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Vanillaware does not miss. We have been spouting that line for ages, however with the arrival of Unicorn Overlord, it rings more true than ever earlier than. Following up on the very good 13 Sentinels was by no means going to be simple, however the Japanese studio has one way or the other manged to supply an equally glorious sport three years later — and it is not even in the identical style.
Unicorn Overlord is a technique RPG that takes apparent inspiration from traditional properties like Hearth Emblem and Ogre Battle / Techniques Ogre. It is acquired an unmistakable old skool air to it — not not like Dragon’s Crown, one other Vanillaware favorite — but it surely’s dripping within the developer’s trademark artwork model, and it is decked out in modernised design. That is very a lot Vanillaware’s tackle a longtime idea — once more, identical to Dragon’s Crown — however the title’s lack of originality by no means stops it from being a deeply fulfilling journey.
Set in a world of medieval fantasy, full with magical artefacts, elves, and even large furry lion individuals, it is the sport’s plot that does not fairly weigh as much as the remainder of the bundle. Princely protagonist Alain is about as flat as revenge-seeking royalty will get, and the storytelling is basically dry and severe. In that sense, it is all very Hearth Emblem — however from a time when Nintendo’s sequence hadn’t gone full anime. It isn’t unhealthy, however exterior of some particularly dramatic scenes, it not often has you glued to the display screen.
Nevertheless, identical to in Hearth Emblem, it is the encircling solid that’ll pull you thru. Unicorn Overlord boasts over 60 recruitable heroes throughout a marketing campaign that lasts round 50 hours — and you may little question develop to adore most of them. These are characters who earn your admiration by repeated battles, once they’re snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and attempting their greatest to make you appear to be a tactical genius.
Some characters are launched by the primary story and could have a particular position to play, however many are discovered through facet quests — optionally available battles that, as a rule, really feel simply as vital to the general plot. There is a frequent inflow of contemporary heroes as you progress, and welcoming new allies to your military rapidly turns into one of many sport’s most addictive parts.
It is because Unicorn Overlord’s true brilliance lies in its gameplay loop. It does a frankly excellent job of retaining the ball rolling; there’s all the time a brand new tactic to think about, or a brand new hero to unleash. Even once you’re approaching the title’s remaining act, you are still being introduced with beforehand unseen unit sorts and talents that may utterly change your strategic perspective. There aren’t many RPGs the place you possibly can say social gathering administration is definitely a spotlight of the expertise — however tinkering together with your troops in Unicorn Overlord is genuinely engrossing.
It is the sport’s comparatively distinctive unit system that makes all of this attainable. As a substitute of utilising singular characters, you group your heroes collectively to be able to create squads — and the combos are virtually infinite. You’ll be able to kind balanced events, with damage-tanking fighters within the entrance row, supported by archers and healers within the again, or you possibly can go for specialised hit squads who’ll tear particular opponents to items — the selection is all the time yours.
Don’t fret if that sounds overwhelming, as Unicorn Overlord’s studying curve is basically a factor of magnificence. To begin with, you possibly can solely create two or three items, every made up of two combatants. However over the course of the marketing campaign, you may steadily unlock extra squads, whereas your present events can attain a most capability of 5 characters. By the point you get to that time, you may have picked up on so many potential methods by the sport’s hands-on strategy, and all the pieces simply unfolds in an impressively natural method.
When you’re accomplished faffing about together with your squads, you may have to deploy them. Battles happen in real-time, however the sport might be paused at any second, and stops mechanically at any time when a command is issued, or when one thing of notice happens. Maps are largely linear when it comes to construction — combating your method from garrison to garrison, capturing them as you go — however further hurdles, like barricades and catapults, are regularly labored into the components.
Map by map, the sport teaches you to look at your environment and plan accordingly. It isn’t that Unicorn Overlord’s battlefields are particularly advanced; the title’s tactical depth stems out of your capacity to organize. Deploying the fitting items on the proper time, after which making the right moment-to-moment choices is how you may earn your victories.
Certainly, as soon as two opposing items meet, the precise turn-based fight that ensues is computerized. Characters act primarily based on their set ways — basically behaviours that may be tweaked — and the class-specific talents that they’ve outfitted. Once more, the depth on provide — and the accessible customisation — is mindboggling (in a great way). On the sport’s simple or regular difficulties, you do not have to sweat the small print, as default ways will typically show efficient. Nevertheless, those that crave a problem on onerous and really onerous will probably be compelled to think about each chance.
That is the place a unit’s particular person strengths and weaknesses enter the equation. For instance, airborne griffon knights take large injury from archers, however archers are ineffective towards shield-bearing infantry. For context, it is by no means as simplistic as Hearth Emblem’s weapon triangle as a result of there are simply so many alternative courses to think about, however typically talking, strengths and weaknesses nonetheless kind the premise of Unicorn Overlord’s fight system.
Our solely qualm with fight is that, particularly later within the sport, battles can actually begin to really feel stretched. Once you’ve acquired a unit made up of 5 characters, they usually’re combating towards 5 different characters, and everybody has entry to a wealth of motion factors as a result of they’re so excessive degree, you might be sat watching these skirmishes for minutes at a time. And whereas it is massively rewarding to see the heroes you’ve got so rigorously nurtured take the win, longer fights would be the bane of much less affected person gamers.
Fortunately, there’s a fast-forward button for when tedium units in — and there is even an choice to outright skip fight scenes if you realize precisely how issues are going to pan out. And on that notice, the sport does give you a fast overview earlier than every encounter begins. At a look, it will offer you incoming and outgoing injury totals, which helps you identify whether or not a combat with that specific unit is definitely worthwhile. A really considerate timesaver.
In the meantime, exterior of battle, you traverse a large overworld map as Alain, but it surely’s not utterly open. Whilst you can forge your personal path to a level, and there are a great deal of optionally available sights to see, you are typically pushed within the route of the following story beat. However nonetheless, having a such a large world to discover helps Unicorn Overlord floor its storytelling, and in that sense, it feels way more like a conventional RPG than its friends — such as you’re on an precise journey, and you are not simply leaping between preset phases.
We stated this about 13 Sentinels, and it is the identical cope with Unicorn Overlord: Vanillaware’s patented artwork route elevates the expertise to a considerable extent. It is a attractive launch, with unbelievable character designs and a few luxurious backdrops. Even the menus are amazingly properly introduced, giving the distinct impression that crafting this sport’s visible id was an actual labour of affection.
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