Unknown 9: Awakening

Part of a massive transmedia effort by Reflector Entertainment, Unknown 9: Awakening aims to bridge the gap between multiple mediums to tell an epic story that remains mostly shrouded in mystery.

The idea behind the whole Unknown 9 series is intriguing, to say the least. While we still know precious little about Awakening, what we know about games like this one might shed some light on the mystery that Reflector Entertainment has prepared for us. Will it be a movie game like the ones from David Cage? Or are we getting a new epic adventure series? Let’s take a look at what Unknown 9: Awakening might have in store for us with this preview.

Mysteries and Enigmas

Very little is known about the plot of Unknown 9: Awakening. So far, the only thing we know for sure is that the game is about an Indian girl called Haroona, and her unnatural powers that defy every natural law of our dimension.

Raised in the streets of Kolkata, Haroona has powers that she doesn’t understand: powers that let her access a dimension known as The Fold. This idea seems very similar to what we saw in a previous David Cage game: Beyond Two Souls.

Reflector Entertainment has promised that the game will be a globe-throttling adventure, featuring all sorts of mysteries and secret societies. This could mean that Unknown 9: Awakening could become a spiritual successor to the classic Assassin’s Creed formula.

Plot and Setting

The idea of a transmedia narrative is a fascinating concept that could spell great things for the franchise – or it could be a recipe for disaster. For starters, the fact that the game’s plot will be dependent on what happens on a podcast, a series of books, and some comics means that the story could end up being a messy landscape of disjointed ideas.

Awakening is set to be released on next-generation consoles exclusively, which means that Reflector might be aiming for a high graphical fidelity for this project. All signs point towards an interactive game where the story takes the spotlight, which isn’t all that different from the Dark Pictures Anthology series from the same developers as Until Dawn.

Having a main character that’s a poor girl from India is also a brave design choice. Even though it has a strong representation in film and TV shows, we haven’t really seen a video game that features the reality of life in places like Kolkata – much less one that combines that with a paranormal subtext and secret societies.

We’ll have to wait and see what Unknown 9: Awakening’s mysteries will be. So far, we can say that it’s great to see that we’ll be getting a new game that’s made exclusively for the next generation of consoles. Let’s just hope that Reflector manages to push the boundaries of what can be achieved through multimedia storytelling.

Pros

• Promising setting and characters
• Ambitious plot and ideas
• Great concept art

Cons

• Transmedia storytelling could prove challenging
• Some ideas might not be as fresh as others