The idea behind Unknown 9: Awakening It’s very good. This game is part of an interconnected universe with a trilogy of novels, comics, an ARG and a series of podcasts that would tell an epic story full of secrets that fans would have to solve on their own. As if that were not enough, the protagonist of the video game is played by Mother Chalotrathe beautiful actress who plays Yennefer in the series The Witcher. But those grandiose plans for this ‘Storyworld’ are of no use if the game is not good and does not even arouse the interest of fans of the novels to which it serves as a prequel.
It’s frustrating to get excited about a project and discover that the resulting work not only doesn’t live up to expectations, but borders on mediocrity. That’s what happened with this title from the French studio Reflector Entertainment.
Haroona is a young Indian woman with the ability to use the powers of the strange world known as ‘The Upside Down’ and who, after losing her mentor, dedicates herself to pursuing a group known as the Ascendants and their leader Vincent to exact revenge. As it could not be otherwise, she will end up involved in a war between secret organizations and a conspiracy of those who intend to use the power of The Upside Down for their own plans.
Although it has a fairly traditional plot, all the lore and mythology behind it is excellent. Taking place in our world during the first quarter of the 20th century and not in a fantasy land or a typical medieval setting gives it a special charm. This, of course, is due to the already established fictional universe to which it belongs. Not having read the novels and comics of this saga, I can’t say for sure when it contributes to that universe or if it does it justice, but I can say that at least it stands on its own and we don’t need to know more about the world of the Nine Unknown to understand what is happening.
In terms of gameplay, Unknown 9: Awakening It can best be described as a linear action adventure with a lot of emphasis on stealth. Haroona has the traditional skills of hiding in tall grass, distracting enemies, and approaching them from behind to eliminate them, but What makes this adventure special is the use of his umbric powers, which allow him to possess enemies for a short time to attack others, activate devices or move them away from his location.. He can also turn invisible for a few seconds and explode objects on the stage in the distance.
The problem is that, despite these elements, stealth is very boring and too similar to what we have seen since the genre became popular more than two decades ago. The possession is not very original either and does not contribute much on a mechanical level. Sometimes I would feel so bored in the middle of an infiltration sequence that I would purposely break stealth to get the battle started.
Possession of enemies is also well integrated into combat and is fun to use in the middle of a combo – especially when we have improved it and it allows us to chain possessions – but the basic elements of combat, attacks and evasion, are not pleasant . They feel heavy and easily abused, making confrontations more tedious than exciting.
If fighting and stealth aren’t particularly good, what’s left for Unknown 9: Awakening? Not much, to tell the truth. Although there are collectibles and upgrades for Haroona hidden along the way, the levels don’t necessarily have great design and some stages are more fun to navigate than others. Even though they are fairly linear, I sometimes felt lost in some of them with few indicators to warn me if I was turning back or moving forward correctly.
On a technical level there is nothing good to say. Despite playing the PS5 version, it only runs at 30 fps per second and it is common for performance to drop below that. I don’t understand the reason, since the game is not visually demanding either. The animations are very average and the graphics are not exactly pretty. I also found a good amount of ‘glitches’ and ‘bugs’ ranging from the protagonist’s cape remaining suspended in the air to movements that were blocked until the game was restarted.
No matter how much I liked Haroona or how interesting the lore behind this universe seemed to me, the gameplay just didn’t grab me and after about three hours of playing I was already having a hard time finding the will to keep going. It’s not a particularly long game—it can be finished in about 12 hours—but it feels heavier than it should due to its many problems.
My conclusion in this review is not necessarily that Unknown 9: Awakening It’s a bad game. Despite its many problems, it works well and I’ve found much worse titles — but it’s painfully mediocre. The vast majority of its elements are generic, it feels dated and does not contribute anything interesting to the genre. Maybe those who haven’t played many action-stealth games will find something interesting in it, and maybe fans of the Nine Unknowns ‘storyverse’ will find something else to appreciate.
This review is made using a digital copy of Unknown 9: Awakening for PlayStation 5 provided by Bandai Namco Entertainment. This game is also available for PS4, Xbox and for PC through Steam.
