Unknown 9: Awakening feels like something out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A hero with a dead mentor figure? Check. Superpowers? Check. Mysterious organizations that want to use those powers for nefarious purposes? I don’t even need to say it, do I.
Haroona, a woman who can channel psychic powers from a parallel dimension called the Fold, leads the story with her strong sense of justice and arsenal of abilities. Clichés aside, what impressed me most about Unknown 9 during a 60-minute hands-on demo at PAX West was its worldbuilding and how it encouraged me to experiment with Haroona’s powers. I’ll admit, I was confused about how to juggle them within the first few minutes of the preview. But once I adapted, I was swapping between the buttons without an issue, even if I accidentally missed a hit or two.
My preview consisted of two parts. One introduces Haroona with a bar fight in an unassuming village (complete with tutorials galore). The other takes place in the following chapter, where Haroona has already lost her mentor. She’s now collaborating with a supporting character to avenge their death. The two of them track the killer into a jungle crawling with enemies, armed and ready to protect the base from intruders.
Unknown 9‘s world is impressively detailed. It bases its settings on real-world locales from India to Portugal, and I got to witness two distinct locations. The first part of the demo took place in a small town full of blocky, clay-colored buildings and robed NPCs, and the second part transported me to a jungle in an unknown location with abandoned machinery and ruins. In both sections, I pushed Haroona’s story forward with the abilities at the core of Unknown 9‘s gameplay.
Haroona’s first ability, which I learned about in the introductory bar fight, lets her temporarily take over the body of her opponent. I used one grunt’s stun weapon to shock their partner before going in for the KO with Haroona herself. This ability became a regular part of my playthrough, especially in crowded areas where there were too many enemies for me to take on myself. It helps Haroona keep the upper hand by making sure she doesn’t get outnumbered.
Another ability enables her to temporarily hide herself and execute a sneak attack behind an enemy. If there are only two enemies in one area, I could move behind one to instantly KO them before taking out the next enemy in a one-on-one. I learned that the timing and placement were finnicky, though, and I might find myself in a compromised situation if I pressed the attack button even slightly out of range. These and other abilities pushed me to work with my surroundings.
Unknown 9 makes it feel like each ability has a tangible purpose rather than being just for show. I needed to strategize before diving straight into an enemy hideout, unlike other games where the player might be expected to just charge in and start hitting things with magical powers. It made each victory feel more rewarding between the bits of story, something that I hope to see more of in the final product.
Unknown 9: Awakening launches for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PS5 on October 18.