Unicorn Overlord

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.

Probably one of the best Vanillaware games, featuring an exceptional artistic style, a well-written story and captivating gameplay.

Unicorn Overlord wears its influences on its sleeves, but that is a good thing. It's part Ogre Battle, part Fire Emblem, and part its entirely own thing, and the end result is an absolute blast to play. Add to that the gorgeous visuals, and it's a game that hits all of the marks. The only problems are some minor balance issues, and even those don't detract from the overall fun experience. If you're a fan of strategy RPGs, you owe it to yourself to try out Unicorn Overlord.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Vanillaware does it again! It's a strategic RPG with a simple story yet full of charm. It borrows, reshapes, and presents a certain genre in its own unique way. It certainly isn't the greatest game the genre has to offer, but it is undoubtedly one of the sweetest ones! It's just another one of the instant classics from this studio.

We cannot avoid praising the courage of a small team such as Vanillaware in creating a niche and bold title like this. We loved every minute of the 60 plus hours spent with Unicorn Overlord and we're already looking forward to Vanillaware next title.

Unicorn Overlord is a real tactical role-playing heavyweight with a variety of gameplay mechanics that intertwine very thoughtfully. The countless 'who should I let live and who not' decisions and the characters associated with them make the campaign very attractive and increase the replay value considerably. Other strengths include the early freedom when exploring the game world and the successful German on-screen texts. The twist-filled story also serves its purpose, although Vanillaware often follows familiar narrative paths here.

Tactically demanding genre mix that won't get boring any time soon, despite weaknesses in the story.

With Unicorn Overlord, Vanillaware once again displays its mastery by tackling a new genre. The tactical aspect of the battles displays a more than impressive density and know-how which will speak to fans of the turn-based tactical role-playing game genre. The essential is not everything. It is also through the exploration side that the title is pleasant to play and that the gameplay loop is addictive! On the other hand, the writing and the plot are not the strong points of the title since they never really manage to take off. If Unicorn Overlord has very different characteristics from its JRPG companions released before it in 2024 (FF7: Rebirth, Granblue Fantasy Relink or Persona 3 Reload), it nevertheless displays the same quality of finish by being an excellent game.

From beginning to end, the game feels crafted, balanced, and deep, without sacrificing approachability. Set aside preconceptions from the unusual name, and you’ll find an epic well worth exploring.

Unicorn Overlord has the Vanillaware seal in all its sections, this is a very entertaining medieval fantasy game. It has a complex but at the same time intuitive game system that will not be difficult to master. The plot is a little weak, since we have seen that story hundreds of times, but it is still entertaining. Visually speaking, it is a very attractive interactive painting.

Unicorn Overlord distinguishes itself in the tactical RPG landscape with its strategic depth and immersive worldbuilding. Vanillaware's creation shines through its complex combat system, where unit formations, skill settings, and strategic planning are key. Despite a sprawling cast that sometimes dilutes character impact, the gameplay's strategic intricacies and the detailed, visually rich environments ensure a compelling experience. This game is a notable entry for both newcomers to tactical RPGs and seasoned strategists, highlighting Vanillaware's mastery in blending beautiful art with deep gameplay mechanics.

Unicorn Overlord is a deep tactical RPG ideal for strategic fans, besides his weak story.

Has all the magic and grandiosity of the best RPGs in a gorgeous, slick, yet pleasingly deep package that’s nonetheless easy to approach. [Issue#40, p.90]

When we take a deeper look at Unicorn Overlord, as a new product of Vanillaware, the aspect of kinda generic and predictable mediocre story is drastically saved by incredibly interesting action and tactics which can be considered as one of best in JRPG genre.

Innovative, thoughtful and terribly addictive, Unicorn Overlord shines for the freedom it gives players, its ever-pleasing art and its top-notch cast, all of which is slightly tarnished by a rather conventional story.

Though not without its flaws, Unicorn Overlord is a fantastic tactical RPG that has a highly rewarding and satisfying gameplay loop.

An SRPG with very interesting mechanics that, combined with Vanillaware's artistic style, has a strong appeal. However, the length of the game may cause fatigue over these same mechanics and concepts.

Unicorn Overlord is a good game from Vanillaware, in which the gameplay is what counts. This is deep and tactical. In addition, the visual design is very pleasant, but the story is a bit cliché and the social aspect is a bit disappointing. These elements are influential, but fortunately do not hinder the overall gaming experience too much, so there is definitely a lot of fun to be had from the gameplay. In particular, if you really appreciate this developer, Unicorn Overlord will be right up your alley.

Unicorn Overlord is a standout tactics RPG landing just when the genre is coming back to life. It's deep, creative, gorgeous, and incredibly addicting, with plenty to offer for those who want to dig into all its systems. The game may stumble a bit with its simple plot, tedious UI, and quantity over quality side character stories, but those feel like small issues in an overall impressive and well-rounded game. Great for newcomers and genre veterans alike, Unicorn Overlord is a can’t-miss title.

It's been a long time since we've been treated to a tactical RPG with such original, well-thought-out combat mechanisms. It's a breath of fresh air. Although very classic, the main story also innovates in its own way, letting us tackle its content with great freedom, via the open-world map. Add to this a large cast of colorful characters, with pleasing art direction, and you've got a memorable time in Unicorn Overlord.

Unicorn Overlord is the strategy RPG fans of the genre have been waiting for.

This is very much my kind of RPG. One where I can tend to a massive roster of fighters, a sort of garden of fantasy violence. The combat is simple to execute yet endlessly deep, with new layers constantly revealing themselves. The art direction is fantastic and the gameplay loop is terribly addictive. I found the story perfectly okay. It’s an effective vehicle for bringing me more battles in an organic fashion. I like the writing, though I recognize it’s more style than substance. Truly, Unicorn Overlord plays to its strengths. If you also long for a battle system so compelling it obliterates the rest of the game, then you can’t miss this one.