Unknown 9: Awakening review

The story follows Haroona, an Indian girl played by Anya Chalotra and her affinity to the mystical realm called the Fold. She can tap into the Fold and use Jedi-like powers to take down enemies. Visually it looks wee-bit like Celebrimbor’s Wraith Powers from Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. 

Her mentor was killed by Vincent Lichter who wants to see the destruction of the world but Haroona is a Quaestor and she wants to uncover the mysteries of the Fold and uncover the secrets of the elusive nine immortal beings called the Unknown 9. Not to mention, get her sweet revenge on Vincent too.

Unknown 9: Awakening is the first game from this new studio called Reflector Entertainment. They're planning to make novels, comics, movies, and TV shows about the Unknown 9 universe, so this game is just the beginning. There are already books and podcasts about it, too. The story has a lot of cool paranormal and supernatural stuff, but the game doesn't really get into the deep lore until you've played for about eight hours.

The map is mostly a series of small areas that you clear to get to the next. Enemies can either be taken out using stealth but if you get detected then everyone quickly surrounds you. The combat has its moments of fun when you combine your stepping ability and Jedi powers with the conveniently placed explosives. You can ‘step’ inside the mind and take control of them and make them attack each other or send them to their death by making them strike an explosive barrel. Or if you want to take the stealthy approach, you can trigger explosives using your Am (the supernatural power) or push and pull enemies into walls, explosives, lamps and scaffoldings.

Each section of the map provides some opportunity to create your own sandbox of chaos but the abilities are limited and it’s easy to get bored in the first few hours. The game quickly ramps up the difficulty as the story progresses by introducing tougher enemies that are immune to your physic powers. Enemies will also start using shields and detectors to block your Jedi mind tricks so you must first take out the generator powering these things.

Unknown 9: Awakening's combat system is kinda cool, but it doesn't really get any better than what you see in the trailers. Even the companions that join you for some sections don't really help when the going gets tough. One section of the game where you have to keep defeating enemies till help arrives is especially frustrating because your companion Luther is not very useful at taking down enemies and you have to manage your Am meter while throwing punches to recover the ability points for stepping. 

The attempt here is to be a game like Uncharted or Tomb Raider that combines personal struggles with fantasy history lessons but the execution is as janky as a skateboard rolling down the stairs. The movement and motion capture need serious work. Some PS3 games look better than this and the whole presentation just feels poorly executed. I don’t know what is worse, the combat that has terrible and weird character joint articulation or the cut scenes that have flat textures and stiff movements. Not to mention the choppy frame rate and performance issues make it even messier.

Exploration and item collection are also boring. For a story that is going for an Indiana Jones-esque vibe, the environments and artefacts don’t seem all that interesting. The artefacts are far and few inbetween for a game that deals in the archaeological sense of wonder in mystic and otherworldly intentions. There are just boring letters and coins scattered everywhere which don’t have the wow factor like Tomb Raider and Uncharted games.

The game has some good ideas that work but the execution is a hotchpotch of unfinished and low budget polish that is stacked over an ambitious attempt. The game lacks cohesion in presentation because the story doesn’t flow as smoothly as it should even though the game brings top listed actors like Anya Charlotra as the main character. 

Cutscenes end abruptly and move scene to scene like a poorly executed theatrical performance. It’s one of those games that should’ve spent another year or so in development to get the polish it deserves.