Honestly, it’s rare to see a game swing for the fences quite as hard as Unknown 9 Awakening PS5 did and still end up landing in such a strange, quiet spot. You probably remember the trailers. They had Anya Chalotra—Yennefer herself—front and center, looking like a total badass using "Fold" powers to possess enemies and cause absolute chaos. It was supposed to be the start of a massive multimedia empire with podcasts, novels, and comics all spinning out of this one story.
But then it actually launched.
Now that we’ve had some time to sit with it, the reality of Haroona’s journey is a lot more complicated than the hype suggested. It’s a game that feels like it’s constantly fighting itself. On one hand, you’ve got these genuinely cool, reality-bending mechanics that let you puppet-master a group of guards into shooting each other. On the other? You’re dealing with technical jank and AI that sometimes feels like it forgot you were even in the room.
The Reality of Stepping into the Fold
Let’s talk about the actual "game" part of Unknown 9 Awakening PS5. The core hook is "Stepping." Haroona can basically exit her body and hop into the minds of her enemies. It’s easily the best part of the experience. You can chain these together, so you jump into a guy with a gun, aim at an explosive barrel, then immediately hop into a heavy bruiser to start a swing, and finally snap back to your body to watch the dominoes fall in slow motion.
When it works? It feels brilliant. You feel like a strategic ghost.
But—and this is a big "but"—the game doesn't always let you play that way. For a title that leans so heavily on the idea of being a "Quaestor" with mystical powers, the actual level design can feel surprisingly restrictive. You’ll find yourself in a lot of "tall grass" scenarios. You know the ones. Every stealth game since 2012 has them. You crouch, you whistle, you takedown. It’s a bit of a letdown when you have the power to tear through dimensions but spend half your time doing the same stealth loops we’ve seen in a dozen other AA titles.
Why the Performance on PS5 Stalled
Technically speaking, the game had a rough go of it. Even on the PS5, which should handle Unreal Engine projects reasonably well, players reported frequent frame rate dips and weird visual glitches. I’m talking about Haroona getting stuck on a pebble or animations snapping between frames like a slideshow.
What went wrong under the hood?
- Inconsistent Visuals: Some environments, like the jungles of India or the streets of 19th-century Portugal, look gorgeous. Then you’ll see a character’s hair or a facial expression that looks like it belongs on a PS3.
- Sluggish Controls: There’s a noticeable weight to the movement that some call "grounded" but most call "clunky." Turning the camera can feel like steering a boat.
- The AI Issue: This is the big one. You can sometimes stand three feet away from a guard, set off a literal magical explosion, and if you're in a "shadow," they might just ignore it. It completely kills the tension of being a hunted woman.
The Transmedia Gamble
Bandai Namco and Reflector Entertainment didn't just want a hit game; they wanted a "universe." This is where things got risky. Before the game even hit shelves, there were already novels like The Genesis Trilogy and podcasts like Out of Sight.
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The problem? Most people just want a good game first.
By the time the game launched in late 2024, the "Unknown 9" brand felt a bit spread too thin. It’s hard to get invested in the lore of the "Leap Year Society" or the "Ascendants" when the main character’s own story feels a bit formulaic. Haroona is on a revenge quest for her mentor, Reika, and while Anya Chalotra does a great job with the voice work, the script often falls into predictable tropes.
Is It Still Worth Playing?
If you can find it on a deep sale—which, let's be honest, it usually is these days—there is fun to be had. If you go into it expecting a "7 out of 10" AA experience rather than a "God of War" level masterpiece, you might actually enjoy the creativity of the Umbric abilities.
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Actionable Insights for New Players
- Focus on the "Stepping" Skill Tree: Don't waste your early Gnosis points on basic health or melee buffs. The game is only fun when you have more "Step" tokens to chain together complex possessions.
- Use Performance Mode: Unless you really love staring at static scenery, the 60fps target in Performance Mode is the only way to make the combat feel even remotely responsive.
- Ignore the "Woke" Noise: There was a lot of internet drama surrounding the game's consultants and its "messaging." Honestly? The game's biggest problems are technical and mechanical, not political. It’s just a standard sci-fi/fantasy story that needed more polish.
- Watch for Sales: This isn't a $70 game. If you see it for $20 or $30, the 12-hour campaign is a decent enough weekend distraction.
If you’re looking to dive in, start by checking the latest patch notes on your PS5 dashboard. The developers did release several stability fixes post-launch that cleared up the most egregious crashing issues. It's a much smoother ride now than it was on day one, even if the "Unknown 9" cinematic universe never quite took flight the way the studio hoped.