The Origins of the Unknown (in His Own Words)

[Mors_Indecepta]

Obviously, his lore is inconclusive, and doesn't explain what it is, or its history, in any meaningful way. However, there are a lot of voice lines he says in the main menu, and some conclusions I'm gonna draw from it, that make me think I may know what the Unknown is (assuming the writers even knew)...

I...the nameless legend.
I lived in dungeons, long-forgotten.
I will not be denied my happiness.
You must be lonely here.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry (audio says "Now, I'm mad")
I deal in strange.
Life is what we make it.
Terribly frightening, isn't it?
Why so nervous tonight?
At last...the fools.
Hunger...intolerable hunger!
Tonight...the world at my feet.
Nobody leaves tonight.
What's this all about?

The lore, while largely useless, does offer three possible explanations:
1, it was summoned by a cult, long ago.
2, it's an alien.
3, it is a government experiment gone wrong.

The Unknown's ability is called "UVX" or "Unknown Venom X"

Putting all of these bits together, and looking for connections/explanations that make sense, I think that all 3 origin stories are true at the same time...and maybe something more.

There is definitely a connection between the Entity and the Unknown, and I base that on the fact that the Entity attacked and took that killer unwillingly, and the belief that the Unknown is actually speaking to the Entity in a lot of its lines ("you must be lonely here").
My best theory is that the Unknown is either a piece of the Entity that was severed and gained its own consciousness, followed by a desire for its own free life, or that the Unknown is actually the wayward offspring of the Entity that basically "ran away from home" and had to be forcibly brought back ("I will not be denied my happiness").
It was willingly summoned into the world by a cult originally ("at last...the fools"), but it is also technically an alien just like the Entity. I think, after it left the cult it ran free for a while, after which it was captured by the government and held for tests for an unknown amount of time ("I lived in dungeons, long forgotten").
Since its venom is hallucinogenic, and the government project "apple pie" specifically mentions the use of hallucinogens, I believe the government tried to control peoples' minds using the venom of the Unknown. Obviously, this failed, and the creature broke free to roam before the Entity found it and brought it back ("I don't know whether to laugh or cry" at being brought back to the home it left?).

Its weaker abilities at imitation also suggest the "severed piece" or "wayward offspring" theory, as it may not have the full power of the whole - or it may still be young and growing. It seems to just imitate what it can, and its mori could very easily be a scene of it feeding on the emotions of its victim; feeding the same continuous hunger the Entity does ("hunger...intolerable hunger").

These are just theories, but I think it's one of the two, based on what I can find.
Just thought this was interesting enough to share.

[asa0199]

I like the dungeon tidbit most of all. It's intriguing and seems to imply that however the Unknown got here, it's been here awhile.

[Null Winter]

Several of its selection lines, three to be exact, specifically mention "tonight"; probably just a nudge at the game's title, but three is a pattern.

It defaults to a traditionally masculine voice, but some of its patched together lines have higher pitched segments. Considering that BHVR prefers to use their own staff or dirt cheap corporate warehouse VAs, this was probably just a budgeting limitation rather than some sort of lore implication.

In general, its selection lines are usually more comprehensible, clearer, and less patched together than its in-match lines. Perhaps it does not think as clearly when the hunt is on?

A lot of those lines are also fourth wall aware, matching it specifically smiling at the camera.

A running hypothesis is that the dev team themselves were not sure whether they wanted to make it a wayward piece of the Entity, a "found footage" themed tulpa, or an alien/escaped government project and were approaching the deadline so they just shipped it as an "intentional" mess; that's why the teaser trailers, in-game lore block, Power, and add-on lore bits don't match up very well, even if you're really generous with the "unknowable" interpretation.

[Null Winter]

Originally posted by asa0199:

I like the dungeon tidbit most of all. It's intriguing and seems to imply that however the Unknown got here, it's been here awhile.

Might be a reference to The Void, where the Entity sends totally broken people who have long since given up entirely and people who got dangerously close to figuring out how to truly escape.

[Cardboard]

Originally posted by Moderately_Merciless:

Obviously, his lore is inconclusive, and doesn't explain what it is, or its history, in any meaningful way. However, there are a lot of voice lines he says in the main menu, and some conclusions I'm gonna draw from it, that make me think I may know what the Unknown is (assuming the writers even knew)...

I...the nameless legend.
I lived in dungeons, long-forgotten.
I will not be denied my happiness.
You must be lonely here.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry (audio says "Now, I'm mad")
I deal in strange.
Life is what we make it.
Terribly frightening, isn't it?
Why so nervous tonight?
At last...the fools.
Hunger...intolerable hunger!
Tonight...the world at my feet.
Nobody leaves tonight.
What's this all about?

The lore, while largely useless, does offer three possible explanations:
1, it was summoned by a cult, long ago.
2, it's an alien.
3, it is a government experiment gone wrong.

The Unknown's ability is called "UVX" or "Unknown Venom X"

Putting all of these bits together, and looking for connections/explanations that make sense, I think that all 3 origin stories are true at the same time...and maybe something more.

There is definitely a connection between the Entity and the Unknown, and I base that on the fact that the Entity attacked and took that killer unwillingly, and the belief that the Unknown is actually speaking to the Entity in a lot of its lines ("you must be lonely here").
My best theory is that the Unknown is either a piece of the Entity that was severed and gained its own consciousness, followed by a desire for its own free life, or that the Unknown is actually the wayward offspring of the Entity that basically "ran away from home" and had to be forcibly brought back ("I will not be denied my happiness").
It was willingly summoned into the world by a cult originally ("at last...the fools"), but it is also technically an alien just like the Entity. I think, after it left the cult it ran free for a while, after which it was captured by the government and held for tests for an unknown amount of time ("I lived in dungeons, long forgotten").
Since its venom is hallucinogenic, and the government project "apple pie" specifically mentions the use of hallucinogens, I believe the government tried to control peoples' minds using the venom of the Unknown. Obviously, this failed, and the creature broke free to roam before the Entity found it and brought it back ("I don't know whether to laugh or cry" at being brought back to the home it left?).

Its weaker abilities at imitation also suggest the "severed piece" or "wayward offspring" theory, as it may not have the full power of the whole - or it may still be young and growing. It seems to just imitate what it can, and its mori could very easily be a scene of it feeding on the emotions of its victim; feeding the same continuous hunger the Entity does ("hunger...intolerable hunger").

These are just theories, but I think it's one of the two, based on what I can find.
Just thought this was interesting enough to share.

hes an alien ong

[Snipey The Random]

The question remains though, if what the Unknown says is reliable enough to be taken at face value or if he's just repeating things that it have heard others say, in order to better bait people in?