Announced 4 years ago at gamescom and recently had an impressive showing at the Xbox Partner Showcase, Unknown 9: Awakening is Montreal-based studio Reflector Entertainment’s first franchise and one that spans multiple media ranging from the Torment comic series, Genesis novels, and the Out of Sight podcast series.

The theme of this grand universe revolves around the efforts of Queastors around the world seeking a mysterious group known as Unknown 9 – immortal people with great knowledge who would be the key to saving humanity or bringing about destruction. This group has guided humanity through time through the parallel universe of The Fold, which gives them the ability to use special abilities.

These powers can be used for the greater good or for something simply sinister, and there exist two different factions that seek to master them to fulfill their own goals. One faction is The Leap Year Society, which seeks to gather knowledge from Unknown 9 in order to lead humanity to a new golden age. Meanwhile, on the other side are The Ascendants, who aim to utilize the knowledge to gain absolute power and control to change the destiny of mankind.

In Unknown 9: Awakening, you follow a Queaster named Haroona, who has a unique connection with The Fold, although she requires more time to master her powers. This is a tale of revenge as she seeks to avenge the death of her mentor, fallen at the hands of another student by the name of Vincent Lichter. In her quest for vengeance, she ended up in a conflict between the two aforementioned factions, while also facing various dangers in order to stop Lichter’s evil plans.

The model of the protagonist in this game may feel familiar to some because the developer has indeed hooked up famous actress Anya Chalotra, who is widely known as Yennefer in The Witcher series on Netflix, for the role.

Gameplay  

Unknown 9: Awakening features a simple yet effective gameplay loop with a focus on Active Stealth, Combat, and Stepping. With a wide variety of skills available, there is a lot of freedom to approach challenges, allowing you to play either defensively or aggressively as it suits you. There are a lot of different utilities, all reliable in their way, including abilities to detect the enemy’s presence, camouflage, or recover. Aside from physical attacks, Haroona is also equipped with Umbric powers gained from her strong connection with The Fold.

As mentioned, one of the gameplay loops is Stepping, a special ability that allows Haroona to move into an enemy’s position and possess them. With this, you can launch consecutive attacks at nearby enemies while Stepping to execute combos. Utilize a mix of physical and magical abilities, there are a lot of strategic elements in the game as the gameplay scenarios may not play out the same, allowing the experience to be fresh. Stepping also has the potential to be further amplified, such as how each successful attack will strengthen the next.

To utilize Umbric’s power, an energy called Am Power is required. The Am Power gauge can be replenished every time you engage in combat, perform takedowns, or open up Am Canisters that are scattered throughout the world. Furthermore, the Am Power can be used to restore Haroona’s HP, which is indicated by an orange gauge. There is also a green round gauge called the Stepping Token, which is devoted to your character’s ability to do Stepping.

Outside of combat, there are also exploration segments for you to collect Skill Points needed to access new abilities in the Skill Tree. Haroona has three categories of abilities, namely Umbric, Stealth, and Combat. There isn’t much platforming action, but throughout your adventure, you will sometimes be accompanied by companion characters who can help you.

While in combat, it turns out that Stepping can also temporarily halt time, allowing you to observe the situation freely before executing actions. Enemy-wise, the game does have a good variety of them, from those using melee weapons or firearms. There are also specific archetypes like the Bruiser who rely on physical attacks with their thick health bar, or Burst Gunner who can shoot out bullets in rapid succession. Throughout your adventure, you’ll explore a variety of interesting locations with distinctive designs from the Unknown 9 universe, including the city of Chamiri which was specially developed by the developer as a new location for the game.

Unknown 9: Awakening is set to launch on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC in the summer of 2024.