Unknown 9: Awakening

Unknown 9: Awakening is the kind of routine action-adventure game that probably wouldn't blow me away even if it was executed well – and the fact that it isn’t just makes the whole thing fall completely flat. Everything from the formulaic story to the shallow and dull combat and stealth are well below the standard set by genre peers, and the consistently disheveled performance and bugs don’t do Awakening any favors.

Unknown 9: Awakening is just hard to recommend, with players left to meet the game on its own terms alone. It makes for a tedious stealth/action adventure that always plays safe, saves its most interesting vistas for the absolute end, and can’t ever decide on what it perceives as its strengths. Neither can we.

Unknown 9: Awakening tries to tell a fantastical story with in-depth lore but fails miserably in its execution. The storyline feels dry and is filled with multiple plot holes alongside a lack of engaging characters. Adding the multiple game breaking bugs, small content size, and high price point, the game doesn't feel worth the time or the money.

All up, Unknown 9 Awakening is a competent title with some outdated and flawed designs, but with a larger universe and lore that is undeniably compelling. It’s well worth dealing with the rough edges if that idea excites you (especially at its reduced price tag!).

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.

Unknown 9: Awakening is a thoroughly AA gaming experience. Like a lost gem from the Xbox 360 era, its charm and jank are intermingled in interesting ways, but its commitment to a unique cultural perspective and killer remixing of the stealth/combat loop elevate it above its slightly unpolished wrappings.

Even when my time leaping into enemies was interrupted by these technical issues, Unknown 9: Awakening’s excellent cast of characters and inventive soul-hopping combat mechanics kept me invested all the way through its gloriously last-gen adventure. With how depressing this generation has been at times, that is absolutely meant as a compliment.