Hoona (Anya Charlota) faces a new mission in Unknown 9: Awakening (2024), Bandai Namco
In light of its terrible character designs and ugly-looking visual design, rumors are swirling that the upcoming story-driven, action-adventure game Unknown 9: Awakening has absolutely terrible pre-order numbers.

A young Hoona (TBA) unlocks her powers in Unknown 9: Awakening (2024), Bandai Namco
Word of the indie game’s sales struggles were first brought to public attention courtesy of YouTuber and Side Scrollers podcast host Stuttering Craig.

“My insider has some preorder info about Unknown 9: Awakening, the action-adventure game linked to Sweet Baby Inc,” tweeted Craig on September 18th. “In their 900 stores, they’ve seen a total of 42(!) TOTAL preorders for this game. That’s less than 1/5th as many as Concord. It releases next month. It’s DOA.”

It should be noted that while physical pre-orders for the game may be low, these numbers do not take into account any potential customers who pre-ordered the game via digital storefronts. As such, it’s possible that the game is doing gangbusters digitally, but it’s highly, highly unlikely, as physical numbers are still serves as a good indicator for player’s general interest in a given game.
Archive Link via Stuttering Craig (@StutteringCraig) via X

A collaborative effort between Reflector Entertainment and Bandai Namco, Unknown 9: Awakening is an action-adventure game that follows the protagonist Haroona, a young East Indian woman who must learn to control her power to “manipulate the unseen”.

As players take control of Haroona exploring the streets of Kolkata they will also get a chance to glimpse into Fold, a new dimension, which is the main selling point of the game, alongside Haroona’s mysterious abilities, one of which allows her to seize control of her opponents for a few short seconds.

Much of the blame for this low interest in the upcoming game boils down to the involvement of Sweet Baby Inc. founder Kim Belair, who is credited as the main architect of the game’s story.

Having done little for the industry except pushing identity politics, Sweet Baby Inc. has found itself on the outs with players due to not just its agenda, but the fact that the games the company work on tend to release as complete narrative disasters, such as Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and Gotham Knights.

Black Girl Gamers CEO Jay’Ann Lopez, Sweet Baby Inc. CEO Kim Belair, and The Verge reporter Ash Parrish go live for the BGG Online Summit ‘Breaking Down The Gamergate’ Panel (2024), BGG
Further, Netflix’s The Witcher Yennefer actress Anya Chalotra serves as the physical model for the game’s lead character – but while this choice initially sparked massive interest in the game, that hype didn’t last long, with reactions quickly turning the other way as soon as it was revealed just how badly the developers had translated the actress’ appearance to her in-game model. As seen in the game’s trailers, Haroona’s model appears far more androgynous than Chalotra herself, with many fans stating finding that the character’s face lacks the elegance and femininity seen in her real-life counterpart.

“Anya Chalotra is so pretty in real life,” explained former World of Warcraft team lead Mark Kern of players’ complaints. “Why did Sweet Baby and Reflector do this to her? Why does this keep happening?”
Archve Link Mark Kern (@Grummz) via X
The gameplay itself also appears to be struggling to generate excitement. Though Unknown 9 aims to present an interesting mix of action-oriented combat and puzzle-solving mechanics, early footage has failed to impress.

While the game has an interesting premise, the game’s progression, mechanics, and design on the whole, feel outdated compared to other, more recent action-adventure titles.
Haroon (Anya Chalotra) in Unknown 9: Awakening, Bandai Namco
Ultimately, time will tell whether Unknown 9: Awakening turns out to be a boom or a bust.

However, in light of Sweet Baby Inc. adding their personal spice to the entire mix, it’s not out of the question to consider that the game may end up failing both critically and commercially.