Unicorn Overlord - First Impressions

With less than a week to go before Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth arrives, I cannot believe that there’s another game that has captured my attention quite as fiercely, yet here we are.

After spending nearly 4 hours (so far) with the Unicorn Overlord demo, I can confidently say it is 100% the sort of game that I will become obsessed with, and I will be struggling to keep my focus on Rebirth when I know Unicorn Overlord will be eagerly waiting in the wings for me.

The latest title from Vanillaware, best known for their visually striking titles such as Odin Sphere, Muramasa, Dragon’s Crown and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Unicorn Overlord is a real-time strategy game steeped in a world of fantasy. The game takes place in the world of Fevrith, and begins in the kingdom of Cornia, where Queen Ilivia is blindsided by a vicious coup led by the esteemed and powerful General Valmore. Ensuring the safe retreat of her son, Alain, Ilivia surrenders herself to her fate, and Valmore promptly leads an effective and bloody campaign to seize control of every major continent. He also takes on a fearsome new name: Emperor Galerius.

Some ten years after the ascension of Galerius, Alain is ready to lead the smoldering embers of a new resistance movement called The Liberation Army. Aided by the mysterious “Unicorn Ring”, gifted to Alain by his late mother, it becomes known that one of the reasons why Galerius was able to quickly seize power is via some foul magic that allows him to control minds. The Unicorn Ring is able to dispel this effect, and soon enough Alain finds himself winning back former allies.

With the pieces in place to stage a proper rebellion, Alain sets on the path to lead the Liberation Army to victory, and free Fevrith from the clutches of Emperor Galerius.

Of course, we’ve heard and played through this narrative before - likely no less than a dozen times. Even still, Unicorn Overlord manages to keep the narrative fresh by incorporating interpersonal dynamics and solid writing. Despite having walked this road before, you’ll be no less invested in getting to its destination.

Something that cannot be missed in the conversation around Unicorn Overlord is its aesthetic. The visuals for Unicorn Overlord are, simply put, gorgeous, and reflect a style that Vanillaware has been polishing for the better part of 20 years: large, beautifully rendered sprites that are complemented by vibrant environmental elements. Each of the characters leap off the screen, with amazing depth and detail in their design and mannerisms.

This is all further elevated by the amazing soundtrack, in which Mitsuhiro Kaneda (Odin Sphere, Tekken 6) delivers a compelling score that works well with the royalistic themes of Unicorn Overlord.

In terms of gameplay, Unicorn Overlord is a tactical RPG that incorporates overworld exploration and combat. You command an army that is broken out into units. Initially each unit can only hold 2 characters, but in time you can expand these rosters up to 6.

Each class (there are over 60 in the full game) has its strengths and weaknesses, ultimately resulting in a very complex game of rock, paper, scissors as you seek to outflank and outmatch your opponent - targeting their weaknesses and securing strategically powerful locations on the battle map.

Of course, it’s not as simple as rocking an all-barbarian wrecking crew and plowing ahead: each unit has a set amount of “stamina” which impacts how many battles they can fight before needing to take a rest. There are also support units that can target you from further away, traps to be mindful of, and other X factors that will keep you on your toes from one battle to the next.

While there’s plenty of strategy and brain-wracking to do once you’re actually in battle, much of the real obsession will be taking place off the battlefield as you hire new soldiers and expand your ranks.

As you bring on additional soldiers, there is a lot of variability in how they are built out. They have two “growth” paths you can select upon hire. Maybe you want to complement a unit’s naturally lower defense by having them go the “defensive” route, or go full glass-cannon to focus on attack power or critical hit rates. If that wasn’t enough, equipment adds another variable: some weapons may unlock additional skills, or complement a particular class to help address some of their weaknesses.

Once you’ve conscripted a unit, you can set it up with a loadout of behaviors dependent on a number of categories and conditions. This can be based on your own unit’s status, or the enemies.

The depth and breadth of all of the relevant systems around hiring on a single unit is staggering: there really is so much to do when it comes to building out your army that will keep you glued to the nearest Fort for hours on end.

In addition to the complexity and robustness of character creation and unit structure, there’s also a well-built relationship system within Unicorn Overlord. From stationing soldiers as guards at town and giving them gifts in recognition, to sharing a meal with your companions, bolstering the rapport within your army will help each unit perform at its best.

As I summarize all of the various systems and mechanics in place, I’m sure some of you out there may be a bit put off by the staggering amount of choice. Totally understandable. Here’s where Unicorn Overlord does really well also: you don’t have to dig into any of it.

Sure, there’s plenty of optimization to be done, and if you got a good grasp on optimal build strategies you’ll likely have an easier time of it…but it’s not required by any means.

All of the combat and exploration takes place within the expansive overworld of Unicorn Overlord. It’s a refreshing trek back to yesteryear: while the sprites don’t have the trademark detail we see in the narrative and combat views, the charm of the map will invite you to seek out its rivers, forests and mountains for supplies and side quests.

It’s also pretty huge. This is where fast-travel between allied forts and towns helps to make traversal a breeze, though I wouldn’t be surprised if you opt to take the scenic route.

Unicorn Overlord has reportedly been in development for nearly a decade, and after spending about 4 hours with this game: I can tell. With stunning visuals, a fantastic soundtrack, and layers upon layers of detailed gameplay mechanics, I feel like I’ve still barely scratched the surface of what this game has to offer.

Needless to say, I cannot wait for it to get here - and it should definitely be on your radar, too.

Unicorn Overlord releases on 3/8/2024 across all major platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, and Xbox Series S/X