Every fibre of being wanted to like Unknown 9: Awakening, evoking fond memories of the Uncharted series with its lush and varied environments, blended with what looked to be fascinating lore and powers thrown in for good measure. It seemed that with such great assets thrown into the boiling pot, success was inevitable. Unfortunately in terms of its execution, despite some really interesting ideas, the landing hasn’t stuck.
Developed as the first part of an ongoing media franchise (that to this day this reviewer is unsure ever materialised), Unknown 9: Awakening is the story of Haroona, a woman with abilities allowing her to cross over into “The Fold”, an adjacent dimension to her world that she can manipulate at will. What begins as a clear goal of revenge against the people who killed her mentor quickly evolves into a globe-trotting tale of conspiracies and power grabbing.
It is a fun narrative that allows for some big set pieces and locales. By no means do these locations feel undeveloped either, being well lit and graphically well realised. The do, however, feel very constricting an awful lot of the time, pushing the player ahead into the next wide open set piece space. This kind of level design was perfectly acceptable last generation, but here it feels a lot more noticeable.
In the areas where exploration is encouraged, though, collectables can be found often; treasure if you will – something another tanned-shirt glory hunter may enjoy. Pray, however, that these sections you are doing alone as companions of Haroonas seem genuinely annoyed if the plot has not been progressed, repeatedly stating previous lines and asking why the current objective is being ignored. A jarring throwback to a simpler time of gaming. A real shame when the locations are beautiful at times.
Combat is introduced well and drip feeds the tools needed to succeed in Unknown 9‘s initial encounters. Most of the early hours will be spent sneaking through the grass, picking off enemies one by one and gaining new abilities as you progress, reminiscent of Watch Dogs and some of the more absurd skills in the Assassin’s Creed series. Objects can be activated remotely through abilities, as well as taking control of the enemies themselves. It’s in these stealth sections where the combat shines, although as the game progresses, these fall by the wayside for encounters against stronger foes.
Many of the encounters end up being a war of attrition with a large number of enemies and no way to avoid the inevitable punch-up. This wouldn’t be a problem if not for abilities becoming limited or useless, and the melee option being less than effective in whittling down the health of a mini-boss stripping you of your toolbox. Unknown 9: Awakening is surprisingly combat heavy in a game where leaning into its exploration and backstory feels like the correct approach to take.
In true adventure fashion, while hopping from continent to continent, your mode of travel (which will not be spoiled here) becomes increasingly more lively, with characters joining up for their own reasons. These intimate moments are amongst the best in the game, with real character development and a chance for lead Anya Chalotra (minus the hump and White Wolf) to really show off her acting chops. To go back to the Uncharted franchise again, a healthy balance has been found between all the elements of exploration, narration and combat, even in the early iterations. With repetitive and frustrating combat here, however, the other two parts of the pie are a painfully missed opportunity. 
