Unicorn Overlord Review

Unicorn Overlord is not just one of the best games I’ve played in recent memory, or one of the best strategy RPGs I’ve ever experienced. It is one of the best games I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy, a game that consumed my mind even when I was not playing, that begged me to return and continue freeing the world of Fevrith. It engrossed me in a way that no game has in years (the last time was probably Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which I played close to release), and in a way which rarely occurs regardless.

It would be easy to make this a game about revenge, about Alain reclaiming the throne that is rightfully his and following his path towards that. And while that is something that happens in the game, the story is more fully one of liberation, of making each place you go better than you found it, of forgiving those who trespass against you. This is made clear in the early hours of the game- you can unlock the final battle within the first 10 hours, before you’ve even stepped foot within any of the other countries, but its high level dissuades you. You’re not meant to be here yet. Go help others.

In doing so, you will also meet a wondrous cast of characters, each one instantly recognizable in Unicorn Overlord’s distinct style, some who play a part for a single battle, others for short or long arcs (though, due to the possibility of sequence breaking, none ever relevant beyond their own nation’s borders, unfortunately). You will meet so many characters and enjoy their personalities and interactions that you will be saddened at the unfeasability of using many of them. I had eight units of five members each by the end of the game (a total of 40 characters on the field!) and still had to make hard cuts.

Speaking of units, Unicorn Overlord utilizes a mechanic I’ve seen previously in the fantastic Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga, wherein a character on the field is representative not only of themselves, but of a customizable unit of characters. With the sheer number of characters and classes in this game (as well as the ability to recruit mercenaries if you want more of a given class than the game provides), the possibilities for unit composition are truly endless.

Many maps (particularly Liberation missions) are quite small and simple, with it being effectively a short, straight shot to your goal, but Side and Story missions introduce a lot of depth and will have you truly working for your victory. One earlier side mission pits your army against a woman who at first seems to be doing little to defeat you, but when you draw near she ambushes you with several units appearing across the map, forcing you to split your forces and ignore her for a while. A mission later in the game gives you three options for your goal, whether to side with one of two factions or try to bring them together. If you opt for the latter option, you will wage battle against both sides with your army trapped in the middle, fighting hard for each step. There are so many incredible missions like this it makes up for the majority of Liberation missions being so basic.

That said, the game does lose a bit of steam in the back third. Missions become more sparse, Liberation maps become even smaller, and the explosion of new characters the game opens up with turns into a dripfeed. This is made even more noticeable by the last two continents being populated largely by nonhumans, yet even among the small additions to the cast, you will still find human recruits there. It’s not enough to truly harm the experience, and I was invigorated all the way through to the final cutscene, but I would not be surprised to hear some people dropped the game in the back half because of this.

My favorite part of the game, however, is the overworld system. Alain moves about the overworld from mission to mission, with those missions taking place on that same overworld. It creates a sense of cohesion from one battle to the next, much better than some series like Fire Emblem are able to do with their dots representing battles connected by lines. I've spoken about this elsewhere, but it also allows you to see the impact Alain has on making Fevrith a better place, as the world literally lightens up in areas you've liberated. A minor gripe of mine is that this does mean the game is unable to have any proper castle siege levels, but it's a fine trade-off.

Having played Unicorn Overlord start to finish and attaining the incredibly satisfying True Ending, I can say that this is a game everyone should play. It’s incredibly accessible to people unfamiliar with the genre while still offering some challenge here and there for veterans. In particular, people more accustomed to the genre can dive far deeper into the customizable tactics of each unit than I ever did, a feature that allows you to minmax your damage output to your heart’s desire. I love Alain and his friends and supporters, as well as the whole of Fevrith. I spent 60 hours there but would have happily spent another 60 in that beautiful place.