Review of Unknown 9: Awakening
After spending just 10 minutes playing Unknown 9: Awakening, a sense of deja vu washed over me. The familiar formula of taking out enemies in small arenas, following a personal growth storyline, and navigating through narrow cracks in walls immediately reminded me of similar games in the “Crevice Crawler” genre. While this game does introduce some unique concepts, like mind-control powers to manipulate enemies, it falls short in executing the basics compared to its competitors. Despite glimpses of potential with these new ideas, the novelty quickly wears off, leaving players with a generic and lackluster experience riddled with performance issues and other technical problems.
Plot and Gameplay
Set in an alternate version of the early 20th century, players assume the role of Haroona, a cynical woman granted powers to access the Fold, an unseen dimension. These powers enable typical magical abilities like temporary invisibility, telekinetic attacks reminiscent of Jedi abilities, and ghostly forms to solve puzzles. Navigating through small arenas interspersed with cutscenes, the game attempts to weave a compelling narrative akin to popular TV series adaptations. However, instead of delivering well-crafted combat and stealth sequences, Awakening offers subpar fighting mechanics and simplistic sneaking challenges.
Despite a generic premise, the world-building in Unknown 9: Awakening is surprisingly detailed and immersive. The alternate Earth brims with mystical secrets, hidden histories, immortal beings, and occult organizations, adding depth to the game’s lore. However, the promising foundation gets lost in a predictable story filled with cliches and forgettable characters, drowning in arcane terminology and convoluted references that fail to engross players.
Gameplay Experience
While the game offers opportunities for stealth-based gameplay, the mechanics are uninspired and lacking innovation. Players can use distractions and hiding spots to navigate past enemies, but the AI’s incompetence often diminishes the challenge. Despite these shortcomings, there is a modest satisfaction in successfully completing stealth sections and receiving praise from in-game companions for being undetected.
- Stealth mechanics feel routine and offer few surprises
- Combat encounters become more frequent as the game progresses, highlighting the game’s weak points
Mind-Control Powers and Combat
One redeeming feature of Awakening lies in its mind-control powers, allowing players to possess and manipulate enemies to unleash havoc or aid in stealthy approaches. While the novelty of these abilities wears off over time, chaining possession sequences to orchestrate chaos and witnessing the results in slow motion provides some entertainment amidst the game’s shortcomings. Unfortunately, combat encounters lack depth and challenge, relying on repetitive dodging and simplistic attack patterns that fail to engage players.
Performance and Technical Issues
Aside from its gameplay flaws, Unknown 9: Awakening is plagued by performance issues, bugs, and overall jankiness. Players may experience framerate drops, character glitches, and disjointed cutscenes that detract from the overall gaming experience. These technical shortcomings further diminish an already lackluster game, highlighting the need for substantial improvements in future updates.