While I admit that on many fronts this isn’t a particularly innovative game, and feels like a throwback to PS3/360 era with a setup that is a bit like a slightly more linear Assassin’s Creed, I also have to admit that I kind of had a blast from start to fish. Especially so toward the end when you spec Haroona into some of the best abilities in the game and can wreak havoc on the battlefield.

It’s true that enemies aren’t the most brilliant, but I’d argue that they were no dumber than enemies in another big game featuring stealth that I played this year, a game incidentally made by a studio with nearly twenty years of Stealth design experience (or more). It’s a bit too easy to lose enemies on the battlefield, but enemies don’t have X-ray vision which is a blessing. It’s not the best stealth I’ve ever encountered, but certainly not the worst.

The best thing about the stealth is the stepping system. Haroona can step into the body of another person and manipulate their behaviours. Eventually you can chain stepping and step into multiple enemies in a row.The result is that it can still be a ton of fun to stealth around an area jump into enemies and cause them to do damage to one another, while never being discovered. The step ability is novel and I like that the game is centred around brawling rather than being a shooter. It’s a nice departure from games like Tomb Raider or Uncharted that Unknown 9: Awakening might get compared to due to the general setting and vibe.

Digitaltrend’s Unknown 9: Awakening review by Veerender Singh Jubbal captures a lot of what I’m feeling about the game:

As for Haroona herself, I love her character. Plain and simple. She feels like a hero I would have seen beside Lara Croft and Nathan Drake if this game had been released around the 2010s…There is a lot of depth in Haroona and her portrayal; you can feel a lot boiling inside Haroona. It’s not just her revenge for Reika that defines her. You can feel her change when she discovers a place or a group of people she belongs with. When Reika is taken away from her, Haroona very much pushes people away and only lets those near her that can aid her to hunt down Reika’s killer. Moments where she called out colonialism endeared me to her. She is affectionate and true to herself as best she can be. The titular Awakening is not just about her powers; it’s about opening her heart to new people to let them inside.

Gaming enthusiasts tend to talk a lot about how they want all-new games rather than playing the same tired franchises. Even with some technical hiccups holding it back in a few places, Unknown 9: Awakening delivers a fresh new world filled with memorable characters and an inventive combat system that pushed me to experiment with my powers. It may have gotten lost in 2024’s busy holiday season, but I hope more players return to it once the flood of new games slows. It’s the kind of hidden gem that deserves to be discovered.