Tested on: Xbox Series
Also available on: PS4/PS5/Switch
It takes almost ten years between the first concept of Unicorn Overlord and its final release. Such a long development time is usually not a good sign. But there are so many exceptions.
Chasing Baldur’s Gate 3
Games that spend years and years in development hell, and then still appear, are usually not nearly as impressive as the original concept envisioned. Although fortunately there are exceptions. Like Baldur’s Gate 3, which has navigated a lot of tricky waters over the past 8 years, but ultimately .
This Unicorn Overlord is also such a case. A project that developer Vanillaware wanted to make at all costs, even if it would take years and years. The game itself was seen from the very beginning as an ode to the tactical RPGs of the ’90s and ’00s. Think of the former Fire Emblem, Tactics Ogre, Disgaea and Final Fantasy: Tactics.
Does this tribute come close to those highly respected classics? It comes pretty close.
Prince Alain
Unicorn Overlord opens with a cutscene showing how Queen Ilenia of Cornia is defeated by her once loyal general Valmore. It means the end of the kingdom of Cornia, and the rise of Valmore as all-powerful emperor Galerius.
But Ilenia’s last act turned out to be very important: she sent her most capable knight Josef off with the very young Prince Alain. In this way, Cornia’s bloodline is kept out of the hands of Valmore/Galerius and suddenly we are thrown ten years further in time.
Galerius now has almost all the countries of this fantasy world under his control, but the now grown-up Alain is being trained to perhaps one day liberate the world and especially Cornia.
However, the storyline does not wait until Alain and Josef feel ready, because soon the island on which they are hiding is attacked by Galerius’ forces. The Imperial forces are largely defeated by Alain and his friends, but not before Alain’s best friend Scarlett is kidnapped by the enemy.
Now the prince and his army have no other option: they must give chase and return to the mainland, where Galerius is in total control. Together they start the Liberation Army, and an enormous adventure begins on which you will have a great influence.
The storyline may sound a bit cliché, and Unicorn Overlord won’t win any awards for most creative story of the year. Still, there are enough side missions and small story moments in the plot that kept us interested.
Automatic tactics
The gameplay of Unicorn Overlord consists of two major parts, which are equally important. First there are the actual fights. You will spend a large part of your time in tactical battles against increasingly powerful opponents. The combat features some unique elements, which at the same time feel familiar. You control a number of units on a map, and each unit consists of at least one and a maximum of six characters.
At the start of the game you are still limited in terms of the number of units you can control and how large they can be, but of course you unlock more and more options. You have complete freedom in how you put these units together. That seems obvious, but it makes the choice (stress) enormous, especially when you recruit more than sixty unique characters.
You can choose which characters you put together in a group, and which you post in the front or back row. Each character belongs to a certain class with their own skills, and also has personal equipment (weapons, shields and accessories) that influence their statistics and behavior.
The clock is ticking
In addition, time is also an important factor during the skirmishes. Not only does each battle have a timer, so you can’t help but progress, but the battles take place in real time. A bit like classic RTS games like Command & Conquer or Starcraft.
Fortunately, you can pause the action at any time to issue new commands to your troops. Your options in that area are also not limited: you can move troops, but also let them rest to regain stamina, you can have them liberate forts and cities, control weapons on the field, use items or even activate special skills thanks to Valor Points. That Valor is again a very important element during the battles. You earn them by defeating enemy troops, and spend them to either activate those aforementioned skills or to bring new troops into the field.
Once two troops meet on the battlefield, the game takes you to the battle screen, where your troops give the best of themselves in that beautiful graphic style. The combat is fully automatic and the outcome is determined by the statistics, formation, items and skills of the troops you have deployed. You can even see at a glance who will win before the start of the actual fight.
Living off the land
We can say much more about the combat, because it is without a doubt one of the most deeply tactical experiences we have recently experienced in a console game. But what do you do between battles? Somewhat surprisingly, that period without battle does not consist of just menus and text, but Unicorn Overlord gives you the freedom to travel throughout the country as you wish.
You then travel across the map and can visit all the villages, towns, forts, mines and other locations that you have already liberated during the war. In settlements you can buy new weapons and items for your troops, deliver goods to upgrade the city or even eat meals to strengthen the bond between your troops.
In forts you can expand your units by spending Honor points (you earn these every time you complete certain missions or activities). Moreover, you can hold test battles between your own units to see which tactics work and which would lead to defeat.
During these moments when you walk freely in this world, you will often be able to find new assignments, collect goods such as food, wood, stone and minerals, or encounter new characters. This also ensures that the game does not simply become a series of tough battles.
You can rest, train, buy equipment and mentally prepare for the challenges ahead. We certainly appreciated this, although an additional consequence is that the game can sometimes feel a bit long-winded. We can definitely imagine that some gamers just want to quickly get back into the action.
cornucopia
We therefore repeat once again that Unicorn Overlord, despite its colorful anime style, has become quite a spicy and surprisingly deep game. We have only been able to discuss a fraction of everything, because in almost every battle the game manages to surprise you again.
Sandstorms that obscure your view, mages and archers who can support other troops from a distance, characters you can talk to during a battle to convince them to take your side in the battle, barricades and flying troops that can walk over all terrains. The list is almost endlessly long.
In addition, you have many unique troops, where you will have to choose favorites, but each of which is extremely powerful. Especially when you start delving into the so-called Tactics, which allow you to program each character separately. Do you want your knight to focus mainly on the enemies with the highest hit points? Should your healer take action as soon as someone gets hurt, or only when someone has lost fifty percent of their health bar? You can set all this and much more yourself to put together perfect units.
Forever unicorn fan
You may have heard it already, but we are truly impressed by Unicorn Overlord. Fans of the tactical RPG genre can hardly help but get this game, because Vanillaware has managed to combine the best of the classics with very user-friendly menus and systems that ensure a smooth experience.
For our taste, we even dare to call Unicorn Overlord a better and more pure game than the recent Fire Emblem titles, and that is a very big compliment.
Are there also disadvantages? Not really. For some, the long storyline may become a bit boring and get in the way of the strategic gameplay. We were not entirely satisfied with the soundtrack, which does not contain a single bad song, but also a few really great ones for a game of this caliber.
Finally, you could argue that the gameplay loop of fight – walk around conversation – fight – conversation – walk around – fight becomes a bit too predictable after a while. Although we had no problem with it at all and enjoyed the whole experience!
2024-03-28 19:22:08
#Unicorn #Overlord #deep #tactical #gem
