Unicorn Overlord Critic Reviews

Unicorn Overlord is a masterfully crafted video game. The player is given as much or as little to do as they wish, with every new nation, stage, backstory, and time-engrossing side venture all weaving into one another in a way that never feels forced. All of this is actualized with music and visuals to consistently dazzle and delight as the world is delved into deeper. This pacing is crafted with incredible flexibility such that one player may spend minutes doing something another will spend hours on and both finding their time well spent. Combat is a constantly shifting bout of delightful visuals as tactical options and classes keep things enticing. It takes a special title to reach all gaming sensibilities and Unicorn Overlord does so with such style and flair that everyone should test it for themselves.

Unicorn Overlord delivers a deeply engaging tactical RPG experience with nods to classics like Ogre Battle and Fire Emblem, boasting a vast world to explore and rewarding strategic gameplay. While the main plot may feel predictable and clichéd, the game excels in its varied battles, intricate formation system, and stunning visual and audio design, making it a must-play for tactical RPG enthusiasts.

Like many of Vanillaware’s previous efforts, sight, sound, and story effortlessly intermingle in Unicorn Overlord. The result is a role-playing experience poised to fascinate with its well-developer recruitable characters and a battle system that will have you tenaciously tinkering with your troops and envisaging new strategies when you’re not playing. Despite a reliance of Western high-fantasy and a rather conventional lead, Overlord shouldn’t be missed.

Unicorn Overlord combines the stellar Vanillaware aesthetic in a tactical RPG experience that feels like a modern classic in the making.

Vanillaware hits the spot with Unicorn Overlord while reinvigorating an RPG sub-genre that, for a long time, was neglected in the gaming industry. I strongly believe that it is also the best game created by the Japanese developer. Even though there are small imperfections, the game is brilliant and deserving of the highest recommendation.

It's hard to say whether Unicorn Overlord is objectively Vanillaware's best game, but for us, it's right up there, competing for the crown — and that's incredibly high praise. This is an immaculate and deeply engaging strategy RPG; the best example of the genre that we've played in years. For those who are looking to get lost in tactical thought, it's essential — and for everyone else, it still stands as an engrossing fantasy adventure. Vanillaware's done it again.

Reflecting on the incredibly diverse and remarkably creative world I explored across my 45-hour journey, any issues I had with Unicorn Overlord ended up feeling like nothing more than nitpicks. The tactical combat system is unique and complex while also being easy to understand, expertly blending mechanics from many of its peers with smart new additions of its own. The interesting terrain across the continent of Fevrith makes every fight feel unique, with some of the best map gimmicks I’ve seen in any strategy RPG. Because the campaign is told through the eyes of a diverse and creative cast, its trope-filled fantasy story is elevated in a way that a more traditional storytelling style wouldn't manage. The shorter, more personal stories work wonderfully to support a loop of exploration and liberation that had me begging to see one more tale told, one more town rebuilt, and one more battle fought.

As a long-time TRPG fan, Unicorn Overlord is everything I wanted it to be and more. I suspect that some people will read this review and think that it sounds tedious, but that’s the thing about games that deliver such a focused experience: they aren’t going to appeal to everyone. However, by being so specific in everything it does, Unicorn Overlord ensures that those who do “get it” will be thinking of it fondly for decades to come.

Unicorn Overlord boasts a beautiful 2D art style and excellent sound, creating a fantastic atmosphere. With a combat and management system that diversifies strategy and encourages thoughtful decisions, the game became a title that would thoroughly satisfy SRPG fans.

Unicorn Overlord is an homage to classic tactical role-playing games with a well-crafted story, interesting combat, and a fascinating world to explore. Vanillaware delivers a comfortable and familiar game that is unique enough to warrant spending countless hours playing.

Unicorn Overlord is a rewarding, highly strategic RPG that highlights developer Vanillaware's gorgeous graphics style.

Unicorn Overlord might be my favorite game so far this year. I loved Ogre Battle back in the day. March of the Black Queen is one of my favorite old-school games. I never would have expected Vanillaware to capture that feeling so thoroughly and even add its own twists to make it all the better, but here we are. You get from this game what you give, and it constantly rewards you handsomely for overcoming its challenges. Between great tactical gameplay, a massive and robust cast of voiced characters, a beautiful soundtrack and art style, and a great story, this is a game no fan of tactics RPGs should skip.

Unicorn Overlord is probably one of the best SRPGs of recent times. It blends real-time strategy with tactical RPG gameplay, adding many unique features from other SRPGs to make for very engaging combat. Even if its open world can be a little repetitive, it's still a great innovation.

Unicorn Overlord is a must-have that fans of strategy games can't pass up. It's a game packed with complex systems that interact to keep you thinking about the best ways to maximize each unit in your squads. Perhaps this makes it a game that may be unsuitable for first time players, but its different difficulty levels do a good job of keeping newcomers from getting overwhelmed by so many systems and allowing veterans to dive right into the strategy.

Unicorn Overlord presents a healthy and balanced mix between combat and exploration, naturally integrating these two crucial aspects of gameplay. Generous in content, the game can easily take a hundred hours, depending on how engaged you are with the optional challenges.

Unicorn Overlord is yet another standout game from a revered developer that sets out to innovate on classic strategy conventions. It achieves these goals with style and substance, resulting in a game that strategy afficionados should absolutely consider jumping into. While I don't think this title is a particularly good entry point for newcomers to the genre, this game is clearly aware of its audience and it plays to those strengths. Spectacular.

Unicorn Overlord Collector's Edition is one of the best surprises of the year because the base game is incredible and the physical extras really expand on the core experience in clever ways. It's such a unique strategic funfest that I highly recommend checking it out.

Vanillaware lives up to its reputation by giving us one of the best strategy games of recent years. It may not be perfect, but it borders on perfection slightly, offering us in the process an experience that I could qualify as sublime.

While its story may be a bit pedestrian, I have no other negatives to point out about Unicorn Overlord. Vanillaware has created another masterful gameplay experience that still has all the style of their best games. It would have been great to see them nail the story and create a truly unforgettable experience, but anyone who remotely enjoys strategy games needs to pick up Unicorn Overlord.

Unicorn Overlord might be an early GOTY contender for me. Fans of strategy games should download the demo and play it immediately.