Unknown 9: Awakening is yet another eagerly anticipated action-adventure title that’s right around the corner. This is an upcoming Reflector Entertainment and Bandai Namco project that is only the very first chapter of a much more immersive and more significant story that spans novels, comics, podcasts, and more. However, this game itself tells a fun standalone tale.
If you’re a fan of The Witcher, you’d be thrilled to know that Anya Chalotra plays the role of the game’s main protagonist, Haroona. In the game, players will explore an alternate 19th-century world that revolves around a strange dimension known as the Fold. In this article, we’ll dive deeper into Unknown 9: Awakening’s details, including its release date, price, and more!
Unknown 9: Awakening Release Date & Platforms
Following its announcement in 2020, the developers finally revealed an Unknown 9 Awakening release date during Gamescom Opening Night Live by Geoff Keighley. Players can jump into the game on October 18 and explore the vastness of the Fold and fight off enemies. The month of October has become a blessing for gamers since it’s set to introduce many popular games.
Some of the other eagerly anticipated titles releasing this month include Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, and Silent Hill 2 Remake. Unknown 9: Awakening will launch on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Unfortunately, Nintendo Switch was left out of the mix, but we might see a port once the next-gen Switch 2 comes out.
Moreover, there’s also speculation that there won’t be an Unknown 9: Awakening Game Pass version, so Xbox players won’t be able to play the game through the service. The same is the case with PlayStation Plus since the game won’t arrive there, but you can experience the Unknown 9: Awakening PS5 version by pre-ordering or purchasing its digital or physical copy.
Unknown 9: Awakening Cast
The upcoming game has a fantastic cast that has managed to keep players hooked with their talent and fame. The most popular Unknown 9: Awakening actress is undoubtedly the one and only Anya Chalotra, who plays the role of Haroona, the game’s main protagonist. During a press release, it was revealed that the actress was an “obvious choice” for the role in the game.
The British actress has gained popularity and recognition over the years for ringing life into powerful female characters. She is famous for starring on television and in theatre. However, the series that got her the most fame would be Netflix’s live-action adaptation of The Witcher gaming franchise. In this series, she portrays the mighty sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg.
Characters
Fans are curious to see how she brings Haroona to life in the upcoming game. In addition to Anya, the Unknown 9: Awakening game also features some other talented actors and actresses who play different roles in the game. They’ll either be friends or foes to Haroona, so you’ll have to be careful before you extend your hand of friendship. Following are some other characters:
- Buchra – She is an intelligent scientist who has found her purpose by joining the Leap Year Society. In the game, she becomes a powerful ally of Haroona as the duo travels through the Fold and discovers the truth behind some cosmic secrets. This character is played by Diany Samba-Bandza, who is famous for her role in Intergalactic (2021).
- Haroona – She is the main protagonist in Unknown 9: The Awakening and is a young Quaestor (a person who has the power to travel within The Fold) who has always wanted to better comprehend her connection to The Fold.
- Luther – Luther is another one of Haroona’s friends, a former gunslinger who has now shifted his path to being a spiritual seeker. It was Luther who founded the Leap Year Society (LYS) with the goal of pursuing secretive and hidden knowledge.
- Reika – She is the person behind Haroona’s upbringing and growth. Reika is a talented veteran Quaestor and mentor who was the first person to see the amount of potential in the protagonist. Following that, she decided to take Haroona and polish her talents.
- Vincent Lichter- He’s a former pupil of Reika, the founder of an evil group called the Ascendants and Haroona’s nemesis. Lichter is convinced that the 9 have more to them than they are putting on, which is why he wants to lead humanity into a whole new era.
Unknown 9: Awakening Lore
In the upcoming eagerly anticipated game, Haroona is faced with a challenge to go up against the villainous group called the Ascendants. They are an evil faction of the Leap Year Society (LYS). This society in itself is a group whose main purpose is to discover the truth and mysteries behind forbidden knowledge in order to help quicken mankind’s progress and advancement.
Unfortunately, the Ascendants have wicked goals when it comes to the knowledge taken from The Fold. They plan on using it to completely change human history, and while carrying out this plan, they are going to mess with powers that even they cannot fathom completely. This is where Haroona enters the scene, a young Quaestor who has the power to go into The Fold.
Since she possesses the ability to venture into the Fold, she ends up coming up on the Ascendants’ radar. Haroona and her allies are fully aware that they are the only ones daring and powerful enough to put a stop to the plans of the Ascendants. Here is what Reflector Entertainment says regarding Unknown 9: Awakening’s story details in an official summary:
“Raised on the streets of Kolkata, India and haunted by visions of her own death, Haroona struggles to understand her mysterious innate abilities to manipulate the unseen. A mentor soon helps Haroona hone her gifts, teaches her to access the mysterious hidden dimension known as The Fold and propels her on a journey to unlock the mysteries of this new realm.”
Unknown 9: Awakening Trailers
Nearly 4 years ago, we received an Unknown 9: Awakening Official Teaser Trailer, which opened on a young girl hiding something mysterious behind a brick within the wall. However, she is attacked by some children. When a boy comes close to striking her, she suddenly emits a shockwave that takes her out of reality, allowing her to teleport. Watch the trailer below:
In March, the developers launched an official announcement trailer to remind the fans that the game was being developed. This trailer offered players a glimpse into the upcoming game’s gameplay mechanics and features, whereas the story trailer (released four months ago) explored its narrative elements. You can watch both Unknown 9: Awakening trailers below:
Announcement and Story Trailer
Bandai Namco has confirmed that the upcoming action-adventure title is not just a game. It comprises of books, comic books, and podcasts. The publisher has claimed that each element “represents a standalone story, the collective of which reveals a larger, overarching adventure.” So, they launched a “narrative universe trailer” to familiarize new players with these stories.
As we come closer to the game’s launch date, the developers are getting more and more open about its details. They have revealed quite a lot of information in the past couple of weeks alone. Nearly two weeks ago, they also launched an “overview trailer” and a “gameplay overview trailer,” both of which offer more details regarding the game’s story and mechanics.
Bandai Namco and Reflector Entertainment have released many other videos related to the game’s story elements, gameplay features, and more. You can watch them by visiting the official Unknown 9 YouTube channel. In addition to these trailers, they also revealed a live-action trailer that captured the intensity behind Haroona’s journey as she continued exploring her powers.
Unknown 9: Awakening Gameplay
Reflector Entertainment’s debut video game is a single-player, third-person, action-adventure title that follows the young Quaestor named Haroona, who has the power to venture into the Fold. During her quest to search for hidden knowledge, she strengthens her connection to the Fold, which ultimately allows the protagonist to channel its powers into the ordinary world.
In this narrative-driven game, players get to play as Haroona and go on an adventure to fix everything that went wrong in her past. During your quest, you can either stay within the shadows, hidden from all evil, or step up and fight your enemies by controlling them, dodging their bullets, using your energy, and coming up with unique fighting combinations to aid you.
Melee Combat
In Unknown 9: Awakening, combat takes place in multiple different ways, with players having a couple of options when it comes to how they want to approach the situation. The most basic approach would be to engage in melee combat, meaning you’ll have to utilize your fists to reduce the opponent’s health bar. However, you can also use abilities called Umbric talents.
These powers help fill up your opponent’s gauge, and once it’s filled, it’ll leave them weak and vulnerable for a short time. During this time, you can carry out stronger melee attacks to deal comparatively more damage, allowing you to eliminate them completely. However, if you’re a fan of taking a quieter and more hidden approach, then the game’s stealth details are for you.
Stealth Combat
Players who wish to deal with their opponents more quietly have Haroona’s Fold abilities at their disposal. Once activated, these powers allow the protagonist to locate enemies that are close by, even if it’s through walls. It lures them to specific areas to pry them away from their group and allows you to attack them from a distance. This ability can come in handy oftentimes!
There’s also the good old method of quietly walking up behind and incapacitating them. Haroona also possesses an ability known as Shroud, which allows her to turn invisible for a brief amount of time. You can also activate this ability while you’re in the middle of a battle. Another one of the young Quaestor’s most valuable abilities in the upcoming game would be Stepping.
Stepping & Umbric Powers
It allows her to go into the Fold, after which she can easily possess some enemies to use for some time to set off different types of dangerous chain reactions. However, this ability requires Stepping tokens, which you can get by eliminating enemies and carrying out successful takedowns. Therefore, the more tokens you possess, the more steps you have during Stepping.
Haroona also possesses Umbric abilities called Push and Pull, so with the help of these powers, she can telekinetically push or pull her enemies toward or away from her. On top of enemies, these abilities also work on objects present in the environment, which you can utilize to the fullest. For example, you can Push an enemy off a cliff or Pull an explosive barrel into their back.
The game features a Ripple ability, which, when activated, attracts the attention of enemies that are close by. Once it brings them to a certain point, you can utilize Ripple to eliminate these foes by triggering an explosive when you’re a safe distance away. With these gameplay mechanics, the developers have ensured that players don’t claim that Unknown 9: Awakening looks bad.
Conclusion
That’s all there is to know about the upcoming Unknown 9: Awakening PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One game. If this sounds like something that will interest you, then you can pre-order it from the official Bandai Namco website or from your console’s respective stores. For PC, the Unknown 9: Awakening Steam link is also up. You can also check out the Electronic First website since they’re constantly adding new games with the best prices to their vast library.