Unknown 9: Awakening

Despite some technical issues and a lacklustre final encounter, Unknown 9: Awakening brings a unique take on combat with an extremely well-acted plot that creates a story truly worth experiencing.

46%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

graphics, optimization

28% User Score Based on 705 reviews

Critic Score 75%Based on 8 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $16.50

Buy NowGet on Steam$49.99

Buy NowGet on Xbox Games Store

About

Unknown 9: Awakening is a game where you play as Haroona, a Quaestor with the ability to access a mysterious dimension called the Fold. Use your powers from the Fold to uncover hidden knowledge while avoiding the Ascendants, a faction that seeks to alter human history with the Fold's power. The Digital Deluxe Edition includes three cosmetic packs with unique skins and animations for Haroona and her journal.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

28%

Audience ScoreBased on 713 reviews

story110 positive mentions

graphics54 negative mentions

The game features a unique blend of stealth gameplay and supernatural powers, providing engaging encounters.
The story and world-building are intriguing, with a fresh cultural perspective that sets it apart from other titles.
The combat mechanics, particularly the ability to control enemies, add a fun and tactical dimension to gameplay.

The graphics and animations are dated, often resembling games from previous console generations, leading to a lack of immersion.
The gameplay can feel repetitive and linear, with forced combat encounters that detract from the stealth experience.
Technical issues such as frame rate drops, bugs, and poor AI behavior significantly hinder the overall experience.

story
351 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
59%
10%
The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it either bland, confusing, or poorly executed, often citing a lack of character development and coherence. While some appreciated the intriguing premise and engaging elements, others criticized it for being filled with clichés and lacking depth, leading to a disconnection from the characters and narrative. Overall, the storytelling appears to be a significant point of contention, with many feeling it detracts from the overall experience of the game.
- “Very much enjoyed the story writing and script.”
- “The story, the music, the visuals they just hit hard and I loved every minute of the game.”
- “The voice acting is amazing and so far the story and world are quite interesting.”
- “The story is pretty much nothing; it says nothing, it does nothing.”
- “The story was a disappointment, and the boss fights are tedious (thankfully there are very few of them), but the core gameplay is really good.”
- “Characters are bland and cliché; they use every trope seen a million times in every game/movies, confusing story sprinkled with moralist lessons... overall narratively this game tries too much and fails miserably to uphold even the basics.”
gameplay
269 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the unique mechanics like the "stepping" ability that allows for enemy control, while others criticize the repetitive nature and clunky execution of combat and stealth elements. Many reviewers noted technical issues, such as glitches and poor animations, which detracted from the overall experience, and the linear design often left players feeling constrained. Overall, while there are moments of fun and innovation, the gameplay is often overshadowed by its shortcomings, leading to a sense of frustration and disappointment among players.
- “The 'stepping' mechanic, wherein you briefly possess enemies to turn them against each other, opens up a whole new dimension of tactical play and is just incredibly fun.”
- “The gameplay develops nicely through the game as you unlock more skills and it actually shifts from 'be as stealthy as possible and delete enemies one by one' to 'jump right in the middle and alert everyone and then use all your skills to rip 'em apart while they come to you'.”
- “The gameplay is quite fun and it's kept my attention which is not an easy task.”
- “I'm sure this game is fun for someone, but I really do not like how often I get taken out of gameplay and forced into some type of cinematic.”
- “Your character constantly gets caught on textures (forcing a checkpoint reload), characters clip through the ground during cutscenes, facial animations often look alien and broken, certain mechanics can be triggered in such an order that they cancel out their own actions (body possessing), etc. This is not AAA or even AA.”
- “The gameplay is nothing special either; it's too easy and unsatisfying, unrewarding.”
graphics
253 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
59%
21%
The graphics of the game have received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players comparing them to those of early PS3 or even PS2 titles, despite being released in 2024. While some users noted that certain environments and lighting could appear decent, the overall consensus is that the visuals are outdated, lacking detail, and poorly optimized, leading to performance issues even on high-end hardware. Many reviewers expressed disappointment, feeling that the graphics detracted significantly from the overall experience of the game.
- “Excellent story, great graphics, controls were also very good.”
- “The graphics are good with well detailed environments and great character models.”
- “The setting and graphics are beautiful, the main character is really cool, the character model is not nearly as bad as people claim it is, neither is the battle system.”
- “The graphics are like an early PS3 game even with settings completely maxed out at 4K.”
- “The graphics look like something you'd see on a PS3, so I don't know what they were thinking trying to sell this for $49.99 USD in 2024.”
- “The graphics are horrible, looks like a game created in the 90's.”
optimization
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
44%
40%
The game's optimization has received largely negative feedback, with many players reporting significant performance issues such as stuttering, frame rate drops, and bugs, even on high-end systems. While some users noted decent performance on mid-range PCs, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized, making it difficult to enjoy despite its graphical potential. Frequent loading dips and inconsistent performance further detract from the experience, leading to a call for better optimization in future updates.
- “Luckily, the optimization is fairly good, but well, the main character can’t even do justice to Anya Chalotra.”
- “I didn't experience performance issues on a mid-range PC.”
- “This game has nice optimization.”
- “The game is plagued by bugs, random frame rate drops, and stuttering.”
- “Moreover, the game experiences frame rate drops, even at high graphical settings on a powerful system like one with an RTX 4090, indicating poor optimization.”
- “It is so horribly optimized it's unplayable.”
stability
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, graphical glitches, and performance issues, including freezing and clunky controls. While some players find the gameplay enjoyable despite these problems, many agree that the overall experience is marred by its buggy nature and poor graphical quality. A few users noted a lack of glitches, but these instances appear to be exceptions rather than the norm.
- “No glitches or bugs, nice visuals.”
- “The game is a buggy mess, the story and gameplay are boring, the graphics are bad and the controls suck.”
- “I mean, you try to move and your screen freezes for 3-5 seconds.”
- “For the not so pretty graphical quality the game provides on high setting, it has constant hiccups for me, sometimes it even freezes for 1-2 seconds.”
emotional
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The emotional aspect of the game is widely criticized, with reviewers noting a lack of depth and connection to the characters and story. Many found the attempts at emotional scenes to be poorly executed, often resulting in unintended humor rather than genuine feelings. Overall, the game is described as lacking charm and failing to engage players on an emotional level.
- “Terribly boring story about uninteresting characters made by people who clearly didn't give a shit...”
- “Ugly character models, awful cinematics, bland and boring story, PS2 graphics, janky controls, mediocre gameplay.”
- “- boring storyline”
grinding
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
88%
Reviews highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is characterized by tedious gameplay elements, such as repetitive boss fights and frustrating world exploration. Players express frustration with the limited dodging mechanics and frequent interruptions, which detract from the overall experience, making it feel monotonous and reminiscent of outdated game design. While some enjoy the core gameplay and strategic elements, the overwhelming sentiment is that the grinding nature of the game significantly hampers enjoyment.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Already 35 minutes in and I feel like I'm playing something from the PS2. As pretty as the landscape looks, it's quickly undone by tedious climbing and gaps disguised as loading screens every few minutes, just like The Callisto Protocol.”
- “Not really any woke vibes but basic story, bland characters, plenty of game-breaking issues, unimpressive graphics, tedious world exploration, poor combat, and extremely novice-minded game design and programming choices.”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it forgettable and poorly mixed, contributing to an overall amateurish feel. Conversely, others praised the music for enhancing the experience without being overpowering, highlighting its positive impact alongside strong voice acting. Overall, the music seems to lack consistency, with opinions varying significantly among players.
- “The voice actors are incredible and I haven't even turned off the music, which is very rare for me.”
- “The music adds to the experience without being overwhelming.”
- “The story, the music, the visuals—they just hit hard and I loved every minute of the game.”
- “If there was music in this game, it literally left no impression on me.”
- “The audio and music are a disaster.”
- “As harsh as it may sound, but even from playing just for a rather short amount of time, everything about this game feels amateurish: I already mentioned the graphics, but sound and music all feel without impact, not properly balanced and mixed.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by amusing glitches, such as moonwalking enemies and comical animation bugs, which contribute to a lighthearted experience despite gameplay shortcomings. Players appreciate the funny aspects of character abilities and the absurdity of certain situations, suggesting that humor is essential for engagement and relatability in the game's narrative and characters. Overall, the game's comedic elements are seen as a necessary counterbalance to its technical flaws.
- “A game like this works better when it’s humorous or at least can justify its own mysteries.”
- “There's tons of clipping issues, especially the door animations that are hilariously bad.”
- “The fold powers are quite fun and funny to use.”
character development
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Character development in the game is criticized for being minimal and poorly executed, with many reviewers noting a lack of depth in the story and character arcs. The character design is described as bland and offers limited customization options, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, players feel that the game fails to fully utilize its potential in both narrative and visual aspects.
- “The character design is extremely bland and offers no free customization except for two options they just added in the first update, which are actually worse than the default ones.”
- “I have finished the story, and the cuts in the story flow were annoying me; the story lacks a lot in character development.”
- “Despite the power of this card, the game does not fully utilize its capabilities, with unimpressive graphics, limited detail in the environments, and lackluster character designs.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
20%
40%
"Unknown 9" offers around ten hours of gameplay but is noted for its limited replayability, making it a straightforward experience that may not entice players to return after completing it. While enjoyable, it is considered less replayable compared to other titles in the genre.
- “Though one playthrough, in my opinion, is enough, it is not very replayable.”
- “There are many other games that are more playable.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere in the game is widely criticized, with users noting a lack of immersion and enjoyment, leading to an overall feeling of emptiness.
- “There’s no atmosphere, no immersion, and certainly nothing enjoyable about listening to it.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy for the game has been criticized as a cash grab, reminiscent of past mediocre movie tie-in games that relied on their association with popular films rather than delivering quality gameplay.
- “The monetization feels like a cash grab, reminiscent of those mediocre movie games that relied solely on their film tie-ins.”
- “The game seems to prioritize profit over player experience, making it feel like a cash grab rather than a genuine effort.”