The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily

About

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily is a single player tactical turn-based strategy game with a warfare theme. It was developed by Alliance Arts and was released on July 23, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily is a turn-based strategy game where you lead duchess Scarlet and captain Lily in a war against the Empire after Scarlet is framed for regicide. Command limited forces, capture enemy generals to turn them into allies, and strategically secure supply lines to survive and clear Scarlet’s name. Tactical battles blend recklessness and cold pragmatism in a fight for freedom and justice.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily screenshot

Skip User Reviews

94%

Audience ScoreBased on 401 reviews

story68 positive mentions

grinding42 negative mentions

The game features a charming story with engaging characters, particularly the protagonists Scarlet and Lily, who are well-developed and entertaining.
The unique blend of strategy and visual novel elements creates a refreshing gameplay experience, with tactical decisions that impact the story.
The art style is visually appealing, with beautiful character designs and vibrant environments that enhance the overall experience.

The game can be excessively challenging, especially in the later acts, leading to frustration for players who may struggle with the difficulty spikes.
There are performance issues, including lag and crashes, particularly during cutscenes and transitions, which can disrupt gameplay.
The lack of a clear tutorial for some mechanics and the unintuitive UI can make it difficult for new players to fully grasp the gameplay systems.

story
177 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
59%
3%
The game's story is characterized by its charming and absurd narrative, featuring well-written characters and vibrant art that enhances the overall experience. While some players find the plot predictable and simplistic, many appreciate its engaging execution and humor, particularly in the context of a villainess narrative. Overall, the story is enjoyable and serves as a solid backdrop for the gameplay, though some feel it could benefit from deeper character development and pacing adjustments.
- “The story follows Scarlet, a noblewoman falsely accused of regicide, and Lily, the captain of the 'streaming ship,' as they rise in rebellion against the empire.”
- “The story is compelling, and the tactical battles are surprisingly fun.”
- “If you've ever read an akuyaku reijo/villainess LN/manga, a lot of the story beats will be pretty familiar, but they're all done in a very entertaining way that it didn't feel stale at all to me.”
- “Every turn in the story is made to make life more difficult for you, but when it would make sense for it to give you a win, it just doesn't.”
- “The story is a bit simplistic.”
- “The story is too light to feel like you can even take a breath between chapters, but the characters inspire imagination.”
gameplay
137 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
59%
4%
The gameplay is a mix of strategic decision-making and turn-based combat, offering a challenging yet rewarding experience with unique mechanics like capture and airship abilities. While some players find the gameplay engaging and fun, others criticize it for being tedious and unclear at times, particularly during certain sections that disrupt pacing. Overall, the game is praised for its charming characters and art, but opinions vary on the depth and execution of its gameplay systems.
- “The gameplay will throw some difficult strategic decisions at you, but will not be unforgiving when you make a mistake thanks to its generous autosave and retry systems.”
- “The capture mechanic, the game's primary 'gimmick,' is intuitive and honestly quite fun to use.”
- “Weighing which supply routes to defend and which to abandon to the enemy in order to focus your forces, balancing unit composition to get strong matchups against tough enemies versus combos of characters that get unique perks when fighting together, and choosing the right time and place to use your powerful but limited-charge airship abilities all mesh together into, in my opinion, a quite engrossing gameplay experience.”
- “The gameplay really spoils this game though; at times you'll be stuck running back and forth across the map because an event spawned units you have no choice but to go deal with. It kills the pacing and makes it feel like a slog to play through.”
- “Unfortunately, if you are looking for gameplay, there aren't a whole lot to write home about.”
- “However, the gameplay is incredibly tedious.”
music
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
34%
7%
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, with standout tracks that are enjoyable and hype. However, many reviewers noted a lack of variety, leading to some tracks feeling repetitive over extended playtime. Overall, while the soundtrack is well-received, it could benefit from more diverse compositions to maintain engagement throughout the game.
- “The anime-style visuals balance cuteness and drama, while the theme song by rd-sounds and music by akiyama uni support the world’s atmosphere.”
- “I'm absolutely loving this game - great story, charismatic characters, good music, and excellent art.”
- “The art is beautiful and well stylized, and the music is exciting and well suited.”
- “- not many music tracks which can get repetitive in such a long game.”
- “The music is also a banger although a bit lacking in variety.”
- “It really feels like I listen to the same 4 tracks the entire game.”
grinding
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with many players noting that it can become tedious, especially during mid to late game stages where character levels lag behind enemy difficulty. While some appreciate the ability to speed up actions and find the gameplay enjoyable, others criticize it for being overly grindy and lacking strategic depth, often feeling like a slog rather than a rewarding experience. Overall, the game may appeal to those who enjoy character-driven narratives and are willing to endure some grinding, particularly on higher difficulty settings.
- “I cannot stress just how awful this game feels to play, especially if you are used to grand strategy or 4X strategy games which have many interacting layers of strategic depth and are not just grinding until your number is bigger than the enemy's number.”
- “I found myself speeding to finish the game at around act three or four, however, because it became a grinding slog, which I pushed through for the epilogue.”
- “It's not a strategy game, it's a grinding game.”
graphics
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
42%
8%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their unique blend of voxel, pixel, and anime styles, creating a visually stunning experience that enhances the overall atmosphere. Players appreciate the charming character designs and beautiful artwork, which contribute to the game's engaging narrative and playful aesthetic. Despite some minor performance issues, the visuals are consistently described as polished and captivating, making the game a visual delight for fans of the genre.
- “The artwork of the actual characters and the backgrounds is beautiful.”
- “The game first caught my eye with its gorgeous visuals and character design, and it fully delivers on that front.”
- “Stunning visuals and captivating characters; if you enjoy strategy games with a rich storyline, this one's worth trying.”
- “Graphics are very chibi and silly and the overacting is on par with Dragon Ball Z.”
- “The biggest problem I had with this game is that it would sometimes lag really badly after being on for 10 to 12 hours straight because the game made me lose control over my life over the weekend, and I had to turn it off and back on again to fix it.”
- “Graphic: acceptable with how much it cost.”
humor
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its over-the-top, absurd scenarios and quirky character interactions, particularly among the funny lesbian protagonists. Players appreciate the charming writing and comedic moments, which often stem from the characters' exaggerated personalities and the zany plot twists. While the humor is a highlight, some may find the narrative pacing too brisk for deeper character development.
- “This game deserves an 11/10 for that cute & funny ending alone (on the good end).”
- “The story is very over-the-top and quite fun (and funny at times).”
- “Tone & humor: the protagonist’s anarchic flair and Lily’s deadpan reactions are a riot, and the looping death story threads work surprisingly well.”
optimization
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with many players reporting significant performance issues, particularly on mid-range hardware. While post-release patches have improved aspects like memory usage and load times, users still experience frame stuttering and high CPU/RAM usage, especially during intense gameplay moments. Continued optimization efforts are needed to enhance the experience for a broader range of systems.
- “Post-release patches have greatly improved comfort, with adjustments to late-game pacing, memory optimization, and shortened load times.”
- “Finetuning the combat system and fixing performance issues should make this game about an 8 / 10 for me.”
- “It could use better optimization for certain hardware, though.”
- “The most easily noticeable is the game's performance issues.”
- “I'm not sure if it's poor optimization or if the voxel-style overworld decorations just use that much resources, but yeah, be mindful of the recommended specs for this game.”
- “However, the optimization still needs work—especially in arc 3, where enemies spawn at a dizzying rate.”
character development
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
28%
27%
Overall, the character development in the game is highlighted by its stunning and unique character designs, which many players find visually appealing and immersive. While the gameplay experience varies, with some praising the blend of character development and resource management, others feel that the potential of the characters is not fully realized. The aesthetic and art style are consistently noted as standout features, contributing to the game's charm despite mixed feelings about its overall execution.
- “The game first caught my eye with its gorgeous visuals and character design, and it fully delivers on that front.”
- “A traditional turn-based strategy game featuring attractive character designs, a quirky story led by a force of nature, and just enough difficulty to be challenging without being frustrating; it's a gem that probably falls on the short side but packs a punch for the time that it stays.”
- “Loved the character designs and the overall aesthetic.”
- “The character designs are a 10/10, but the game sucks to play and I likely won't bother finishing it.”
- “The summary is it has way too much wasted potential and the character design is weirdly gaudy/unsettling to look at.”
- “I do have to say, I love the character design a lot.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, likening it to nostalgic experiences from the early 2000s with Nippon Ichi Soft titles. The wholesome good ending further enhances the game's emotional impact, leaving players with a sense of fulfillment and joy.
- “The game made me feel like I was back in the early 2000s playing a title from Nippon Ichi Software with all their experimental but fun systems.”
- “The good ending is really wholesome.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report occasional stability issues, such as music glitches that can occur after periods of inactivity, though these are not permanent and can be resolved by reloading a save. There is hope for future updates to address these bugs and improve overall stability.
- “If you don't act for a long time, the music sometimes glitches out and disappears completely. This is not permanent and can be refreshed by simply loading a save.”
- “Hopefully, some bugs and glitches are fixed by then.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is enhanced by its anime-style visuals that effectively blend cuteness with drama, complemented by a theme song from rd-sounds and music by akiyama uni that enrich the overall experience.
- “The anime-style visuals balance cuteness and drama, while the theme song by rd-sounds and music by akiyama uni enhance the world's atmosphere.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has limited replayability, suggesting that players may not find enough incentive to revisit it after completing the initial experience.
- “Thirdly, there is limited replayability to this game.”

Skip Game Offers

Buy The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily
€28.99
See offer on Steam

18h Median play time

14h Average play time

12-23h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily

72%1.3kreviews

Lost Eidolons

2022

Tactical Role Playing

75%572reviews

Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs

2017

Role Playing

81%1.2kreviews

Fae Tactics

2020

Tactical Role Playing

80%2.9kreviews

Star Renegades

2020

Role Playing

79%2kreviews

TRIANGLE STRATEGY

2022

Tactical Role Playing

More games like The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily is a tactical turn-based strategy game with warfare theme.

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 14 hours playing The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily.

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily was released on July 23, 2025.

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily was developed by Alliance Arts.

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily is a single player game.

Similar games include Lost Eidolons, Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs, Fae Tactics, Star Renegades, TRIANGLE STRATEGY and others.

The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily

Platforms

About

Buy The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily