Unicorn Overlord is a masterpiece of a strategy role playing game. Its presentation in giving players freedom to play as they like, go as strategically deep as they like, and the masterful onboarding of often-overly-complicated SRPG elements make it a compelling and beautiful experience. If you’re unfamiliar with SRPGs or are a longtime fan, look no further than Unicorn Overlord.
It’s been incredibly hard to review Unicorn Overlord. I don’t say this because the game was difficult (it is), nor because of it being complicated (it’s that, too). I say it because I legitimately struggled to put the game down to put my thoughts to paper. Five hours passed in a blink of an eye. Another afternoon came and went. Then a weekend was absorbed into Unicorn Overlord. I’ve spent more time than I am comfortable admitting in-game and I still have things to do.
In the past year, I’ve rated four games as a perfect 10/10, one of which was Final Fantasy XVI. While you may be welcome to consider me a points fairy in how I evaluate and review the games I am fortunate to review for DigitalChumps, one thing is consistent across each of those four titles: I legitimately struggled to put them down, regardless of platform. They kept me fully engaged to the point where I lost track of time, lost track of my responsibilities as a reviewer, and lost track of my health. Okay, maybe not the last two, but you can count on a game that makes me forget about time as one that is ranked well above the rest.
I’m done waxing poetic, folks. Here’s the gist of this review: Unicorn Overlord is a 10/10. The Switch version is incredible and runs beautifully.
There you go. You’re welcome to stop reading there and go back to playing your current favorite video game.
There was a time where I was fully engrossed in Generation of Chaos for the PSP (which was the American release of the PS2’s New Demon World: GOCIV Another Side). I was a bored high school kid, mildly edgy (…emo), with a lot of time on his hands as he was being driven everywhere. A local game store employee turned me onto this game that was sent in from Japan and I was immediately hooked. There was something about managing an army, customizing units, and then letting them loose to sit back and relax that was oddly therapeutic. Success in that game made me feel like I was doing something smart. Losing in that game forced me to reconsider my next steps and continue strategizing.
I tried getting my friends into Generation of Chaos. I really did. Yet each time I tried to show them the game and have them play it, their eyes glazed over. My friends became bored and wanted to play something else. No amount of me attempting to explain the nuances of tactical RPGs worked in getting them hooked in the hidden yet endlessly deep strategy that Generation of Chaos had to offer.
This, dear reader, is a common issue in the strategy RPG (SRPG) genre. Overly complex UIs, information overload, a lack of instruction of what win conditions look like, a waterfall of gameplay systems that may or may not matter in the longrun, and assumptions of player knowledge all plague SRPGs. Despite all of these major drawbacks that outright prevent players from enjoying the potential depth of SRPGs, some IPs have cult followings, like Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. Final Fantasy Tactics come to mind, too. While these longstanding titles might not have accumulated a massive player base like Final Fantasy and the Tales franchises have, many folks truly love SRPG, myself included.
Unicorn Overlord is an example of an SRPG done right. It has defied the usual issues of the SRPG genre in ways I did not think possible for a game of its caliber.
It surprised me right from the jump. It felt too simple, too watered down, and far too one-dimensional when it guided me through its first set of tutorials. Pause the game, select a unit, direct it to a location. Watch units fight. Okay, that works. Where’s the strategy? This game feels strategically passive.
Much of Unicorn Overlord plays out like this. If I was to strip away all of the game’s mechanics, systems, and processes, it would indeed be a case of passive strategy rather than hands-on minutia that obfuscates the fun.
As Alain, I am to rebuild and lead a rebellion to regain my birthright from a treacherous regime. Former allies are corrupted by magic, and it’s up to me, my allies, and the ring on my finger(?!) in cleansing the world of evil. This plotline sounds eerily similar to that of TRIANGLE STRATEGY, but it’s presented in a far less linear way than any SRPG I’ve seen in a minute. The campaign’s chapters are broken up in that upon completing the first segment, I’m given ample room in going where I please. I can choose to visit another kingdom, thus completing its unique chapter, or I can complete optional side missions.
Freedom is often overlooked in the SRPG space. Here, it functions like Octopath Traveler or even Horizon Forbidden West. The world opened itself up to me and allowed me to go just about wherever I pleased and complete its quests in the order I chose. This refreshing departure empowered me to make decisions about how I should go about playing the game, exploring its world, and so much more. Having the freedom to explore the overworld and get lost in quests kept me fully invested in everything I was doing.
Beyond its main questlines, the world was chock full of side quests and optional objectives that gave me things to do in order to build my army and grow stronger. Some side quests involved bite-sized battles that resulted in me recruiting a new character. Others involved finding unmarked locations in the overworld to grant me weapons and other benefits. Some offered me additional resources to rebuild the towns I had just liberated.
Despite the side quests being exactly that, they carried a significant amount of weight and meaning that is often reserved for main quests in RPGs. The conclusion of several side quests tasked me with deciding the fate of who I was up against. I could invite them to join my army, I could spare them, or I could execute them for their crimes. Most of these quests were presented to me in degrees of grey, often tasking me with attempting to discern the “best” moral outcome out of two decisions with grave consequences.
In the grander scheme of RPG storytelling, far too often do I see tales that are watered down to attempting to be the good person or evaluating the meaning of “good-ness” in a world of evil. Unicorn Overlord presented me with deciding the fate of several “good people doing bad things in the name of the greater good.” Lorewise, it would make sense to bring on as many people as possible in the name of my cause, but doing so would justify the less-than-kosher actions of those around me.
Some side quests result in building relationships (“bond conversations”) between a massive roster of playable characters who are recruited throughout the story. Little of these relationship-building-ventures result in little more than worldbuilding and deeper character development, but they end up being worthwhile to see how each character functions as an individual rather than the main character’s assistant. Like Final Fantasy XVI’s implementation of lore as a side quest reward, the bonds between Unicorn Overlord’s massive roster of characters eased my way into fully immersing myself within its multiple kingdoms.
Quests and worldbuilding aside, let’s return to gameplay. I alluded to Unicorn Overlord being a passive game at the start of this review. That’s how it starts. It manages to present the rest of its gameplay in bitesized increments as to not overload the player with information or unnecessary minutia, which is a massive feat in and of itself.
As a tactician, I was to break up my massive roster of characters into smaller squads (2 units per squad at first). I could control them and direct them toward enemy units and locations, resulting in a battle if my unit collided with an enemy. The battles were essentially simulations, playing out in a predetermined fashion. This meant that it was up to me to ensure that my squad’s composition was up to snuff in order to proceed.
This frontloading of strategy helps mask the game’s depth for the better, especially at the normal difficulty. Frontloading strategy like this makes it so that the makeup of units, their equipment, and their abilities can be customized long before the battle begins so you can watch it play out. Some might balk at this, as tactics often involve getting their hands dirty with details; others might be concerned that these tactics require constant maintenance. Luckily, Unicorn Overlord doesn’t punish either type of player, making it an accessible SRPG.
I love getting sidetracked in unit management and optimizing loadouts. Unicorn Overlord did not expect me to do spend too much time doing that despite giving me ample rewards for doing so. On higher difficulties, I had to spend more time deciding who to place on which squad, with whom, and with what weapon. I could go so far as to literally decide their tactics (actions) similar to Final Fantasy XII’s gambit system of if-then statements.
To add to this complexity, there are a large number of unit classes, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. Late-game unit management treads close to tedious and overwhelming, but it’s worth mixing and matching for the purpose of science! The unit diversity creates many opportunities to create squads with high mobility to capture objectives and search for pickups while tankier squads can soak up damage. You can’t turtle for too long because of each battle’s time limit, but the creativity is there for the player to experiment if they wish.
By the thirty-hour mark, I had the agency to strategize as I see fit. Writing all of this out is causing my own eyes to gloss over, especially since I am leaving out a great deal of details that boost strategic value. If I was to show a newer player the number of things I could do in hour 20, 30, or even 50, they would run for the hills. Learning strategy is tough! Yet Unicorn Overlord’s methods of getting players into the habit of facing complexity and navigating minutia is a class act in getting players interested and fully invested in strategy.
I reviewed Unicorn Overlord on the Nintendo Switch and am pleased to say that it ran incredibly well. Very little lag, very little loading screens, excellent visibility even the screen was filled with menus.
There’s very little keeping me back from spending another sixty or so hours playing Unicorn Overlord, other than things like life, other games to review, and the need to go outside as we inch close to summer. All things considered, Unicorn Overlord has captured my attention to a degree that I struggle to put the game down. I have other things on my plate, but I fully intend on returning to it when traveling and in between games.
Unicorn Overlord is a masterpiece of a strategy role playing game. Its presentation in giving players freedom to play as they like, go as strategically deep as they like, and the masterful onboarding of often-overly-complicated SRPG elements make it a compelling and beautiful experience. If you’re unfamiliar with SRPGs or are a longtime fan, look no further than Unicorn Overlord.
