Unicorn Overlord

Unicorn Overlord’s bounty of tactical systems, beautiful visuals and compelling medieval fantasy make it an early choice for strategy RPG of the year.

As I dug deeper into my Unicorn Overlord playthroughs across Switch and PS5, it hit me that Vanillaware is like the Australian band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard who keep exploring different genres with each new album and maintaining the quality. It might be too soon to say if Unicorn Overlord is my favorite strategy RPG, but I can confidently say that it and Balatro are the best Nintendo Switch games of 2024 so far.

I have to go back to 2018 and NieR Automata (wow… that was six years ago now) to think of a game that has stunned me quite as much as Unicorn Overlord. That’s not to say I haven’t loved plenty of other games in the interim, but I’ve been waiting for a sequel to Ogre Battle 64 for 25 years now, and this delivers. I am so glad that Vanillaware was the developer to see the opportunity, because no other team in the industry has the talent to do something like this.

Unicorn Overlord is a cleverly designed Tactics RPG whose strategic systems will hook its player early on. The openness of the map warrants a quest that is full of objectives that are all self-fulfilling and purposeful to complete. It does a fantastic job at teaching its tactics mechanics and excels at allowing its players to find their way to strategize against the countless enemy types to encounter. Unicorn Overlord’s captivating gameplay loop will trap its players into wanting to do everything they can to optimize their units. The narrative is not as interesting as its name ensues, but Vanillaware has proved that the name should be remembered as one of the strongest Tactics RPG to stand on its own. I cannot recommend this game enough to new or veteran tactics RPG players.

Between customizing your squads from behavior to strategies and the real time aspect of the battle with skills and terrain, Unicorn Overlord is an incredible strategy title that makes it viable and an incredible freedom for the player to choose how to create and command their own army. UO will be remembered as one of the best in the genre and of Vanillaware, no doubt.

Unicorn Overlord isn't just another slam dunk for Vanillaware, it's perhaps their greatest title yet. A comprehensive understanding of what makes tactical RPGs click at a fundamental level in combination with meaningful improvements to the formula makes for one of the best tactical RPGs of all time. 2024 is already off to a great start for RPGs, but don't let this sleeper hit slip under your radar.

Unicorn Overlord is one of the best tactical strategy RPGs to have been released for the Nintendo Switch. Maybe one of the best games, period. No matter which series first made you a fan of the genre, Unicorn Overlord will help you discover that thrill all over again.

Unicorn Overlord combines real time strategy with auto battling to create an incredibly unique game, and it also looks absolutely incredible.

Unicorn Overlord has some of the best and most enjoyable strategy gameplay out there. It’s gorgeous and engaging, and will have you wanting to uncover every inch of Fevrith before you put it down.

The gameplay and systems that Unicorn Overlord presents to us are some of the best the genre has for us today. The customization, synergy, real-time combat, and exploration are addictive, and you always want to keep going, no matter how many hours of the day have passed. Each element works in harmony to deliver an experience that has been refined to near perfection. There is no doubt, Vanillaware has given us one of the best video games of 2024, and although it is likely that many will overlook this work, all those who give it a chance will find a tactical JRPG that manages to demonstrate the magic of this genre. , and the talent of this specular studio.

Unicorn Overlord is incredible, a deep and accessible strategy game that resurrects and updates the formula of a divisive classic like Ogre Battle, which has been dormant since the days of Person of Lordly Caliber. Beautiful to see and listen to, magnetic and impossible to put down: everything is right, apart from some small flaws listed in the body of the review. They don't really make games like this anymore, so don't miss out.

I cannot overstate how much I enjoy Unicorn Overlord, but it is not a game that everyone will enjoy. Even with accessible difficulty options, there are still several systems to manage. If you enjoy Fire Emblem, make sure you give Unicorn Overlord a chance—try the demo. Personally, I believe this is one of the best strategy games released in a generation. You can play Fire Emblem, Triangle Strategy, and Tactics Ogre, and each one will give you a great strategic experience, but no modern games play like Unicorn Overlord. The experience is unique for everyone who plays it, every time they play it. The replay value of Unicorn Overlord cannot be overstated; there are multiple difficulties, multiple story paths, and more items, characters, and classes than you could ever properly appreciate in a single playthrough. In short, Vanillaware has created the spiritual successor to Ogre Battle and surpassed its inspiration in almost every way.

Not only does Unicorn Overlord have a deep story, but each member plays so differently that I was excited to learn just what they could do. Maybe I would have better understood all the strategy behind it if I sank an additional 60 hours into the game, but I left feeling satisfied and I’m more strategy game curious than I ever thought I would be.

Unicorn Overlord is Vanillaware’s custom-built device for capturing the heart of anyone who’s loved watching tiny units bash against each other on a map. It puts a lot of love into each of those units, from what they do and how you can manage them, to their art and direction, down to making each new addition feel impactful. It’s a campaign full of strategy goodness, and I can forgive some quality-of-life nitpicks and repetition when the end result is just this damn good.

It might be a latecomer, then, but Vanillaware's most accomplished release to date warrants the air of bravado with which it sweeps in - and, for that matter, it's place in the pantheon of classic tactical RPGs. [Issue#396, p.106]

Overall, Unicorn Overlord is one of the best tactical role-playing games I’ve played in a good while. The tactical complexity is also carefully introduced in a fairly gentle and intuitive way. With its wonderful visuals cementing this as a definitive game in the genre and one everyone should check out.

Vanillaware has won the hearts of a niche and seeks to expand its audience with new proposals that analyze and improve other franchises' shortcomings. Unicorn Overlord emerges as a unique proposition in the genre, inspired by Fire Emblem and Tactics Ogre. It manages to confidently establish a new pinnacle in strategy games with gameplay that will captivate you immediately.

Unicorn Overlord is a visually gorgeous strategy RPG with a compelling narrative and one of the best combat systems in recent history.

Unicorn Overlord is a truly excellent tactical RPG that is great where it matters. Incredible gameplay makes it replayable and fascinating, while its aesthetic and world map keep Fevrith interesting. In spite of some minor stumbles in its cast of heroes, Unicorn Overlord rivals some of the best of Fire Emblem. That comparison will likely stop if Vanillaware pursues Unicorn Overlord as a series in the future; it's very much its own game, and a memorable, great one, at that.

Unicorn Overlord’s story may not have thrilled me, but I still can’t recommend it highly enough to strategy fans. Every time I found myself longing for more character depth or a less predictable story, those critiques were washed away by the next hour-long battle pushing my strategic abilities to their limit. It’s hard to focus on shallow character dynamics when every brain cell is focused on developing the perfect set of tactics to pull off a clutch victory, after all. The sheer joy of leading your army to victory through nothing but clever planning is hard to overstate, and I’m convinced it will make Unicorn Overlord a new classic of the strategy genre in years to come.

Even amidst a huge strategy RPG boom, Unicorn Overlord stands out. It’s a smorgasbord of visual delights, intricate systems, and addictive gameplay loops that all come together to create a delightfully thrilling and deep tactical RPG. It’s so easy to get absorbed into everything the game offers, and we lapped it all up. Vanillaware has long been known for creating beautiful-looking games with unique twists on genres, but with 13 Sentinels and now Unicorn Overlord, this developer should be on absolutely everyone’s radar.

Vanillaware's epic fantasy Unicorn Overlord is a successful game with its characters, side stories and tactical gameplay, despite a somewhat clichéd story.

Unicorn Overlord is not quite enough to dethrone Vanillaware’s previous title, 13 Sentinels, but it’s not far off. With an extremely solid tactical strategy campaign that allows more casual players to engage in all of its complexities, it’s an easy recommendation for any strategy fan or fantasy fan in general. It doesn’t utilise all of its long playtime effectively with an unremarkable first half, but the gameplay and phenomenal artwork are more than enough to keep you going until it picks up.

Vanillaware once again delivers a very special product that does not show fatigue within a genre that has experienced a "boom" in recent years. Unicorn Overlord is gigantic and manages to stand out based on quality and ambition, although it could have been a bit finer in some points in order to become a more original proposal.

Although the non-standard strategy draws inspiration from Heroes Of Might and Magic, it does it in its own way. Despite the fact that the basic idea is very similar, the final product is different, but still entertaining.

The ability to plan ahead, and with a degree of control that’s almost overwhelming, is the cornerstone of the game’s mechanical achievement.

There's a lot to like about Unicorn Overlord: Beautiful aesthetic in sound and art and an open strategy world with an addictive gameplay loop are this game's strengths.

Even though the story is lackluster, the core gameplay of Unicorn Overlord is more than compelling enough to make you want to see the story of Prince Alain to its conclusion. There's so much satisfaction and gameplay depth here to sink your teeth into that you may find yourself thinking deeply about the game's team dynamics even when you're not playing. When the primary feeling a game leaves you with is wanting to play more of it, you know you have a gem on your hands.

Unicorn Overlord is, as a whole, a loving and well-crafted return to the Ogre Battle formula. If the character designs aren’t a dealbreaker for you — and we’d understand if they are — there’s a lot of interesting tactical decisions to make.

Standing on its own, Unicorn Overlord is an excellent expansion of Vanillaware’s now-trademark visual style and its newer RTS mechanics, offering both gripping strategy and an atmospheric pulp fantasy world that you're going to want to sink hours and hours into.