The Hidden Ones is essentially an epilogue to the base game. Set a few years after the events of Origins, Bayek has been called to the Sinai Peninsula to help deal with a growing conflict with the Romans. You are given a new story to experience, a new region to explore, and a really cool new outfit, (seriously, it's awesome!).

The story is similar to the base game in terms of mission structure. You are given targets and are tasked with taking out each one, with the occasional narrative event that shakes things up a bit. For the most part, it's a decent story. You get to see how the Brotherhood is maintaining itself years after its creation. Each target you are sent to assassinate has its own challenges to deal with in order to succeed. Aya's appearance in the DLC is also a stand out moment, and the dialogue between the two main characters is one of the highlights of this DLC.

My main issue with the narrative is that it's just too short. The story took me roughly 3 hours to complete, and the conclusion to this story felt rather lackluster. As you are playing through the story, the stakes feel as if they are getting higher and higher as the situation deteriorates. This creates tension. Tension that feels wasted at the end due to a dull final confrontation that did not feel conclusive at all. The abruptness of the ending let the story down as a whole.

The side quests for the most part are good. There are a couple of really bad ones that are essentially just fetch quests, but there are some interesting ones as well. One in particular that comes to mind involves the initiation of a new member of the Brotherhood. Another side quest involves a character from the base game. Some of these side quests felt better than the DLC's main story simply because they were laid out better.

From a gameplay perspective, The Hidden Ones doesn't really invent anything new. Some locations are a lot more challenging than places you'd find in the base game. A higher level cap is a welcome addition, and the increased XP gain from side quests makes levelling up so much easier. Besides this, there isn't a great deal of new content. Sure there are new legendary weapons that you can find, but at the end of the day, you'll end up finding better gear. Most of what this DLC has, are things the base game already provides.

In terms of the map however, I have no complaints. The beautiful map design and high attention to detail that was present in the base game has carried over in this DLC. The map, although quite small, contains a wide variety of places for you to explore, whether it be traversing through massive canyons or through vast deserts. Like the base game, there isn't any part of the map that feels left out. The care and thought put to it is seamless throughout.

-Decent story
-Interesting side quests
-Increased level cap
-Beautiful map

-Too short
-Lacks innovation


The Hidden Ones serves as a mostly satisfying epilogue to the base game. It's good to see Bayek and Aya teaming up again, and seeing how the Brotherhood is operating in other parts of the world is an interesting perspective. The world is beautiful and filled with places to explore. However, the abruptness of the narrative's conclusion and the lack of anything new gameplay-wise makes it hard for the DLC to stand out.

7/10.

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The Hidden Ones is essentially an epilogue to the base game. Set a few years after the events of Origins, Bayek has been called to the Sinai Peninsula to help deal with a growing conflict with the Romans. You are given a new story to experience, a new region to explore, and a really cool new outfit, (seriously, it's awesome!). The story is similar to the base game in terms of mission structure. You are given targets and are tasked with taking out each one, with the occasional narrative event that shakes things up a bit. For the most part, it's a decent story. You get to see how the Brotherhood is maintaining itself years after its creation. Each target you are sent to assassinate has its own challenges to deal with in order to succeed. Aya's appearance in the DLC is also a stand out moment, and the dialogue between the two main characters is one of the highlights of this DLC. My main issue with the narrative is that it's just too short. The story took me roughly 3 hours to complete, and the conclusion to this story felt rather lackluster. As you are playing through the story, the stakes feel as if they are getting higher and higher as the situation deteriorates. This creates tension. Tension that feels wasted at the end due to a dull final confrontation that did not feel conclusive at all. The abruptness of the ending let the story down as a whole. The side quests for the most part are good. There are a couple of really bad ones that are essentially just fetch quests, but there are some interesting ones as well. One in particular that comes to mind involves the initiation of a new member of the Brotherhood. Another side quest involves a character from the base game. Some of these side quests felt better than the DLC's main story simply because they were laid out better. From a gameplay perspective, The Hidden Ones doesn't really invent anything new. Some locations are a lot more challenging than places you'd find in the base game. A higher level cap is a welcome addition, and the increased XP gain from side quests makes levelling up so much easier. Besides this, there isn't a great deal of new content. Sure there are new legendary weapons that you can find, but at the end of the day, you'll end up finding better gear. Most of what this DLC has, are things the base game already provides. In terms of the map however, I have no complaints. The beautiful map design and high attention to detail that was present in the base game has carried over in this DLC. The map, although quite small, contains a wide variety of places for you to explore, whether it be traversing through massive canyons or through vast deserts. Like the base game, there isn't any part of the map that feels left out. The care and thought put to it is seamless throughout. [h1]Pros:[/h1] -Decent story -Interesting side quests -Increased level cap -Beautiful map [h1]Cons:[/h1] -Too short -Lacks innovation [h1]My Final Thoughts[/h1] The Hidden Ones serves as a mostly satisfying epilogue to the base game. It's good to see Bayek and Aya teaming up again, and seeing how the Brotherhood is operating in other parts of the world is an interesting perspective. The world is beautiful and filled with places to explore. However, the abruptness of the narrative's conclusion and the lack of anything new gameplay-wise makes it hard for the DLC to stand out. [h1]Final Rating:[/h1] 7/10. [quote]Get high quality, short reviews by following [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/36143846/]Balance Patch.[/url][/quote]