Raccoon city
Go to school in Known Unknowns.
While you wait for the results of your petitions demanding PC ports of the Persona series, you might want to give Known Unknowns a play. It’s the latest text adventure from interactive fiction author Brendan Patrick Hennessy, who you might remember from Bell Park, Youth Detective, and the brilliant Birdland, both of which take place in the same world as Known Unknowns. Birdland heroine Bridget even makes a guest appearance in this new adventure, which is set in and around a Canadian high school. Hennessy’s games combine teen drama and romance with intriguing supernatural mysteries, and this episodic series is no different. Released in four parts over the last year and a bit, Known Unknowns concerns the complicated life of student Nadia Nazari, who has a lot to contend with over the course of the game. Firstly, she has the school newspaper to manage, whose biggest story is the sudden, hilarious arrival of a ghost raccoon. And then there’s the reappearance of her former best friend Summer, who hasn’t spoken to her in years. Finally, there’s the fact that she’s been hiding her bisexuality from her boyfriend. It’s a lot of plot to juggle, but Hennessy manages it with aplomb.
Known Unknowns features some of the most natural dialogue I’ve encountered in a game – its conversations feel like genuine back-and-forths between buddies. The writing is often funny, even as the dexterously plotted story keeps you engaged with its mystery. Whack in a battle system and a few demons and you’d have a Persona game, albeit one that’s better written than any JRPG I’ve ever played.