Unknown 9: Awakening is already a thrilling superhero spectacle

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