Unknown 9: Awakening

 PC
Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 3 out of 7
  1. GameMAG
    Oct 28, 2024
    60
    Unknown 9: Awakening is a game a couple decades too late.
  2. Gaming Age
    Oct 24, 2024
    60
    Unknown 9: Awakening feels like it wants to be greater than it is, which is a big shame given how much effort was seemingly put into it. Having an extended out-of-game universe is really neat, but I think it unintentionally hurts enjoyment of the game when you go to play it. I specifically wanted to avoid the external media of the game going in to see what it would be like, and it makes the game feel like it’s following up on something we should already have knowledge of as the player. Combined with subpar combat, glitches resulting in cutscenes being wonky, and hit-or-miss performance on PC, it definitely hurts Unknown 9. If Bandai continues to work on this franchise (can you call it that yet?) I think they can really knock it out of the park, but as a first entry it really fails to hit its mark.
  3. IGN
    Oct 17, 2024
    50
    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. There’s at least some fun to be had in its interesting reality-bending powers, especially the mind-controlling abilities that let you briefly play as your foes and sabotage the enemy in clever ways, but these bright spots run their course quickly, leaving us with a wholly underwhelming adventure.