Unicorn Overlord

About

Unicorn Overlord is a single player tactical role playing game with fantasy and warfare themes. It was developed by Vanillaware and was released on March 8, 2024. It received positive reviews from critics and overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Unicorn Overlord is a single-player Role Playing game with compelling graphics, developed by the creators of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Odin Sphere, and Dragon's Crown. The game offers a unique epic fantasy experience combining tactical RPG with overworld exploration and innovative battle system. Players can traverse a vibrant world, assemble units, and perform heroic deeds to grow renown throughout the five nations, while cultivating a grand army with over 60 unique characters.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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99%

Audience ScoreBased on 193 reviews

story25 positive mentions

character development3 negative mentions

Incredible amount of content and customization options for characters and units, making gameplay highly engaging.
Beautiful graphics, art direction, and a strong soundtrack enhance the overall experience.
Unique gameplay mechanics that blend strategy and real-time elements, providing a refreshing take on the genre.

The story is generic and lacks depth, with clichéd characters and predictable plot points.
Limited post-game content and lack of a New Game Plus mode may leave players wanting more after completion.
Some players may find the auto-battling system less engaging compared to traditional turn-based mechanics.

story
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
63%
4%
The story in the game is largely viewed as generic and clichéd, often following familiar fantasy tropes without significant depth or originality. While some players found it serviceable and engaging enough to complement the gameplay, many criticized the character development as lacking and the narrative as painfully trite. Overall, the gameplay quality tends to overshadow the story's shortcomings, making it a solid experience despite its narrative flaws.
- “The story is awesome and a lot of fun, with decisions along the way actually playing into the game itself.”
- “I've been hooked from the start to the very end of the story.”
- “The tactics system, world map, characters, story, art, and colorful dialogue are all masterfully done.”
- “Edit: after playing for about 60 hours, I gotta say it's still a great game gameplay-wise, but the story is so incredibly trite and bad it's painful. It starts out okay, but all of the characters are positive or kawaii or hallmark cardish to the nth degree. Just think of any JRPG or anime caricature and you have it. It's almost painful. Again, I love the gameplay and systems enough that the gameplay shines through and makes up for it, but I can't help but think the studio missed a chance to make something truly amazing.”
- “The story is very generic fantasy fare; an evil general conquers the world and your hero is the only one who can save it.”
- “Finally, the main story is so bog-standard that even the 3DS Fire Emblem games and Engage would be unimpressed by the lack of ambition on display. The bad guys have no charisma or depth, you are the unequivocal good boy meant to fix everything, the world feels like a stock isekai, and there aren't any interesting twists or turns to be found anywhere.”
gameplay
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
51%
6%
The gameplay of the game is highly praised for its depth and engaging mechanics, blending JRPG and RTS elements effectively, reminiscent of classics like Shining Force and Final Fantasy Tactics. Players appreciate the numerous quality-of-life features, such as fast-forward options and the ability to skip battles, which enhance the overall experience. While the story and characters are often criticized as generic and clichéd, the gameplay remains a standout aspect that keeps players hooked for hours.
- “Gameplay takes me back to Shining Force 3 on the Sega Saturn and Final Fantasy Tactics.”
- “There are a lot of convenience/QoL mechanics, the best being the fast forward; you can fast forward virtually everything, skip battles to just get the results, or watch them to learn what your troops are doing right. As it is an auto battler, you direct your troops across an overworld battlefield and task them with what enemy troops to engage, then you sit back and watch it play out, adding or changing the battle plan as it goes. There are a lot of other abilities and items that let you alter outcomes as well.”
- “The depth of the gameplay can have you hooked for dozens of hours, and while the storyline is not nearly as good as Final Fantasy Tactics, I did find myself growing attached to the protagonist and his resolve.”
- “The design somewhat fails once the player can form a few teams of the most broken units and just flatten everything in their way, but the gameplay is still really unique and refreshing.”
- “Gameplay is blah.”
- “Graphics are fabulous but the gameplay gets boring and feels too easy real quick.”
graphics
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
19%
10%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning beauty and unique art style, characteristic of Vanillaware's signature animated 2D artwork. Players have praised the visuals as breathtaking, with vibrant character designs and immersive environments that enhance the overall experience. Coupled with high-quality voice acting and a captivating soundtrack, the graphics significantly contribute to the game's appeal, making it a standout title in its genre.
- “The graphics are beautiful.”
- “Positives: - firstly, the artwork is positively gorgeous with most characters really popping off the screen and the various locales visited being quite breathtaking during the cutscenes and zoomed in battles.”
- “Peak Vanillaware graphics.”
- “Every one, even the runt Dragon's Crown, had an art style, a gameplay mode, or a story so wonderful and polished that it more than papered over the entry's weaknesses.”
- “In short, the art style and direction is incredibly unique and simply amazing.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
17%
The music in the game is consistently praised for its quality, contributing to an engaging and immersive experience alongside impressive artwork and voice acting. Reviewers highlight the wonderful musical score as a key element that enhances the overall gameplay, with both English and Japanese soundtracks receiving high ratings. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature that complements the game's stunning graphics and mechanics.
- “The music and artwork are incredible as well with high quality voice acting, perfectly designed menus/maps and a ton of quality of life options and gameplay.”
- “This game keeps me coming back weeks later with the promise of unique and engaging strategy planning, gorgeous graphics, a wonderful musical score, and solid voice acting throughout.”
- “The art style, soundtrack, voice acting (played with English) and game mechanics were all amazing across my 60 hour playthrough.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
11%
22%
The game offers over 60 hours of content, with many players reporting their first playthrough lasting around 100 hours, indicating strong replayability. Despite the absence of a new game plus mode, users appreciate the tactical challenges, beautiful visuals, and engaging puzzles that contribute to its replay value. Overall, players express a desire to revisit the game soon, highlighting its enduring appeal.
- “I’ll probably play it again soon, great replay value.”
- “It has good replay value even though there is no new game plus mode.”
- “Great tactical challenge, beautiful visuals, very replayable.”
- “60+ hours of content (my first run took 100 hours) and fairly replayable.”
- “The art and replayability, along with subtle puzzles, kept the game alive.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players report that the game's optimization is commendable, with battles running smoothly even on expert difficulty. Many have enjoyed extensive playthroughs, dedicating significant time to side quests and team optimization without experiencing performance issues.
- “I took my time with side quests and team optimization, and managed to spend 80 hours on my first playthrough on expert difficulty.”
- “The battles run smoothly.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Character development in the game is inconsistent; while some players find it engaging and well-paced, others criticize it for being shallow and lacking depth.
- “The story progression is steady and character development is engaging.”
- “However, the character development is fairly non-existent, and the story has no depth to it.”
- “The characters feel one-dimensional, lacking any real growth or complexity throughout the game.”
- “I was disappointed by the lack of meaningful choices that could influence character development.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its tone-deaf writing, where characters express overly forgiving sentiments towards those who have committed atrocities, which detracts from the gravity of the civil war setting. Reviewers feel that this approach undermines the emotional weight of the narrative, making it difficult to connect with the characters and their struggles. Overall, the dialogue is seen as jarring and misaligned with the serious themes of the game.
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The game demonstrates strong stability, running smoothly on the Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes, contributing to an excellent gameplay experience.
- “Gameplay itself is excellent; the game runs great on the Switch, whether docked or undocked.”
- “The game performs exceptionally well on the Switch, maintaining stability in both docked and handheld modes.”
- “I am impressed with how smoothly the game runs on the Switch, providing a stable experience in all play modes.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find that "Unicorn Overlord" offers an engaging experience, but the limited funds and healing items necessitate significant grinding, particularly for completionists aiming to max out character relationships. This aspect can be overwhelming due to the game's large cast of characters, leading to a mix of memorable and generic interactions.
- “The limited number of healing items and the small amount of funds that battles and activities provide forces completionists to do a lot of grinding.”
- “The overwhelming number of characters when trying to max out all relationships leads to a lot of grinding, making some characters feel generic.”

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86%Critics’ scoreBased on 39 critic reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions

Unicorn Overlord is a tactical role playing game with fantasy and warfare themes.

Unicorn Overlord is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

Unicorn Overlord was released on March 8, 2024.

Unicorn Overlord was developed by Vanillaware.

Unicorn Overlord has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its character development.

Unicorn Overlord is a single player game.

Similar games include Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga, Dark Deity 2, Those Who Rule, Songs of Silence, The DioField Chronicle and others.

Unicorn Overlord

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