Unknown 9: Awakening on PS5 – The DVDfever Review

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Unknown 9: Awakening Unknown 9: Awakening is a brand new I.P. from Reflector and published by Bandai Namco, and following my brief impressions, also included later, below, now is the time for the final review!

Set in India, 1912, the game follows the adventures of Haroona, known as a Quaestor, which is essentially like a mage that can use Umbric Abilities and see into The Fold. You have The Ascendants who want to alter the course of the future, as the immortal Unknown 9 watching over mankind were from a prior race, who have long-passed. It is a never ending cycle of death and rebirth, which is what The Ascendants are wanting to stop.

After the first hour and level – which is essentially a tutorial teaching you the basics – you set off on your personal mission of revenge against Victor, who is in charge of The Ascendants for killing your mentor, Reika. On this journey, you’ll commandeer an airship, and meet the gunslinger Luthor and his Leap Year Society.

The gameplay, itself, is very much like the Uncharted series, plus games like Evil West, in that you have linear levels to explore, with the addition of plenty of collectibles to be found that are hidden in various nooks and crannies, or hidden away behind a small traversal puzzle. Then you’ll come to areas with enemies, which have to be cleared before you can keep going. The big difference is there are no guns that you can use at all, and even when an enemy drops one you cannot pick it up!

Unknown 9: Awakening Gameplay Walkthrough FULL GAME (4K 60FPS) No Commentary – Shirrako




This is where you being a Quaestor with Umbric Abilities comes into play. I personally feel the game is aimed more towards stealth-like gameplay, as there is plenty long grass to hide in, and being able to conceal yourself in order to back off and heal etc. You have 4 key abilities to use: a Star Wars style force push and pull, a cloak which briefly makes you invisible, the ability to see enemies and keep them lit with a white hue so you can keep track on them, and stepping, which allows you to briefly take over an enemy; Once you have control, you can go hit another enemy, or hit an exploding canister or fire a shot at someone else, or something in the environment if the enemy has a gun.

As you level-up your skills, you’ll get additional steps to use, so you can set up a chain of events and watch the chaos unfold in front of you. To mix up the stealth and enemy types, you will get alarm areas (think of games with surveillance cameras, and if you step into the light everyone gets alerted). To disable these, you must either turn them off, or step into an enemy and attack the power box; Sometimes there are multiple power sources, so a bit of forward-thinking is required.

As well as abilities, you can look into The Fold, which is ideal for getting through dark spaces and finding certain key items. The Fold is best described as an alternative/shadow world and once activated, you can find the anomalies therein which have been left by other Quaestors, and have upgrades things like your health & AM meter.

Unknown 9: Awakening – First Few Mins Gameplay – DODI Releases




Visually, Unknown 9: Awakening looks similar to the the Uncharted games (PS4 versions rather than the PS3 originals), and thinking outside the box, the overlooked and underrated League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie with the sets and era. Character models are great, but enemies tend to be the same types over and over, barring key NPCs and the bosses. Sound direction is excellent, with plenty voice talent and a decent ambient soundtrack.

Overall, I have really enjoyed my time with Unknown 9: Awakening, I like the idea of the wider scope they are aiming for, with a larger world through other forms of media. It does feel more in line with AA titles rather than a huge AAA blockbusters, but that’s just fine. The story is decent and doesn’t overstay its welcome, and having more focused streamlined gameplay with levels is a nice change from all the open world & semi-open games out there, which require countless hours to get through.

Additionally there is some free DLC coming in the near future, available to everyone which will be interesting I imagine and a very welcome addition.

This is definitely a new I.P. I can get behind, and hope we see sequels in the future expanding on what is already there.




First Impressions Posted October 22nd 2024:

Unknown 9: Awakening launched last Friday and I have been playing it over the weekend. This is a short first impression of the game given we received the key on Friday evening and will be following up over the next 10 days or so with the full review.

I didn’t know about this game at all, I hadn’t heard of it prior to seeing a gameplay video which peaked my interest around 6 weeks ago and thought I gotta play this one as it looks really cool.

So you have a story set in the early 20th Century (1912), which instantly makes you think of the golden age of adventuring, while there was still plenty to be discovered. Indiana Jones and Lara croft come instantly to mind with the character and locations, as well as the sense of adventure.

This is a self-contained story set in India, but there are also going to be comics, podcasts, books and other media to tie the whole world created together, much like Defiance, which had a TV show on the Sci-Fi channel a few year back which linked directly to the game.




I’ve found the gameplay to be a bit of a mixed bag, but in a good way! You have stealth like the Dishonored games, action and level design like the Uncharted series and a host of supernatural type skills which can be used during combat. Additionally, there is also being able to look into The Fold, an alternative universe which helps locate objects, and make enemies have a blue hue to them, so you can keep track of their locale easier. There are also puzzles dotted throughout, like the original Tomb Raider games from Core Design.

There is no map available as it is set out into levels, which can be explored to find hidden notes and collectibles, as well as anomalies which give you a skill point. The levels are pretty big, with plenty nooks and crannies to explore and to work out alternative routes to a collectible.

I have personally been playing stealth as much as possible, but you tend to get spotted quite easily. However, the skills you have mean you can switch things up in an instant, such as pushing an enemy (kinda like a force push) into an exploding cannister, briefly disappearing to get into a hiding spot till enemies cool down, pulling enemies towards you (force pull!) to beat them up and you can easily possess an enemy, and go hit another or an exploding cannister. It all flows freely and nicely, and is easy to get through a sticky situation if stealth tactics go wrong.

So far I am around a quarter of the way through Unknown 9: Awakening, and am looking forwards to seeing how this one unfolds…

Thanks to our friends at Bandai Namco for the review code.

Unknown 9: Awakening is out now on PC / Steam and the digital stores for Xbox and PS5.

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