Unicorn Overlord is a tactical RPG that was developed by Vanillaware and published by Atlus. In a world where the triple-A gaming industry continues to find ways to make as much money from the player as possible, this game offers a double-A experience that’s not only fun but also focuses more on its gameplay rather than story. This game offers a more hands-on/hands-off tactical experience that will certainly make many tactical RPG fans happy. What makes this game so appealing? Let’s find out together.
The story of Unicorn Overlord is that a long time ago Gran Corrine was conquered by its once decorated general turned conqueror Valmore. Before usurping the throne the former queen Ilena orders her Paladin Josef to take her son Alain and the magical Ring of The Unicorn far away so that he can be trained and protected so that one day he is ready to return and fight for their kingdom. Decades pass and Valmore has taken complete control of the kingdom and the many regions surrounding it under the Zenoiran empire’s banner. Now Alain and his friends must gather an army of Liberators to take on the empire and free the lands from their grasp. It’s not a very original story, but where it lacks in story it makes up for in its gameplay and RPG elements.
As stated earlier the gameplay of Unicorn Overlord is the biggest highlight as most tactical RPGs tend to have very detailed gameplay mechanics which is the biggest reason why I found this game very enjoyable and addictive to play. As Prince Alain, it’s his job to build an army out of the many companions and mercenaries he encounters throughout the game. The game offers many different characters all with very unique tactical classes that help to bring advantages to his army. There are multiple classes such as; Archers, Thieves, Sellswords, Witches, Wizards, Knights, and many others that each have their strengths and weaknesses in combat. After acquiring a character with a specific class the player can recruit mercenaries with a similar class, meaning that if the player has a specific class they enjoy using they can recruit multiple people with the same class. The best part about the mercenaries is that they are customizable in both appearance and stats so they don’t have to look or play the same. After assembling your companions and mercenaries you can put them into groups of units. Units are groups of 2-5 people who can be dispatched into combat using valor points. The player gets three valor points at the start of the battle stage and they can be used to summon up to three units. As the player succeeds in battles they gain more valor points which can either be used to summon more units or they can be spent on special character abilities that can be used to either buff surrounding units or give them an edge in battle. With every unit a leader can be appointed, once appointed units gain a special trait depending on who leads them. For example, if the appointed leader is someone who can fly their unit gains the traversal ability to fly over rivers and mountains in both the open world and during battle stages.
Battle stages are where the actual combat takes place. During the battle, the game switches into a turn-based 2D animation battle simulation where the battles are automatically played out until either one side wins or there is a draw. The player also has the option to skip the battle entirely and continue forward towards the objective. Of course, since this is an RPG there are many elements that help improve your army such as; equipping better weapons and gear, farming resources that are used to restore villages ravaged by the empire, capturing forts to improve unit sizes, and hiring more mercenaries, and of course many side quests and activities that help unlock more characters and better equipment. The best way to think of this game is that it is similar mechanics-wise to last year’s Fire Emblem Engage, but with a smoother art style that is reminiscent of Star Ocean the Second Story R.
Overall I had a very fun experience with Unicorn Overlord this game checked off many of the elements that I enjoyed about other RPG games while also adding elements such as detailed army building. I feel like while this game will be one of this year’s best RPGs it will no doubt be overshadowed by other major AAA game releases like Dragons Dogma 2 but regardless of the unfortunate timing this game and its developers deserve a large amount of praise and recognition.
Overall Score: 10 out of 10
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5