Editors’ Choice Games

August 2018

Unavowed

Review by Angie Kibiloski

If you’ve been reading my reviews for any number of years, you’ll know that adventure games have always been my absolute favorite type of game.  They used to be everywhere in the 90’s and 2000’s, but then dropped out of fashion somewhat over the last 10 years, making way for hidden object games pretending to be adventures.  Thankfully, for my tastes and the industry at large, classic adventure titles have begun to reemerge, and I’ve been very happy to dive back into the genre over the last 6 months.  The newest addition to my love affair with adventure games is Unavowed ($14.99 on Steam), an urban fantasy adventure from Wadjet Eye.  This title really takes me back to the heyday of adventure gaming, not only in the conversation-rich game-play style, but also in the throwback, hand-drawn graphic aesthetic.  It delivers on the nostalgia of the classic adventure genre, as well as providing an intriguing storyline, complex and well-acted characters, and true replayability.  The atmosphere is gritty, the dialogue is witty, and you can tell that the game developers have a real passion for making quality content.

Let’s start off with the framework of the storyline, without giving too much away.  The urban fantasy element is right up my alley…a dark, puddle-filled alley, hiding demons and ghosts in its shadows.  We open with a couple of odd characters, identifying themselves as the Unavowed, trying to excorsize a demon out of your body.  Apparently, it’s been causing some trouble whilst wearing your face, and has drawn the attention of this reclusive group of supernaturally gifted demon hunters.  Before learning too much about your situation, you get to choose who your character is, with a name, a gender, and 1 of 3 backstories.  This backstory will inform the way you interact with other characters, and unlock paths that may be different from the other backstories.  I chose Cop as my backstory, as I thought it would give me a leg up in the mystery solving aspect.  I intend to go back and play through again with the other backstories, to see all the various alternatives.  For instance, I’m interested to see how the other cops I come across will react to a bartender asking them questions, rather than a fellow cop.  Whichever backstory you choose, you’ll soon be welcomed into the Unavowed, becoming part of the team and taking on the responsibility of tracking down and defeating troublesome, potentially dangerous supernatural beings, all around New York City.  The interconnectedness of supernatural happenings around town quickly comes into focus, with your erstwhile demon in the center of it all.  You must discover, and try to reverse, all the damage that it did, while attempting to remain alive and not cause any further damage yourself.  There’s an element of choice all throughout the game, giving you the ability to slightly mold the progess of the story, and creating immediate as well as long-term consequences.  For a vague example, there are often several conversational responses to choose from, with different tones of voice, so you can present yourself as more sympathetic, strong-willed, or flippant.  Also, when dealing with demons and the like, you can kill them, punish them in other ways, or leave them alone.  Your choices matter, so make them with intent.

Game play is easy, with your charecter being controlled totally by your mouse.  Move, interact with things, and progress through conversations with the click of a button.  You’ll know if you can interact with an environmental object by the changing icon when rolling your pointer over it.  If it turns into a speech bubble, you can talk to someone, if it turns into a hand, you can pick something up, etc.  A good deal of this game is conversation, but you’ll also have to find objects to pick up and use on other objects, to solve problems and progress the plot, like in any good, adventure style game.  Many things you can only look at, indicated with an eyeball icon.  I like learning about my surroundings, and reading everything the developers took the time to write, so I scroll over everything in a room, even if it’s all just eyeball icons.  This is not a fast-paced game, and nothing jumps out at you or happens without your actions, so there’s no reason not to take your time reading each and every, sometimes humorous, description.  In fact, there is quite a bit of humor in this game, albeit of the low-key variety, whether it comes from these rolled-over descriptions of items, certain environmental set-peices, or through dialgue, both actively participated in, or mearly overheard from your companions as you walk through a scene.

As to these companions, they’ll rotate throughout the game.  Once you’ve met all 4 of your core teammates, you’ll get to choose which 2 of them accompany you to each new envirnment.  They each have their own unique skill set, which will determine the exact direction of conversations and problem solving in each situation.  There’s no failing combination of companions, fortunately, so whomever you choose will be able to help you complete each scene, they’ll just do so in a slightly different way.  Spending time with each of the 4 is entertaining, not just for their assistance during a problem.  The voice acting is all top-notch, making each character believable, richly imagined, and multi-layered.  The overheard conversations between your companions is also worth sitting back and listening to.  It doesn’t progress the story, since you aren’t an active participant, but it does shed light on the nature of the person speaking, through the way they interact with others, and information devulged about their past.  If you don’t care, you don’t have to listen, and you can just click to the next screen.  Personally, though, I really enjoyed eavesdropping.

Unavowed has already provided me with many hours of enjoyment, and I intend to let it provide me with many more.  If you like the classic adventure style of games, where there’s more converastion that heart-pounding action, and more branches to the storyline than there are weapons deployed, then this urban fantasy title will be a perfect, comfortable fit for your gaming needs.  I can’t say enough good things about this game, so I’m confident that you’ll love it as much as I do.  It’s also super affordable, so go on over to Steam, download it today, and get to demon hunting.  Fictional New York City, Wadjet Eye, and your devoted adventure fan within, will thank you for it.

Minimum System Requirements:

Windows

• OS: Windows XP
• Processor: Pentium
• RAM: 64 MB
• Graphics Card: 640×360, 32-bit color, 700 Mhz system
• Hard Drive Space: 3 GB

Mac

• OS: 10.11
• RAM: 64 MB
• Graphics Card: 640×360, 32-bit color, 700 Mhz system
• Hard Drive Space: 3 GB