So, it’s very rare that I talk about modern games; not because I don’t like them but
because I mostly like to wax nostalgic and discuss things I grew up with, so when I do
talk about something modern it is because I am either legitimately excited or feelin’
really salty about something.
It’s mostly because I’ve found something that I am eager to talk about, and this is
the case for Unavowed, the new adventure game developed by Wadjet Eye.
Wadjet Eye has been pretty consistent in making very high quality and atmospheric adventure
games; Unavowed takes place in the same universe as The Blackwell series which is a set of
games released from 2006 through 2014; I won’t be comparing this game to those as I never
fully got into them; I’ll be discussing the things I like about Unavowed by comparing
it to adventure games past, and explaining how this title manages to stay modern while
being reminiscent of the classics.
Also, I have a cameo!
(this epi-fish track is tight) Perfect, A+ performance.
Let’s run over a few important things; Unavowed falls into the Urban Fantasy category; it’s
set in New York, and follows the story of a character, the one you will be playing as,
who has been possessed by a demon.
For the past year, you have been murdering people and causing chaos all over the city.
You can choose to be a man or a woman, and you can choose their former occupation; Actor,
Police Officer, or Bartender.
I of course went with the police officer because it plays like a detective route, and I have
a love for all things mystery.
After a cutscene, which will differ depending on what occupation you choose, you are brought
back to present day where we are being restrained by one character, and being exorcised by another.
When you regain control of your body, you are told about the violent crimes you committed
while under control of another being, and it becomes apparent that you will never be
able to go back to society as yourself.
These two characters, Eli and Mandana, offer you a place in the Unavowed, a group that
is described as the Supernatural police; their job is to take care of disturbances in the
supernatural world and issues that occur across the void.
Each character is different and has unique abilities; Mandana is half Jinn, half human,
who is great with a sword and can sense falsehoods.
Eli is a mage that can manipulate fire, and there are other characters you meet and add
to your party as you progress in the game; Logan is a bestower who can communicate with
the dead, and Vicki is a steel hearted cop who can offer her knowledge to solve the crimes
that have been happening across New York.
The game is split up into missions, and for the majority you can pick your party.
This idea is obviously not new, especially when it comes to urban fantasies; the idea
of a supernatural police squad reminds me of Men in Black or R.I.P.D, perhaps even The
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
It’s an idea that has been used a lot, but whether an idea is unique or not is not what
makes it a good or memorable story.
The one thing I took away from majoring in fiction writing is that there exist no unique
ideas, only the execution of them.
And when I say it’s the only thing I took away from that major, I mean it, cause instead
I went into the wonderful world of non-fiction.
SURE AM GLAD I SPENT ALL THAT MONEY ON COLLEGE
Anyway, adventure games stories are typically supported by dialogue, character development,
and world building, so even ones that don’t have the most thrilling plot are still enjoyable
for me.
Quick example: Did you love King’s Quest VI because it had a great story?
No, of course not.
You liked it because it had a lot of heart, personality, and it was fun.
It felt like a fantasy adventure.
I’m not necessarily saying the plot of this game is bad; quite the opposite, I enjoy it,
but the reason I DO is because it explores existing tropes, takes inspiration from other
stories, and executes them very well, not because it’s a totally fresh, unexplored
idea.
This is a very successful urban fantasy to me.
This game is definitely a fusion of different themes and cultures you see in fantasy stories
of all kinds; We have Jinn, fire mages, elementals, mer folk, dragons, dryads, fae and ghosts;
you’d think squashing this many ingredients into a blender would just result in something
confused and muddled, but it works REALLY WELL, I am impressed.
I think it helps that the missions are all done separately, but there is a link that
ties them together so the story isn’t interrupted.
I’m also reminded of the many adventure games I’ve played throughout the years.
Because there are some RPG elements in this game, including tough decision making that
has an effect on how you play, and it also included things like the Jinn and elementals,
I got some light Quest for Glory II vibes.
They even use the term Trial by Fire in the game, and I could be totally wrong and off
base, but that’s where my mind went regardless.
It’s like if Trial By Fire were a much better game.
I’m also reminded of Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon in that you get sent on different missions,
sometimes with different party members who are also various breeds of fantasy characters.
You take care of whatever conflict there is and you head back to your central location;
in Callahan’s, it’s the Saloon.
In Unavowed, we have this cozy little house where you’re character is staying.
I also got some minor Dagger of Amon Ra vibes, but those are minimal and it’s probably
just my imagination; it’s mostly these close up shots of corpses, heh.
I compare it the most to Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, in the way that it relies
on dialogue to move things along, and there’s a lot of interrogation and investigation;
comparing evidence also comes into play in the form of inventory object puzzles.
I loved it, I was interested the entire way through, and even though not every character
was created equal, meaning some were fleshed out more than others, I find that I liked
all the characters.
Eli and Mandana have the most personality by far, leaving Logan and Vicki a little under
written, but I still found all of them entertaining.
Eli Beckett was my favorite and I always made sure to have him in my party; I also very
much enjoyed his voice acting, but honestly, the entire game has very consistent performances.
As we know from previous fantasy games, it can be hard to get the voice acting just right;
these characters are talking about elementals and poltergeists, and supernatural stuff and
making it sound real, and trust me, you risk sounding cheesy when you write fantasy fiction
dialogue.
It’s not overly serious, though; in fact one of the missions, which involves meeting
a spirit guide, had me laughing out loud.
That being said, the serious parts are just that; the developer took some inspiration
from BioWare, the developer responsible for the Dragon Age games, and includes some very
tough decision making.
It doesn’t affect the big picture, but it does change character dialogue on top of just
playing with your emotions.
Even when I knew the bottom line wouldn’t be changed, with each playthrough I really
struggled with these choices: Who should I spare?
Who should I not?
What kind of person does that make me?
Instead of drastically different endings based on those choices, they more so provide for
very tense moments that you don’t commonly see in adventure games, and speaking of not
common, the game has 4 endings.
Honestly, I’m surprised it’s as complex as it is, because I am really not used to
it.
I can tell a lot of work went into this.
The graphics, as you can probably see, are stunning.
I LOVE them.
Every background is amazing looking, the portraits are masterful with their expressions; hell
even this RAIN looks great.
It’s just beautiful, I wanted to explore every screen, I couldn’t wait to get to
the next location, shit.
I know I am gushing but I can’t help it, settings like these are what made me fall
in love with adventure games.
You’ll probably see a lot of reviewers saying the game has a great atmosphere and simply
describe it as atmospheric, which I feel is too vague and could mean basically anything
so I want to briefly explain how the settings made me feel; I’d describe the entire feel
of this game as simultaneously bleak and cozy; though I wouldn’t call the game a noir mystery,
I certainly felt like I was in one with how dramatic each location looked.
Even though the plot deals with the supernatural world, I still felt the atmosphere was most
comparable to a neo noir, like Blade Runner.
The music is also lovely as well; it again, gave me some Gabriel Knight vibes, but as
much as I compare all these titles, know that this game is very distinct and it IS quite
different from everything I’ve mentioned; being reminded of all the things I love about
this genre is just a bonus.
It’s also designed very well; I wouldn’t say the puzzles are difficult; you won’t
get stuck for very long, but they do require a bit of thinking to solve.
The more familiar you are with adventure games, the easier the puzzles will likely be for
you; if you’re new to the genre I think it could provide a light challenge and would
be a great introduction.
How you solve puzzles in each mission changes depending on who you have in your party, which
also means the dialogue will be different, giving the game some replayability.
Instead of controlling each character individually, a mechanic I have never really liked, they
instead show up as actions in your inventory bar.
For example, when you need to talk to a ghost, you’d click on Logan to use him.
The UI is very clear, I NEVER mis click anything.
You’d think it would be hard to screw that up, but you’d be surprised; I’ve played
plenty of adventure games that are needlessly complicated.
You simply mouse over something on your screen to get a clear and concise description, and
the cursor changes when you can interact with an item or talk to someone.
And there are SAVE SLOTS.
SO MANY SAVE SLOTS, Oh thank the heavens I love them ALL.
The writing is one of the strongest elements in the game; it immediately draws you in as
soon as you begin playing, and each mission is interesting, with a lot of engaging dialogue.
Sometimes as you are looking around a screen, the other characters will start talking to
each other; I really like this, though I do wish that it would transition over to the
next screen, because a lot of the time I had to wait around to let them finish their conversation.
Not the biggest deal to me, it’s not like I am in a rush or anything, but sometimes
I did accidentally cut them off.
The
only negative, if you could even call it one, is that the character YOU play is not voiced,
and doesn’t really have a personality; They come across as a CRPG character, like Quest
for Glory, it simply appears that you, the player, is encouraged to attribute your own
personality to them.
To be honest, I didn’t even notice because I’m used to that being the case for voiced
RPG games, like Quest for Glory 4 and 5, or even games like persona, where other characters
have full performances and the one you play doesn’t.
Can’t say I was bothered by it.
I feel like this is the type of game that SHOULD have been released after 2D games like
King’s Quest VI, around the mid 90s.
You know how developers just kind of threw themselves into 3D and FMV with reckless abandon?
I feel like had we not done that for adventure games, this is where we could have gone; a
beautiful point and click with advanced tech and more detailed art; this would have been
a better segue, I could see something like this bridging the gaping hole between 2D and
3D; but I am glad we have it in the present because the style really does bring me a lot
of joy since it does have that retro feel to it.
I do like this game on its own, but I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t assign some
of my enjoyment to nostalgia and the games ability to evoke good memories.
So yeah, I don’t really have any negatives, here.
Not saying other people would feel the same way I do, but I personally don’t have any
major criticisms; I just really, really enjoyed this game and wanted to tell you all about
it.
If you liked the things I described in this video, then you might like Unavowed.
If you hate everything I mentioned, then maybe you wouldn't.
My first playthrough lasted around 12 hours, so I think it is priced very fairly at 15
dollars.
Let me know what you think of this game if you’ve played it, and as always, I’ll
see you guys in the next one.