Hidden Agenda Review: PlayLink’s Biggest Success

Supermassive Games created an intense story when releasing Until Dawn back in 2015, exclusively on PlayStation 4. Feeding off the butterfly effect concept, the team wasted no time in delivering another well-developed masterpiece; this time with a twist.

Hidden Agenda is a part of the PS4’s new way to play called PlayLink. PlayLink allows you to truly engage in a couch co-op experience with each person utilizing their phone or tablet throughout each session. As for Hidden Agenda, it will have you making split decisions as a detective looking to close a case once and for all.

With up to 6 players, you start of by downloading the Hidden Agenda app via Google Play or iOS. Once completed you’re required to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the console in order to play together as one unit. When all set, the controller goes away and your phone becomes your new Dualshock (for the time being).

Though interacting as multiple characters, the story revolves around detective Rebecca Marney in search of the serial killer. This is where the plot immediately thickens due to you having the unique opportunity of making the hard choices of who to trust, what to do or even how to respond. While there is always more than one way to respond or react, each having a cause and effect of its own, it’s well worth the sacrifice of seeing what becomes, undeniably offering a high level of replay-ability.

The story moves on its own with no direct control of any players like in Until Dawn. There are however a plethora of QTE’s to where you have to make quick decisions, hopefully the right choices. It becomes a little weird in competitive mode as a tie is not an option, instead requiring a majority vote. The other weird transition was after making a few decisions and noticing the cutscenes aren’t as fluid.

The graphics are absolutely stunning from beginning to end. I enjoyed the dark visual tone that’s presented within, including an even darker dialogue from both protagonist and antagonist based on which way the story goes “literally” from beginning to end.

Hidden Agenda’s only questionable setback is the extremely short story, clocking in roughly between 1 1/2 – 2 hours. For the kind of game it is, especially considering the multiplayer aspect, it’s not too long nor too short for a co-op play through. For single player I would’ve hoped for more of a story considering not having the option of moving characters, only controlling QTE’s and narrative.