TNS: "Unknown 9: Awakening tries to kick off an ambitious narrative universe that never takes off due to the game's noticeable lack of polish."
TNS: The Unknown 9 Narrative Universe was never really able to take flight, but could its downfall have been avoided with a different approach?
I was debating on picking this game up but never got around to it. Definitely on the fence.
Nope. This is what happens when you decide something is going to be a multimedia empire before the game is even out.
Just like inafune did with mighty no.9. Seems like any ambitious title with a 9 in it fails yeah??
"Unknown 9: Awakening features some excellent brain-powered stealth action to start, but then decides the fun is over and the latter half feels like work."
- Stuart Cullen, TechStomper
VGChartz's Lee Mehr: "Putting the cart before the horse is Reflector's folly in general. Even before Unknown 9: Awakening’s announcement, there'd already been two released novels that built up its alternate history, tone, and so on. Various other transmedia concepts followed suit. That concrete foundation, alongside its various high-budget game inspirations, seemed like surefire wins, especially with its more modest middle-market price. But then the rest of the game – presentation, storytelling, game design, etc. – has to be filled in and each individual category comes with its own set of problems. There's something to admire in its audacious transmedia crossovers, but it's a shame this first game can't rise to the occasion. "
There are things that draw people to games and movies, this really doesn’t seem to have any of it. One thing in particular is character design. I’m not saying it has to be a wicked hot character running around in a thong, but I will say that if your setting is uninteresting and your character doesn’t draw attention, then it’s really hard to ask me to pay money to sit through what you’ve made.
Good luck with these games if you’re hellbent on keeping them this way.