After immersing myself in the captivating world of Unknown 9: Awakening on my trusty PlayStation 5, I must admit that this game has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. Initially, I was smitten by its intriguing storyline and engaging characters, not to mention the freedom it offered in exploration.
As a gamer diving into “Unkown 9: Awakening”, I found myself immersed in a richly crafted universe that seamlessly combines elements from various genres. This multimedia project offers not only captivating novels and audio dramas but also an engaging standalone game experience. Contrary to some initial impressions, this isn’t your typical narrative walk-through; it’s a genuinely ‘gamey’ video game that delivers on action and adventure.
In my previous statement, I highlighted how the game resembles a blockbuster movie in structure but doesn’t heavily depend on cinematic cutscenes for storytelling. Instead, most of its narrative unfolds through character dialogue and in-game scenes, particularly shining in the dialogue exchanges. While I enjoyed the occasional scenes, there were instances of abrupt transitions that felt a bit jarring, like moving from an argument on an airship to exploring a jungle alone without proper context. Although these sudden scene changes aren’t constant, they are noticeable when they occur. On the other hand, the character dialogues are well-crafted, with conversations occurring naturally among characters rather than between them and the player directly – something many games struggle with. This dialogue often shows a subtlety and wit that brings to mind classic BioWare titles. The airship hub, where you interact with your crewmates after every few levels, is an excellent example of this, showcasing the companions’ conversations in particular.
Engaging in dialogue with your fellow shipmates on this airship showcases some of the game’s finest storytelling and character development.
In those moments sailing on the airship, interacting with all the fascinating characters, I found myself most captivated by Unknown 9. The crew members’ dialogue changed each time I returned from land, much like in the iconic Mass Effect Normandy. I adore the characters’ individual stories and personalities, which make the game truly shine, although I must admit that the protagonist, Haroona, didn’t resonate with me as deeply as the rest of the cast. Despite her standoffish demeanor and distrust that persisted throughout the story, she failed to win me over or charm me. However, Haroona, like the rest of the characters, has a rich backstory that explains their motivations. Characters such as the eccentric navigator pushing for Haroona to appreciate opera, or the amiable bartender sharing tales from the American Civil War kept me hooked, even when other aspects of the game seemed less appealing and tried to discourage me from continuing.
In terms of its narrative, the storyline generally adheres to a conventional format. The main character discovers their abilities following the demise of their guide and subsequently becomes entangled in a broader conspiracy upon joining a motley crew of rebels. Although some plot surprises were predictable, the delivery was authentic and engaging, making the familiar elements tolerable. Moreover, the tale refrains from being overly obvious with its themes or repetitively emphasizing plot points, demonstrating trust in the player’s intelligence.
As you traverse various unique landscapes ranging from the lush Indian jungle to grand Portuguese mansions, each location brims with a variety of collectible items.
In discussing the strengths of Unknown 9, delving into the trinkets and ornaments within the airship is a pleasure due to the diverse assortment of gadgets and scattered collectibles cleverly concealed. I find the overall exploration engaging, be it the jungles of India or the hidden subterranean caves revealing the enigmatic secrets of the godlike Unknown 9 and their impact on historical occurrences. The environments are meticulously designed, enhanced by the game’s exceptional graphics and dynamic lighting effects. They skillfully convey the wetness of the Indian forests and the arid heat of desert landscapes, yet the facial animations could use improvement, appearing stiff or provisional – a noticeable contrast to the beautifully rendered and detailed surroundings.
During my adventure, I found myself captivated by the dense jungles and grand Victorian mansions, but the combat left me a bit underwhelmed. Let’s start with what I appreciate about the combat: The game’s initial combat encounters require sneaking through tall vegetation to execute stealthy backstab assassinations or remotely trigger explosives using the Crush ability. Additionally, you can hurl psychic ‘stones’ to divert enemies and employ a psychic Peek ability that serves as a sort of telescopic lens to spot enemies and interactables behind obstacles. I found these early stealth-based portions quite engaging and prefer them to the more head-on, tank-like combat required in later sections.
By using the Step skill, you temporarily take over an enemy’s actions, maintaining control as long as your Umbral gauge doesn’t empty. This advantage significantly enhances your position in many confrontations.
A key aspect of most encounters is Haroona’s Step ability, which temporarily takes control of an opponent and enables attacks on other foes or detonation of explosives. This skill is especially beneficial when facing numerous opponents, a situation that occurs frequently midway through the game. Although I enjoy Haroona’s given abilities, the excessive enemy encounters halfway through the game don’t align well with her Umbric skills. Haroona isn’t designed as a tank, and her occasional combat ally contributes little to overcoming enemies, making many of the later fights feel laborious and mismatched. Yes, you have a magical shield with parries and a short invisibility trick to dodge potential danger, but there are limitations when there are devices that hinder those abilities along with powerful ‘mini-boss’ enemies.
Adversaries labeled ‘Gearheads’ limit your capacity to use the Step skill. Other machinery and adversaries also hinder various Umbral abilities, but as you progress through the skill tree, you can find ways to circumvent some of these limitations.
To illustrate, think about the Gearheads. Initially, your encounters with them can be tough, as there’s no protective terrain nearby or high grass to retreat into. Moreover, the inability to utilize Step on Gearheads makes your most effective tool virtually useless. Many engagements often devolve into awkward melee skirmishes, where your best Umbral abilities are rendered ineffective. The stealth and Umbral abilities are emphasized throughout the game, but these close-quarters battles seem to overemphasize them excessively. To make matters worse, the number of bugs increases as more opponents appear on the screen. I’ve encountered situations where my character got stuck in a combat animation during jumps, leading to an instant death. Also, there have been instances where I was trapped in complex terrain during battles with numerous rocks and such. The Unknown 9 game experiences its worst moments during these large-scale battles involving heavy opponents that restrict certain Umbral powers. The melee combat in this game isn’t well-designed, due to inconsistent lock-on and unclear punch hit boxes. Unfortunately, the second half of the game seems determined to swamp you with waves of these types of enemies.
During the game, you’ll often face multiple battles with more than a dozen enemies, which can be challenging
In Unknown 9, it’s not just the frequent combat sequences that create issues with gameplay. Dialogues between characters can suddenly stop mid-conversation when you advance or initiate an encounter, which is frustrating. Additionally, your companions tend to constantly remind you to speed up, becoming quite repetitive until you adhere to the main path. This constant urging discourages exploration, a feature I previously mentioned as one of the game’s strengths. What’s more annoying is being scolded for not advancing the main story on the airship; I wanted to listen to all the companion dialogue and enjoy the beautiful surroundings, but it seems the game doesn’t want me to do that.
Some other slight niggles are the absence of performance or graphics modes on console. I was stuck with the game hovering around 40 FPS, with frames getting choppier during some of the overwhelming group fights. Oh, and you cannot change difficulty after you start up a new game, so select between the four difficulty settings wisely because you’ll be stuck with it.
As a gamer, I’ve got to admit that Unknown 9 isn’t perfect, but let me tell you, it sure knows how to deliver some captivating story beats and moments when it encourages you to venture out and explore.
As I delved deeper into the story of “Unknown 9: Awakening,” I found myself becoming quite enamored with it around the halfway point. However, the game seemed to lose its way by forcing me into close combat and inundating me with repetitive enemy encounters, as if it had forgotten its own strengths. The game truly excels during its exploratory moments, particularly when interacting with the crew on the (airship name). The combat system works best when it encourages stealth and gives you ample opportunity to use your umbral abilities without overstepping bounds, leaving me puzzled as to why they opted for such a heavy focus on enemy waves during the latter half of the game. Despite these gameplay issues, the narrative and world-building are captivating, and you’re likely to develop an attachment to one or more characters while exploring “Unknown 9″‘s universe. I eagerly await further projects set within the “Unknown 9” universe, as “Awakening” has demonstrated potential in its world-building, despite some gameplay hiccups.
This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.
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2024-10-18 22:12