Hidden Agenda Review – Collaborative murder mystery

The creators of Until Dawn got bored of murdering young adults in classic ‘slasher’ fashion and have moved on to the world of gripping detective fiction. Well, that’s the idea anyway. Hidden Agenda is the new game by developer Supermassive and you’ll immediately see some familiar tropes and similarities with their past work. What is completely different is the method of interaction with the game because Hidden Agenda is part of Sony’s PlayLink series and is therefore a party game controlled entirely through your smart phone.

Hidden Agenda is a branching narrative game that follows the detective work of Becky Marney as she investigates a prolific serial killer case. The serial killer goes by the name of ‘The Trapper’ who creates traps somewhere within the crime scene or on the body of the victim that trigger when a first responder arrives. The narrative branches but all players will have to investigate crime scenes and locations of interest, talk with key people within the investigation, make decisions that can change the course of the game and ultimately learn who the serial killer is and hopefully get an ending that is positive.

The narrative isn’t necessarily unique but it functions well enough to make for a semi gripping story. Figuring out who you can trust and delicately navigating interactions so as to get the best result makes for some interesting moments. What functions best is the game’s social aspects however. I played the game with 5 friends and each time there was a decision to be made we would all inevitably disagree, argue, and eventually come to a consensus. Or alternatively somebody will say “screw democracy” and will attempt to steamroll the group by forcing their will (which the game allows). Being designed in such a way encourages a really positive party atmosphere – part competition, part collaboration.

Whilst socially the game is strong, narratively it has its shortcomings. The game builds up to be something more than it really is. We went in to the game intrigued and eager to figure out who the real killer was. After all, the game is called “Hidden Agenda” which would lead you to believe there would be subterfuge, mystery and intrigue. But in reality it just wasn’t any of the former. The story built up in a nice way but it kind of just fell flat. As it turns out, the name Hidden Agenda doesn’t refer to any of the game’s plot points at all. It refers to the competitive mode of the game that allows each player to be given their own Hidden Agenda throughout which they have to covertly encourage other players to go along with.

The real saving grace here is the social aspects of gameplay. Playing with friends inevitably makes things more fun and that’s a big win for Hidden Agenda. Whether it was fighting over a decision, collectively reacting to the outcome of a decision or collaboratively searching for clues at a crime scene – the social aspects seemed to work. Having the competitive mode just added an extra layer of social deception in to the mix for those who want to play that way too.