Unicorn Overload
HIGH LOTS of beautifully drawn characters. Complex combat systems.
LOW Possibly too many characters! Managing an army can be overwhelming.
WTF Does that owl lady have boobs?!
I have yet to play a Vanillaware game that wasn’t great, and Unicorn Overlord is Vanillaware in top form. A tactics RPG in the vein of titles like Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, Unicorn Overlord takes aspects from these and combines them to make one of the best tactics RPGs I’ve played in recent memory.
Unicorn Overlord has a simple premise. The player controls an exiled prince who aims to liberate the kingdom from an emperor who’s usurped the crown. This story isn’t anything original, but Vanillaware excels at presentation.
As a leader of a rebellion, the player is given choices about how they would like to lead — will they be forgiving of antisocial behavior, or would they instead punish or kill? That’s just one brief example, but the decision making not only affects how many characters the player will recruit, but there are also long-reaching repercussions as well. I was pleasantly surprised to to see a decision I made in the early game pay off twenty hours later. This sort of morality system probably won’t satisfy players those who choices to have major consequences, but Unicorn Overlord feels refreshingly optimistic about giving people second chances, along with more moral ambiguity than one might expect.
Supporting the choice system is the strength of Unicorn Overlord’s characters. There are over 60, and while individuals might share a class template, named units have their own designs, along with their own introduction and motive for joining the rebellion.
Although there are far too many characters for every one to be fully developed, I was surprised that so many were relevant later in the campaign. Unfortunately, by the time I was in the third major area of the map, I began to feel a bit overwhelmed by managing my army.
Looking at the combat itself, Unicorn Overlord is a mix. Battles are technically in real time, however, the action can be paused at the player’s discretion.
Fights will frequently be paused while decisions are made — things like ordering units to particular locations, or using area-of-effect spells or abilities, and then unpausing to let things play out. Players can also use items, adjust formations, swap with nearby units and allowing ranged units to assist others. Once things are ready to roll, though, combat proceeds without the player directly controlling the characters.
Battles feel rewarding overall, with most having objectives like eliminating enemies and capturing bases and points along the way. Unicorn Overlord does a good job of varying the strategy needed to survive, and in some cases I found myself playing defensively to survive swarms of enemy armies. At other times I had to focus on eliminating watchtowers to avoid being barraged with arrows and spells.
Aside from directly fighting, all characters have unique abilities like healing or boosting the combat prowess of units, destroying barricades or doing massive damage, so striking a balance between using the right units and abilities is key to winning, rather than something straightforward like doing an RTS-style rush. Unicorn Overlord has great capacity for complexity once the player comes to grips with its systems, which is a good thing as it initially seems a bit “rock/paper/scissors.” Unicorn Overlord expects the player to be flexible in the strategies they use over time, which keeps things from getting stale. I also found this need to keep things fresh prevented the systems from being easily “breakable” with repeated use of the same units.
Leading a rebellion is about more than just winning battles, though, and Unicorn Overlord requires with a certain amount of base management. After completing battles and liberating an area, players are asked to contribute to restoring towns. Restoring towns gives honor points, increases renown, and can unlock new locations. This simple process of restoring areas offered a nice reprieve from battles and was surprisingly engaging.
Like other titles of this type, characters who fight together gain rapport and unlock conversations. The player can also increase rapport between characters by having them eat at a meal at a tavern. Marriage is eventually an option open to virtually every character. The player is unable to choose any gender other than male for the main character — disappointing — but I did appreciate that he could marry other men, which is progressive for a JRPG.
Finally, Unicorn Overlord‘s art is outstanding. Vanillaware oozes their classic hand-drawn style into every pixel, making the visuals a feast for the eyes — sometimes a literal feast when seeing the mouth-watering food at taverns! Even the walk and idle animations convey so much information about who each character is and what their class does. It’s masterful.
I could go on and on about Unicorn Overlord’s systems, but it ultimately presents an experience that is both incredibly deep, while also being highly streamlined to the point that it almost feels simple. For myself and fans of immersive RPGs with rich mechanics and visual flair to match, it’s a must-play.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed by Vanillaware and published by Sega and JP Atlus It is currently available on XBX/S, PS4/5 and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS4. Approximately 35 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. 1 hours of play were spent in multiplayer modes.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, and Mild Suggestive Themes. The official description reads: This is a strategy game in which players assume the role of a prince trying to liberate a fantasy kingdom from evil. From a 3/4-overhead perspective, players traverse lands while building an army and liberating areas (e.g., towns, fortresses, cities). Players can deploy and move military units (e.g., archers, knights) to battle enemy soldiers and mercenaries in turn-based combat. Players can choose various actions (e.g., Attack, Defend), which are depicted in short animated sequences: units shooting arrows, slashing swords, casting magic spells. Battles are highlighted by cries of pain, impact sounds, and blood-splatter effects. Some female characters are designed with low-cut outfits (e.g., deep cleavage) and jiggling breasts. The word “bastard” appears in the game.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized. There are no audio cues or issues playing without sound. All information is conveyed in text and symbols on screen. This game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. This game does not offer a controller map diagram, but movement in the overworld is the left stick and in battles it helps control the cursor to move units. X is to select and O is confirm. Otherwise, most controls appear in contextual menus on screen.
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