one) but it didn't meet my expectations. Just like Until Dawn, it looks really good, I would even say that character faces have far too much makeup, which was the case with Until Dawn. Every character is so polished that everyone in the game has that “beautiful” baby-face, which to my eyes isn't so beautiful thing to see.

    In any case, the game really looks like an interactive movie, you make your own choices that decide which way the story goes. The story, however, feels very short and incomplete. If feels like a part of some movie. You jump in in a middle of a police murder case and play until the case is solved. How the case is solved depends on the choices you make while playing. You will probably need around one and a half hour to complete the game. I have played many short games that felt totally complete and were an unbelievable experience (such as Journey), but I couldn't say the same thing for Hidden Agenda. You do not learn almost anything about any of the characters, there's nothing to really dig in to here.

    It is worth mentioning that you need to install Hidden Agenda app on your smartphone in order to play the game. PS4 controller cannot be used at all. You can also play the game together with your friends. Each of you can take the fate of one story character, which might be more interesting experience.    … Expand
  10. Zumbie101
    Oct 13, 2020
    6
    Game is a bit all over the place with bad writing and characters however given the price I cant expect that much from it. Still manages to tell an okay story with cool choices.
  11. TeaFan556
    Dec 19, 2021
    7
    [RU]
    Сначала сюжетный режим мне не очень понравился. Он слишком короткий и игра очень быстро раскрывает личность убийцы. Тобишь, на один раз сойдёт. Но когда мы в компании решили сыграть в режим "мафии", тогда игра заиграла новыми красками. При том, что нас было трое, мы получии весёлый экспириенс от игры. Кроме того, игра ОЧЕНЬ дешёвая и с лихвой окупает свою стоимость. Рекомендую!    [RU]
    Сначала сюжетный режим мне не очень понравился. Он слишком короткий и игра очень быстро раскрывает личность убийцы. Тобишь, на один раз сойдёт. Но когда мы в компании решили сыграть в режим "мафии", тогда игра заиграла новыми красками. При том, что нас было трое, мы получии весёлый экспириенс от игры. Кроме того, игра ОЧЕНЬ дешёвая и с лихвой окупает свою стоимость. Рекомендую!
  12. Ray6701
    Dec 3, 2022
    6
    This game starts slow the visuals are good the story is different the characters I didn't really care about and the ending was unnecessary
  13. herhp
    Dec 29, 2022
    5
    the games mode are mostly okay and playable, choices you can make don't seem to matter though
  14. jdmsjmsrscgm
    Sep 12, 2023
    5
    The story of "Hidden Agenda" revolves around a detective, Becky Marnie, and a prosecutor, Felicity Graves, as they investigate a serial killer known as "The Trapper." The narrative is engaging, full of twists and mysteries, which keeps players engaged throughout the game. The choices you make have a significant impact on the direction of the story, leading to multiple possible endings. TheThe story of "Hidden Agenda" revolves around a detective, Becky Marnie, and a prosecutor, Felicity Graves, as they investigate a serial killer known as "The Trapper." The narrative is engaging, full of twists and mysteries, which keeps players engaged throughout the game. The choices you make have a significant impact on the direction of the story, leading to multiple possible endings. The cinematic narrative and the quality of the writing contribute to an immersive experience.

    The highlight of "Hidden Agenda" is its exclusive game mechanics, which involves using a mobile device as a controller. This allows up to six players to participate, making decisions together and influencing the narrative. However, using mobile devices can be a bit tricky, and the accuracy of choices can sometimes be affected.

    The variety of choices and narrative paths in "Hidden Agenda" provides a good dose of replayability. Each decision you make can lead to different outcomes, encouraging players to explore different options and discover all possible endings. This adds value to the game as you may want to revisit it to find out how different choices affect how the story unfolds.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

86
#86 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 45
  3. Negative: 2 out of 45
  1. CD-Action
    Feb 8, 2018
    50
    The competitive mode is fine, but the rest of the game is not. It’s short (no unnecessary background-building scenes whatsoever), the characters are just shallow cut-outs, the choices seem meaningless and on top of all I experienced some technical issues. [01/2018, p.64]
  2. Gamer.nl
    Jan 16, 2018
    70
    Hidden Agenda is great if you want to have a special 'movie night' with friends, filled with discussions about what the next step should be.
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  3. Gaming Age
    Jan 11, 2018
    91
    As I said up top, there are certainly reasons to be wary of Hidden Agenda. It’s hard not to search a crime scene for clues with your unresponsive PlayLink app and come away wishing that you were just using a plain controller. But that’s more than outweighed by the fact that the game also does a better job of capturing what makes mystery novels so compelling than nearly anything else I’ve ever played. Hidden Agenda may not be perfect, but it knows how to keep you hooked right to the very end.
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