REVIEW: ‘Unicorn Overlord’ Is A Blast From The Past (PS5)

Tactical role-playing games have seen a resurgence in recent years. Unicorn Overlord, from the team at Vannillaware, is the latest iteration inspired by the classics of the genre with a more modern approach. The game is published in Japan by Atlus and worldwide by Sega and releases on March 8th.

Unicorn Overlord follows the story of Alain, the crown prince of Cornia. His mother, Ilenia, was overthrown by the rebellious general Valmore and Alain was whisked away to safety by the loyal knight Josef. Valmore, now known as Emperor Galerius of the Zenoiran Empire, quickly conquered the five kingdoms of the continent. It is up to Alain, Josef, and the rest of their allies to free the continent from Galerius’ evil grasp.

It is a fairly standard RPG story. You have a lost prince who steps out of the shadows to restore his family’s kingdom. He starts with few allies and limited strength, but it does not take long for that to change. Alain is charismatic, which draws new allies to him. It helps that his unicorn ring can free those who have had their minds corrupted by Galerius.

Everything about the story in Unicorn Overlord feels familiar as it unfolds. However, there is enough depth to the characters that it doesn’t feel stale. Excellent writing and voice acting truly bring them to life. The familiarity is what makes these characters so endearing right away. For players, it is almost as if they have known these characters their whole lives.

That matters quite a bit because there are so many characters to meet along the journey. Each new companion adds something new to the table in the fight against Galerius. Fighting side-by-side also improves relationships, further developing the story. The process is seamless and incredibly polished. Even the background characters are full of life, adding to the overall appeal of the world. It also motivates players to invest emotionally in freeing the suffering citizens.

Combat in Unicorn Overlord is the most important part of the game. Alains is in command of the Liberation Army, with everyone he meets along the way finding roles in its ranks. To liberate new areas, players engage in timed tactical showdowns. Each of these battles requires players to capture the enemy’s command post while protecting their own.

In these battles, players have specific squads to deploy in each fight. This is where the unique characters come in really handy. Since each character has specific strengths and weaknesses, putting squads together with the right players is vital. The game initially limits the number of squads you can have and how many characters can be in them. That makes composition a key focal point and allows the approach to evolve.

Within the battles are smaller objectives to capture. These allow units to heal and regain stamina to continue fighting. They can also give advantages when heading into battle like support damage. This matters because the battles themselves are fully automated. The characters will attack based on their unique skills but players do not have direct control.

It is a great approach that prioritizes planning over in-the-moment thinking. The battles have a timer, so there is some urgency. Yet, players can pause and think through their strategy. This also gives time for players to tweak their unit layout before sending them into battle. It allows for freedom to approach combat in different ways but is also forgiving if you manage to get the setup wrong.

It is important that the gameplay loop feels so good because it is quite repetitive. Every battle follows the same basic approach and the map layouts are rarely varied. There are key battles in the story that often introduce new features like enemy defense towers or new character classes. This adds more variety, but subsequent battles return to the basic formula. Normally that would be an issue in such a long game, but not here. Since the party composition is constantly growing, there are always new avenues to approach battles. Having a familiar loop along the way keeps it from being too overwhelming.

The combat and story of Unicorn Overlord are a good package and are enhanced by a truly exquisite visual approach. Vanillaware has constantly delivered beautiful games, but what they have done here is next level. The character models are intricate and complex, bringing even the most basic of citizens to life. Each new location is dripping with detail and care that makes the world feel real.

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 releases on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on March 8th.