Unknown 9 Awakening Review: Lacklustre Levels Mar Truly Fresh Gameplay Ideas
There are several elements I did like - from Bengali dialogues to a fun possession technique. However, there were several disappointments as well.
Unknown 9 Awakening Review: Originality, in the true sense of the word, has gone missing from the world of gaming over the past decade or so. This is mostly due to new games being sequels which bring in some polish and some fun new game mechanics over the previous (like the prone move in “The Last of Us Part II” or the Web Wings in “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2”) or games which are blatant ripoffs of other IPs (such as “The Crew Motorfest” copying “Forza Horizon 5”).
It is indeed very rare, then, that you come across a truly ‘original’ IP. “Unknown 9: Awakening” did take a few right steps in that direction with witty gameplay that almost feels like playing a chess game. However, threatless enemy AI, half-hearted NPC designs, and absolute repetitiveness of levels deliver a forgettable experience that’s probably not worth waking up to.
Unknown 9: Awakening - Review: Quick Pointers
What I love:
- Fun enemy-possession-based gameplay
- Gorgeous graphics and world design
- Anya Chalotra was a surprise
What I don’t:
- Gets boring after first couple of encounters
- Ho-hum storyline
- NPCs, enemies feel like they’re from a 2000s-era game
Possession’s Nine-Tenth Of The Fun
Awakening is part of the visionary multi-media Unknown 9 Storyworld that comprises podcasts, comic books, and novels. The game has you stepping into the shoes of Haroona (voiced by Anya Chalotra of The Witcher fame, who does a satisfactory job) who hails from India (again, a welcome addition for gamers at home) as she gains mysterious supernatural powers which are pretty cool at first.
Haroona gets to tap into another dimension called The Fold, which lets her execute fun moves like possessing an enemy and making him do her bidding or even using a portal to spot enemies behind walls and other blockages.
Using the powers of The Fold, Haroona gets to possess other enemies for a brief period and she can make this goon do almost anything - smash the ground and take out multiple enemies, shoot at a flammable cylinder and blow up a group of thugs, or simply walk up to a roadblock and clear the way using intuitive (and rather easy) puzzles.
Now, this trick is pretty neat and feels good to execute the first couple of times. However, the level design is so bland that things get boring and repetitive almost instantly. Had there been nifty little set pieces to play around with, perhaps some semblance of puzzle thrown in here and there (something like a limited number of moves to take out enemies in just the right order before they overwhelm you), we might have had a winner in our hands. Sadly, that was not the case.
Haroona’s other magical powers are mostly run-of-the-mill. She can disappear, for instance, which doesn’t really lead to much as the overall stealth mechanics miss the mark by a mile. She can also Jedi-push enemies into cylinders and traps, which is somewhat fun - force-pushing people off ledges was indeed exciting.
The game used a smart way to give the sixth-sense-radar power to Haroona, where she can conjure up a transparent portal that can help her see through walls and sandstorms as well.
Apart from the magical power-based gameplay, “Unknown 9: Awakening” doesn’t have a lot to offer in terms of action. Melee combat is very run-of-the-mill, and even though Haroona can move around very swiftly, the lack of overall “things to do while moving” makes the overall gameplay quite bland.
Gorgeous World Design, Flat NPCs
If we strictly talk about design or scale of vision, “Unknown 9: Awakening” can easily compete with Uncharted games. Matter of fact, making your way through the market crowd of Chamiri instantly reminded me of the southern India market scene from “Uncharted: Lost Legacy”.
It's a pity that "Unknown 9: Awakening" does not have a dedicated photo mode and I could not take proper screenshots to capture the beauty of the game.
And speaking of market scenes, being a Kolkata boy myself, I was taken aback when I heard the NPCs converse in Bengali. I have been playing video games for decades and this is the first time I heard Bengali dialogues in a game!
I mean, if I have to nitpick, I must say Bengalis of Eastern India don’t actually talk in the accent of Bengali used in the game. The accent is more prevalent in Bangladesh or the regions surrounding it. It could be a result of using AI to take care of your script-reading needs for NPCs. However, having spent nearly an hour listening to people converse in Bengali, where they discuss everything from delicious singaras (samoas for Bengalis) to lucrative business ventures - I must thank developers Reflector Entertainment for this delightful addition.
Speaking of NPCs and enemy models - the game looks like it could belong to the 2000s, when almost everyone looked the same and the game did nothing to hide the fact. It was especially strange to beat up a certain baddie in a cutscene, only to see him pop up again with other exactly similar-looking enemies in a level, to AGAIN seeing him pop up in yet another cutscene feels very disorienting, to say the least.
Games like “Red Dead Redemption II”, “The Last Of Us Part II”, or even “Baldur’s Gate 3” have already set a certain bar when it comes to enemy/NPC design. So, the onus now lies on AAA developers to level up accordingly.
Unknown 9: Awakening - Review: Final Verdict
“Unknown 9: Awakening” has a lot of potential. The possession-based gameplay could have worked so much better had there been a sense of calculation and puzzle attached to it. The graphics is stunning. Chalhotra as Haroona is certainly exciting. What it needed was careful world-building, witty dialogues, and a certain pizzazz that could have helped it stand out of the crowd.
Now, having said all that, it should be kept in mind that this is Reflector Entertainment's first game. If it can focus on the strengths of "Unknown 9: Awakening" and build on them, it will be interesting to see what the studio comes up with next.
Unknown 9: Awakening is available on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.
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