As a long-time fan of Eastern mythology and someone who hasn’t quite mastered the art of button-mashing in real-time fighting games, I couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement when I heard about The Hidden Ones. Having grown up on the original Chinese animation series, The Outcast, and now being able to step into its world through this game is truly a dream come true.
Just recently, Tencent declared that “The Hidden Ones” is set to debut in 2025. This game, developed by its affiliate, Morefun Studios, boasts immersive gameplay, plot, and environments. Given the buzz surrounding this upcoming title, it certainly has high expectations to meet. Interestingly, global pre-alpha testing for the game commences next month, but the Morefun team seems optimistic enough to provide an early hands-on peek. As someone who is not particularly skilled at real-time fighting games, having only recently ventured into non-Nintendo controls and being unfamiliar with “The Hidden Ones”, fear not if you’re in a similar position – there’s no cause for concern!
The game titled The Hidden Ones is a fighting-action spin-off based on the franchise, previously known as The Outcast. Originally a web comic, the narrative was transformed into an animated series called Hitori No Shita: The Outcast, spanning over five seasons. Fans in North America can now watch the first two seasons on Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime.
The Hidden Ones Gameplay & Experience
Combat
The combat system initially appears intricate, yet beneath the surface, it simplifies once you witness it in play. It’s composed of four fundamental elements: basic attacks, skills, blocking, and dodging. Performing specific actions may guide you towards certain outcomes. For instance, skills can be chained together in combos.
In contrast to simply mashing buttons, the game encourages more strategic play. It does this by color-coding all attacks, signaling whether they can be blocked or require dodging. Your adversary will either glow blue when a block is possible, or red if you need to dodge instead. Additionally, unlike most fighting games, even a basic attack can break through the blocker’s shield. This shield appears as a white aura in front of the character. By executing a basic attack, you not only break their block but also grapple them, enabling you to follow up with special skills and combinations.
As a gamer struggling with fighting games, I appreciate that the story mode offers me five chances to get back in the action during each fight. These battles can have multiple phases, but rather than starting from scratch every time I fall, I respawn at the spot where I was defeated. This seems exclusive to the story mode, making it more accessible for those who are here for the narrative and characters rather than the hardcore gameplay. Even if I’m not a pro, I can still make progress as long as I don’t completely suck!
Game Modes
In “The Hidden Ones”, there are three distinct play modes: Story, Duel, and Trial. Although it’s a part of the “The Outcast” series, you don’t need to be familiar with it to enjoy the game. Morefun Studios designed the story for “The Hidden Ones” to include new characters in the “The Outcast” universe. So even if you haven’t watched the five seasons of the “The Outcast” animated series, the game won’t give away any spoilers.
In this game, a battle, known as Duel, provides players with unrestricted access to all characters and encourages competitive, balanced Player versus Player (PvP) interaction. Each competitor selects a trio of characters and a certain number of Doppelganger abilities. The Doppelganger abilities come in three tiers, costing either 1, 2, or 3 points. Players are allowed to use a maximum of 5 points and up to 3 Doppelgangers. A duel consists of three rounds, with each round ending when one character is defeated or the timer runs out, whichever happens first. The victorious character gains a slight boost in health for the following round. Typically, a single round lasts no longer than 90 seconds; however, most duels are resolved within 2-3 minutes.
As a fellow enthusiast, I’d say that the Trial mode is like a grand showdown against all the story mode’s mighty bosses! You get to engage them in battle, and as you progress, the challenges grow tougher. Unfortunately, during the testing phase, this exhilarating experience wasn’t accessible.
Overall Takeaways about The Hidden Ones
In its present form, The Hidden Ones sets a benchmark that high-budget games should aim for – mastering the basics. This game clearly understands it belongs to the real-time fighting genre, and even during testing phases, I encountered no glitches or delays in combat sequences. The developers have paid meticulous attention to each character’s unique fighting style, using motion capture technology to replicate various martial arts forms like kung fu and tai chi. This results in lifelike movements within an otherwise fantastical setting.
I found it incredibly helpful that each character’s movements were clearly visible on-screen. Typically, I struggle to keep tabs on where my character is, especially during fast-paced scenes when the camera is constantly shifting. However, this game seemed to have a solution for that, as it remained easy to follow even when both me and my opponent activated our Doppelgangers simultaneously. Perhaps the use of color-coding played a part in making things clearer.
Either way, the outlook is very good.
The Hidden Ones Release Timeline
It’s looking like The Hidden Ones will enter their preliminary testing phase in January 2025. The beta version is planned for summer 2025, and the official release is set for fall 2025. If you’re a player from the USA or Brazil, you can register for the pre-alpha testing right now; other regions will have their chance soon after.
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2024-12-19 04:39