Unknown 9: Awakening Review (Cypher16)
Not nearly as bad as Many of the reviews seem to want it to be.
Graphics looks alright most of the time, and spend the rest of the time either breathtaking or terrible. Hair shaders need some patches in general but the landscapes look gorgeous with some really cool set-pieces.
Story seems to have a fair amount of cut content and definitely feels like some upper office meddling occurred. But overall it's solid and I enjoyed seeing it through.
Pacing's quite bad and makes the whole progression of Haroona's arc and relationships to the other characters feel very rushed. Still ended up growing more attached to everyone than I expected though.
Worldbuilding is stunning and intriguing.
Only critique is that The Fold needs to be even weirder and less comprehensible then it already is. It's an unknowable place beyond time and space where all that is, could be and was is all happening at once. Confusing architecture should be the least of it.
Gameplay is fun but gets a bit repetitive towards the end. Much of the game is comprised of finding an area of enemies, sneaking in and taking down two or three of the most dangerous you can get close to, before getting caught and having to fight your way through the rest of them. There's enough enemy variety that you can get through the whole game before it starts becoming a problem. Combat it self is varied with an array of ranged or close attacks as well as plenty of environmental options for eliminating foes.
The Stepping system that allows you to take control of enemies and use their unique ability's against each other is really cool and allows for much more diversity in your rampaging. You can use it to drag a group of enemy's together next to an explosive and then detonate it with another enemy's ground pound while a sharpshooter walks into the explosion and chips off some health of a target you couldn't get in the explosion. Then you just step back into your own body and watch the carnage. Great mechanic. Very fun all on it's own. Slightly horrifying lore implications since we later learn the person being stepped into is fully conscious and aware of what's happening while they're being stepped into. Fun :)
Overall not worth the current full price, but good if you want to to spend 10-12 hours exploring and fighting your way though a beautiful world with a nice story and fun powers.