Unknown 9: Review of “Awakening” – a ticket to an interesting world neither fails nor surpasses

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The action and storytelling suffer from functional and creative errors.

We had to wait quite a few years for Unknown 9: Awakening. The game was originally supposed to be released in 2021. In addition, novels, comics and a series of podcasts from the world of Unknown 9 have been created, which, according to the plans of the developers from the Canadian studio Reflector, is a new product for computers. and consoles need to be properly popularized. So it’s surprising that a very enjoyable game that I was proud to welcome as a new IP has some obvious flaws.

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  • Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, X1, Xbox Series (review version)
  • Release date: 10/18/2024
  • Developer: Reflector Entertainment
  • Publisher: Bandai Namco
  • Genre: action, stealth action
  • Czech localization: No
  • Multiplayer: No
  • Download data: 55 GB
  • Game time: 15 hours
  • Price: 50 euros

Action A Plague Tale?

This occurred to me immediately after the first gaming session, and if we leave aside the quality of implementation of individual elements or the plot, then I consider the comparison with A Plague Tale: Innocence (I specifically mention the first part) to be quite correct. suitable even after fifteen hours spent with Unknown 9. First of all, if we are talking about the structure of the passage, which leads the player through a linear event and environment and confronts him, on the one hand, with arenas with enemies, on the other hand, a very decent number of heavy story videos.

I admit, however, that the comparison is ultimately unconvincing in some places, for example in action. Unknown 9: Awakening can be described as a stealth game, but the further I progressed, the less I relied on stealth and stealth. Often, especially in the second half of the game, a stealthy approach is completely impossible, and it is almost never possible to completely miss enemies.

The most powerful ability is definitely impersonating enemies.

But that’s not really a complaint on my part, because I believe that the action component is the prerogative of Unknown 9. The authors managed to create combat that is fast, fluid and satisfying, but at the same time quite challenging. In the first few hours, I experienced moments where the combat flow got a little stuck, but as the main character’s capabilities and talent grew, I began to feel more and more excited after winning a fight.

The most powerful ability is definitely the embodiment of enemies, which you can chain up to four times in a time, and more than once it happens that thanks to the right strategy, opponents are de facto destroyed by themselves.

And despite all this, the stock has one significant drawback. It is typical for Unknown 9 – everything that I praise, I also vilify on the other hand. Every benefit has a catch. In the case of fights, the notorious problem is the variety of enemies, which is far below a tolerable level. I won’t throw out numbers, but if there are more enemy types than I assume, then they are similar at best. Few people have exceptional tactical capabilities when they have them. Of course you will meet soldiers with clubs, with arrows, with stronger ones. tanks and support units. But in combat you don’t really encounter this. Few, with the exception of the occasional machine gunner and then the teleporting ladies, pose a serious threat. The other side’s strength lies mainly in numerical superiority.

Apart from combat, the game will also offer several logic puzzles. But there are only a few of them, and don’t look for a challenge in them. It serves more as a break in the tempo and serves its purpose. Intense passages are regularly interspersed with calmer moments or videos.

The history of the world is cruelly insufficient

It would almost be suggested to set the story in a world unknown to the players, with new characters, realities, or mythology in the text before the action component. This did not happen for a simple reason. I didn’t want to start off too negative. The plot, which started out promising, ended up disappointing me. It’s a shame because the world of Unknown 9 is inherently very interesting, I enjoyed learning about its past, and I would like to know more about the times that will come after the events of the early twentieth century.

I liked historical fiction in the vein of Assassin’s Creed. I really enjoyed Anya Chalotra’s performance in the title role. It also manages to unenviably introduce the player to the complexities of the world. But the partial victory does not overshadow the fact that the narrative itself, no matter how tight and honest it is, is very flat, predictable and full of clichés. While the script throws in a few twists and surprises, it’s not a truly unexpected development. I either actually knew about them in advance, or responded to them with an understanding nod.

I almost forgot, and this would be logical, about the main villain and all the negative characters. We don’t really get to know them, the characters dryly tell us that this and that are bad, and they, in turn, prepare a traditional set of harsh words every time they appear on stage. When the dialogue tries to play on emotion, it sounds pretty cheap. I didn’t even form a relationship with the good characters, and in the end I only cared about the main character, Haruna.

At the very least, it takes the player on a journey through different locations. Don’t think that you won’t have to spend many hours in the typical corridors of even more typical factories and basements. Otherwise, you’ll visit a North African jungle village, a very impressive Native American structure, an airship and the ruins of an ancient civilization.

Split – even technically

The game looks pretty good. Of course, everyone’s graphics requirements are different, and Unknown 9: Awakening is far from up to par, but what it lacks in technical terms, it makes up for in steampunk aesthetics, for example.

However, I would be wrong in my previous words if I did not add a reproach here too. This time she is completely objective. The game suffers from an abundance of graphical glitches. They mainly concern the characters who accompany Harun during the passage, although they are not very useful in battle. Partners merge with objects, get stuck in them, fly through the air, or do other dirty tricks. Less commonly, these errors also affect enemies.

It is also worth noting the fact that the game only has one display mode on the console. I haven’t put Unknown 9 to a technical test and I don’t have a trained eye, but I’d venture to say that the frame rate is definitely closer to 30fps than 60fps.

And yet it’s fun

In my opinion, one fact speaks in favor of “Unknown 9: Awakening”. To be honest, I had fun most of the time I played. Did this experience prolong the fight? Yes, of course, but that alone would not be enough. I came to terms with the main story and was able to quite enjoy it. The cutscenes and narration push him forward. Was there any bugs that bothered me? Sure, but they never broke my game. The developers completely avoided mistakes.

In fact, I think it’s not the problems that ruin the good moments, but the easily recognizable qualities that help overcome the sometimes drawn-out parts of the game. Unknown 9: Awakening is an ordinary experience at best, but even such experiences should not be thrown away.

Verdict

Along with the naive but cute Haruna, we are immersed in the signature unknown world of Unknown 9. While the story is predictable and full of clichés, it also has a nice narrative feel and takes us to some interesting places. The slight variety of enemies is balanced by the main character’s enhancing abilities, which are really fun to use. Thanks to aesthetics, you can forgive some of the shortcomings.

What do we like and dislike?

Starring Anya Chalotra

Abilities and their upgrades

Predictable story full of clichés

Little variety of enemies

No performance mode

Source :Indian TV

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