Unavowed is the culmination of all the years spent perfecting the craft. The game opens in media res with an exorcism. You’ve apparently been possessed by a demon who needs to be cast out from within you. It’s here that you can choose your character’s background - a bartender, actor, or cop. I’ve played the first two (I won’t be choosing cop any time soon) and without spoiling too much, there are more than enough unique interactions and story lines based on your character’s past to warrant multiple playthroughs even after you’ve encountered all the twists and turns of the main story. What wonderful twists and turns they are though. Upon joining the squad of your newfound, demon-free buddies, you’ll start getting to know them and their goals with every mission. They’re all brilliantly voice-acted and expertly written as the justice-seeking magical outcasts they are, with unique personalities that’ll mean you’ll develop favourites in your squad. This manifests in your missions, where you have to choose which team members you take along - do you want the guy who can speak to ghosts, the action hero half-Jinn with superhuman physical ability, the fire mage who can literally burn stuff, or Woman With Gun? They’re all useful in their own ways, and uncover new and fun interactions depending on the path you take, with numerous ways to complete each mission. The way the story develops, as you find out more about the intricate urban fantasy crafted by lead writer Dave Gilbert, makes it so worth a shot at playing. Not only that, but it modernises and streamlines all the best aspects of Lucasarts and Sierra’s point-and-click design philosophies from the past. Also, some of the ways you can die are brilliant. Right at the beginning, a void creature thingy tries to attack your party and if you try to kill it by hitting it with a pipe, it just casually eats your entire face off with absolutely no fanfare. Unavowed oozes polish and personality, and it’s basically guaranteed I’ll be checking out whatever Wadjet Eye Games come out with next.
