REVIEW

Unavowed Review

by Rob Pritchard, August 8th, 2018

The rise of digital distribution for video games has allowed for many older genres to receive a renascence, with the 8-bit styled platformer Shovel Knight being a prime example. Wadjet Eye Games has also taken advantage of this adaption in the market, allowing them to create several award-winning point and click adventure games that might otherwise be lost in the race to reach the top of the charts. After the success of the Blackwell series, the developer has opted to continue the theme of supernatural investigation with Unavowed, which is available today for PC via Steam, GOG and Wadjet Eye Games official website.

The game begins on a stormy night in New York, where a makeshift exorcism frees the protagonist from a yearlong demonic possession. The demon in question unfortunately escapes capture, and the shocking truth of it’s actions are explained to you by two members of a secret organisation named the Unavowed. During the exorcism, you choose your name and gender, as well as your occupation, which allows for a distinct range of branching narratives which are often ignored in point and click adventure games. Each occupation has its own unique prologue, and the resulting choices unlock exclusive dialogue options which can help or hinder your cause later in the game.

Although there is an underlying narrative, the gameplay structure of Unavowed is similar to that of a TV show such as Charmed or Supernatural, where a monster of the week threatens the status quo. Each of these cases tackle a different area of mythology, with elemental spirits, mercreatures and dragons being represented as either a malicious force or an unwilling victim. As you solve each case, you will work alongside Eli, a neophyte mage and Mandana, a jinn who is highly proficient in lockpicking and swordplay. Both of these characters will help you to solve puzzles using their unique talents. New allies will join the fray after you solve certain cases, such as a spirit medium akin to Rosa Blackwell from the Blackwell franchise.

As the group increases in size, you will only be able to take two allies with you to each investigation. To compensate for this, each of the game’s puzzles can be solved in many different ways, with Eli’s heat abilities allowing for certain high temperature objects to be manipulated, and Logan’s ability to talk to spirits giving you the advantage to assist troubled spirits to pass over. Each puzzle is structured in a logical fashion, without a single drop of mind bending Sierra logic anywhere to be seen.

Alongside the puzzles in Unavowed, the player will be asked to make several ethical choices, in a similar vein to Life is Strange and The Walking Dead. Each choice has a significant impact on how you are seen by the other members of the Unavowed, whether you are asked to have mercy on a starving demon or help a troubled spiritual being come to terms with his new existence. Alongside the larger choices, you can alter the tone of your responses to questions in a similar manner to Mass Effect’s dialogue wheel. These smaller choices do not have the same degree of impact as the ethical decisions, but it is good to see that you are able to build your protagonist’s personality to your personal preferences.

The graphical style of Unavowed is similar to that of the Blackwell series, except that it is drawn at a higher resolution. This change makes for some exceptional looking sprite work, and the extra processing power afforded by modern computers allows each area of New York to be brought to life with weather effects and moving vehicles. The character portraits displayed during dialogue are equally well drawn, although they lack the moving lips seen in other games such as the King’s Quest series. The soundtrack of Unavowed is a mixture of intense orchestral arrangements and softer tunes during the investigations and when you are resting at the group’s headquarters. The high-quality writing for the game’s dialogue is on par with the company’s previous endeavours, which alongside the excellent voice acting creates strong relatable characters that the player will remember long after the credits have rolled.

Overall, Unavowed is one of the best point and click adventure games to be released in the current generation. The high-resolution graphics, along with the strongly written dialogue, excellent puzzle design and emotive soundtrack provide the ingredients for a modern classic that will be very difficult to duplicate. If you have always wanted to be like the Winchester brothers or the Scooby gang in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Unavowed is the closest experience that you will get in the world of video games.