Unicorn Overlord Reviews
After impressive hits like Persona 3 Reload and LAD Infinite Wealth, I am overjoyed that Unicorn Overlord joins that lot with relative ease.
With Unicorn Overlord, Vanillaware presents another fantastic proposal in which it combines its characteristic visual trait with an experience of strategy and management. By removing the focus from the combat itself, the developer is able to introduce its personal stamp to an already high-quality genre, which combined with the exploration design, progression, side stories and overall storyline make Unicorn Overlord the best game ever made by Vanillaware.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
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.
Unicorn Overlord is simply a masterpiece: a game that brings something never seen before in the tactical rpg genre, with its unique gameplay and narrative. Stunning visuals and great longevity are the cherry on top for the best modern strategy game for console.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Hot off of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, I was hoping for something a little more narratively deep but even with the story’s simplicity, I really enjoyed my time. More importantly, there’s a new strategy RPG on the market, and one that’s approachable enough to bring in new fans to the genre to hopefully bolster it. Unicorn Overlord does so much right, I feel grateful for having experienced it.
At its core I think Unicorn Overlord is a great experience. Between the amazing visuals, gripping narrative, and depth there is a lot to experience. It's unfortunate it makes some annoying choices like overbearing tutorials, but these are quickly forgotten long term. In the end enjoyment comes down to whether you like the gameplay loop or not. Some will love the quasi-RTS battles, whereas other people will find the lack of control annoying. Where you fall on this range will likely dictate how much you enjoy Unicorn Overlord.
Unicorn Overlord is a magnificent tactical RPG experience and one of the most memorable ones in recent years.
Unicorn Overlord is the epitome of all the good that Vanillaware has been able to produce throughout its history. It is a long-lived, addictive work, with a graphic style to literally take one's breath away and capable of captivating from the beginning to the end of young Alain's adventures. Definitely not for everyone, but gentlemen: what a beauty!
Review in Italian | Read full review
Vanillaware has once again proven its adeptness at capturing the key flavors of classical gaming, before invigorating those flavors with its own distinctive, captivating style. While the formulaic story will win no awards, the satisfaction derived from its absorbing mechanics sees Unicorn Overlord march confidently to victory. A new time sink awaits. Join the Liberation, comrade.
Unicorn Overlord is an extremely fun and addictive strategic RPG. With a vast cast of characters and an automated combat system that encourages players to explore and deeply understand all their options to build a powerful team, the title shines precisely in what is best within this genre: tactical variations.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Unicorn Overlord provides hours of gorgeous, meaty Strategy RPG. Prospective players can be guaranteed strong core gameplay with gorgeous artwork. The beauty and tactics bleed through the parchment and spread through every facet of the game effortlessly and intentionally. Planning out your units, customizing skills, experimenting with squad formations, and proper execution of your machinations only scratch the surface of what's possible. On top of all this, the story and characters polish archetypes and tropes to a mirror sheen that should leave any genre lovers more than satisfied.
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.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Unicorn Overlord blends Vanillaware's signature artistic flair with a complex combat system reminiscent of Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, set against the backdrop of a rich high fantasy narrative. The game not only provides a deep strategic experience with its innovative combat mechanics and expansive world exploration but also excels in storytelling, offering a compelling tale of liberation and the quest for justice, making it a standout addition to the genre.
The versatile Vanillaware have tried their luck this time with a tactical RPG and they couldn't have done better. They have managed to provide their game with solid and deep gameplay that will captivate us for hours and hours while we prepare our units in the best possible way. The audiovisual section is superb, as it could not be otherwise coming from Vanillaware, and the only thing that falters a little is the story, which despite its moments of epicness remains correct. Lovers of tactical RPGs will find their next game in Unicorn Overlord without a doubt.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
Review in German | Read full review
Unicorn Overlord takes classic-looking tactical RPGs to a new level. It looks fantastic, has an addictive gameplay principle and offers an extensive pool of interesting characters with new abilities for battle. If that is enough for you and you aren't expecting a surprising story that's far removed from genre clichés, you'll have a really great time here.
Review in German | Read full review
Besides the overflowing charisma that's traditional to Vanillaware, Unicorn Overlord delivers an excellent and complete content for real time strategy. It's a shame that game doesn't offer Portuguese support, which may keep people who don't have much understanding in English away, and that some narrative events just happen "for the sake of progressing the story," without much development, but even with those qualms, we get an ambitious RPG that's very rich in content and worth checking out for enthusiasts of the genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
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 combines the timeless tactical RPG genre with overworld exploration and an innovative battle system for a unique epic fantasy experience in the iconic Vanillaware style. Switch version reviewed. Review copy provided by company for testing purposes. 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 — seriously, can they at least figure out how shirt fabric works? — there’s a lot of interesting tactical decisions to make.
As good as it gets for an SRPG, Unicorn Overlord fills a gap in the gaming season with its admirable package of gameplay, visual and audio design, and, to a lesser extent, storytelling. Hours and hours will be poured into finding the perfect squads and classes, valuable relationships will be built, and a continent once plunged into strife will find its feet again. Vanillaware continues to show its prowess at building experiences in genres it isn’t exactly well-known for, and kudos to the studio for paying attention to the right stuff, and creating a game that will likely become a classic and a standard bearer.