3D Fighters fall into more of a niche section of the fighting game community. Series' such as Dragon Ball and Naruto aren’t for everyone, heavily relying on the lore from their respective series. Developer Morefun Studio and Tencent are getting in on the 3D Fighter action with a heavy passion stemming from a Chinese franchise, The Outcast.The Hidden Oneswill bring influence from the series that started as a web comic that was eventually adapted into a Chinese animation series, a live-action TV series and a game. We were able to get some hands-on time with this 3D Action Fighter that offers a story mode, as well, and this artwork within the game will be enough to garner attention to players.
The Story and Inspiration of The Hidden Ones
The Hidden Ones will incorporate elements to define a supernatural world that is rooted in Eastern mysticism.More than just martial arts, The Hidden Ones will incorporate Chinese Kung Fun, spells, Taoism, Yin-Yang Bagua and Chi. The developers at Morefun have stated that the martial arts techniques for the game were actually motion captured. Spells will also be inspired by Taoist and other Chinese legends. The art style will be a Cinematic Manhau while the realistic manga style will be inherited from the original franchise.
The Hidden Ones will incorporate elements to define a supernatural world that is rooted in Eastern mysticism.
The plot for The Hidden Ones involves the world of The Outcast. Sixty years prior, several predecessors stemming from the Outcast world came together to master the Eight Secret Arts. This would spark numerous conflicts among other Outcasts that carried these same skills. This specific event was known as the Jia Shen Rebellion. Time would pass as people believed that the Eight Secret Arts had failed and inevitably lost. Two Outcasts, Zhang Chu-Lan and Feng Bao-Bao, had an encounter which reignited the Eight Secret Arts back into the world. The main characters will have a path to take due to the chaos of the Outcast world.
Three Different Modes to Play
The Story Mode offers a cinematic and interactive experience for players that will include various encounters with enemies and unique boss fights along the way. Players will explore through areas on foot and experience cutscenes to tell the story. Fights will be tied into constrained areas with interactive objects in the arena. The playable chapters at the event were 3 and 4 with the main character being Wane Ye. Exploring the area of the town brought forth multiple battles that culminated with a major boss fight. This specific boss battle was split into two with the second section adding a giant viper to the arena on top of dealing with the boss.These boss battles will be challenging across the board, and there’s even a specific mode dedicated to this.
The mode known as the Trial is a specific boss battle mode. Two boss fights were included, but these were difficult and the second boss wasn’t able to be played. There are four levels of difficulty that peak with the Inferno option. Once more time is spent with each of the fighters or maybe getting to know how well to use a fighter, this may be easier. There wasn’t a specific rhythm to these bosses, even in the story. Some attacks have the character light up with a blue orb, meaning these attacks can be blocked. The red orb, however, is unblockable, and the AI from the bosses seemingly set up the player to take advantage of these attacks.The boss AI is seemingly cunning in luring players to get greedy.Patience is important in these battles, no matter what level of difficulty is selected.
The Duel is the PvP element that supports cross-platform matchmaking. Players will select three characters to use to pit against one another. There are elemental boosts that can be allocated that are broken down in three tiers with a maximum of four points available. The team stated there’s a lot of balancing to do, but also confirmed that fighters will not have speed or power advantages over one another. Certain fighters, however, will suit players more than others. There were nine to choose from, and with the emphasis on Chinese mythological culture, a few of these stood out over the rest. The design for these characters is wonderful. The PVP fights are in an open area arena that’s locked in. After a round, the winning player will regain some health, but not all. Once all fighters are defeated in order, the match is over. The PVP was a lot of fun with other players as everyone was learning what worked best.
The Duel is the PvP element that supports cross-platform matchmaking.
Gameplay Mechanics and The Flow
While there are some elemental attacks that blur the line of a traditional RPG and a fighting game, the combat is grounded in comparison to other games in the genre. There’s no air combat or flying around. Juggling is not a characteristic of the attacks, but players can both parry defensively when timed correctly, or roll out of a situation. Two meters will fill, one allowing for special moves or defensive adjustments, and the other one for Ultimate Skill.This big attack contains a full cutscene, which is basically the finisher in The Hidden Ones, and they look fantastic as every fighter has their own.Timing is the key element of combat. The Story Mode, when fighting multiple enemies, allows for different ways to aim at different characters.
Anime-Inspired Fighter The Hidden Ones Announced, Playtests Open
Dust off those martial arts skills, The Hidden Ones is here for a challenge.
The Hidden Ones is designed to play with either a controller or with a mouse and keyboard, and the mouse and keyboard works well. Movement is used with WASD while Skill 1 is mapped to Q and Skill 2 is mapped to E. The Ultimate Skill is mapped to R and object interaction is mapped to F. Players can dodge with the space bar or do a break away/cancel with Shift. Basic Attack and Defense are mapped to the mouse buttons.
Consuming stamina is key to being able to pull off all the attacks.Grabs come into play, as well, with an initiated animation from a basic attack up close. Two skills, one the aforementioned Ultimate Skill, will consume all stamina while the Sinister Skill are the lesser skills that can be pulled off. The Break Away also consumes Stamina and should not be spammed. Parrying on defense is time specific and if both fighters land a hit at the same time, there’s a tie up that pushes them both away. The fighting is responsive and quick, yet remains grounded. Sometimes a fighter can get locked into a combo, so making sure there’s enough stamina to Break Away when this happens is important.
Future Plans for The Hidden Ones
While this is a new fighting game franchise, it isn’t new for Morefun Studios. The studio has worked on Naruto Online along with The Roco Kingdom, Arena Breakout: Infinite and Aceforce 2. The art for The Hidden Ones ensures the passion towards this project, but it will only be available for mobile platforms and PC. The team is currently in the recruitment stage for pre-alpha testing. This testing will begin on January 7 and run through January 15.Morefun Studios plans for a Closed Beta Test in March 2025.The team is estimating an official release date for Q3 2025 and the page on Steam can be viewedhere. The Hidden Ones has such a pleasing aesthetic and a slow build in combat that involves strategy yet is approachable. The intensity of the battles isn’t truly realized until the match is over.
For more on The Hidden Ones, be sure to read our interviewhere.
