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Unicorn Overlord demo rekindles an venerable technique flame

After I elevate up the “tactics RPG,” it feels worship there is a obvious image that involves thoughts: grid-primarily based entirely, turn-primarily based entirely, isometric, or top-down, with gadgets hopping up and down terrain to bonk every various on the head with swords and magic. The sheer recognition of games worship Final Myth Ways, Ways Ogre, and Fireplace Place contain cemented as important.

Maybe here’s my contain biases speaking, nevertheless listening to “(insert name here) Ways” at once brings that image to thoughts, and it’s held correct for a couple of diversifications of tactical scoot-offs. After playing the demo for Unicorn Overlord, Vanillaware’s newest, it is clearly falling in the technique aspect of the genre; reasonably than one other Ways, it’s hearkening reduction to a special branch of the Ogre sequence: Ogre Fight.

It’s a terribly entertaining capability to peep Vanillaware cling. While Ogre Fight had a big impression on the alternate, Ways Ogre and FFT felt worship they eclipsed it. But in seeing this crew type out those tips, methods, and even the framing of the yarn, Unicorn Overlord feels worship a non secular successor, years later.

The Unicorn Overlord menu, showing two sections of enemies in battle  and the Time Limit at the top.
Screenshot by Destructoid

Lifestyles in real-time

To commence up, Unicorn Overlord is a technique RPG. Within the demo—out now on Swap, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox Collection X|S—the sport in most cases starts in the starting up, providing you with a transient prologue and a few tutorials sooner than dumping you out into the primary continent of Cornia.

You are Prince Alain, the inheritor to the throne of Cornia, dwelling in exile after a feeble regular broke ranks and overthrew your mom, setting up the Zenoiran empire. Years later, the total world has slowly fallen to Zenoira. Alain, his real advisor Josef, and a slew of company and companions now have up the Liberation Military, in quest of to wrest Cornia reduction for its rightful ruler.

Already, we’re into some fairly regular tips. And if I even contain something to nitpick about the demo, it’s that the primary place is what you’d ask: knights and warriors preventing to accumulate alter from the substandard, thoughts-controlling empire.

Two knights in Unicorn Overlord, speaking to another character, Ochlys, who says
Screenshot by Destructoid

The allure of the early areas are in their launch capability. After a buddy is taken hostage, Josef warns Alain that the Liberation power is now now not up to the assignment of a rescue real yet. As a replacement, he might per chance maybe well also merely soundless mission across the continent, setting up a foothold and recruiting allies, at closing building a power solid ample to forge forward.

So that you simply hasten across the realm in real-time. All around Alain, NPCs slide around, waiting to gossip or provide precious tips; various handy resource nodes provide dash or ore, to turn in for reconstruction efforts in battle-torn cities you’ve liberated; and even some fancy waits to be chanced on, deep in ruins or graveyards.

There’s a sense of space here that already sets it instead of various games. While I go out the intricate, detailed strive in opposition to maps of a tactics sport, what I procure in its space is the feeling of a continual world and campaign. After I slide into enemy territory, I have to be cautious of patrols. At closing, I’m in a position to commence up a strive in opposition to stage, shuffling me into a mode the place I’m in a position to deploy my forces and payment forth. When this happens, enemies throw up barricades, man towers, and hole up in garrisons dotting the lumber between my irascible and the goal.

Unicorn Overlord's battle menu with Rock Rat Spearbearer units on the left side, and Rolf's units on the right.
Screenshot by Destructoid

It’s in actuality impressive to peep the strategies that Vanillaware performs with terrain and locale, in these scenarios. A swampy land has an eerie mood to it, yes, nevertheless moreover makes for a though-provoking strategic puzzle to resolve after I even have to if truth be told articulate troops across it. I loved the enclosed, walled metropolis of Barbatimo, which sat at a a must contain crossroads for my campaign. It looked worship what I would assume a few excessive juncture level would in Unicorn Overlord’s world. Laying siege to it was once as advanced as I would’ve hoped.

Automatic battles

Fight in Unicorn Overlord is, with out a doubt, an auto-struggling with affair. When gadgets of opposing forces meet on the self-discipline, they traipse into battle, backed up by any nearby ranged or magical gadgets. And by unit, I point out a squad: shifting our bodies on the board of Unicorn Overlord are if truth be told more than one various troopers, comprising a single “unit.” So if my knight is main a band alongside a healer, housecarl, and archer, that’s who goes into strive in opposition to.

Then, the two forces conflict in an automatic strive in opposition to, the place the good judgment of your contain Final Myth XII Gambit-system tactics goes toe-to-toe with the enemies’. Items use their active and passive level share as you’ve told them to, and whoever wins advances forward.

An unmounted knight squares up with another knight on a horse, both are holding a lance.
Screenshot by Destructoid

It works in actuality, in actuality properly. While having a shortage of alter in strive in opposition to might per chance maybe well also feel a microscopic touching on, the quantity of impression you exert beforehand is huge. Actions might per chance maybe also be given situations, worship “utilize this attack, if there’s a flying enemy on the self-discipline,” or “suggested this if any individual drops underneath X health threshold.” It prompts the technique share of my brain, reasonably than the instantaneous act-and-react of tactics.

Pretty a few Unicorn Overlord is pondering forward, by the usage of strikes, time, actions, and methods. In a single strive in opposition to, I had to make obvious my gadgets had a correct spread of magic injure, to condominium the total heavy armor on the numerous aspect of the self-discipline. In a single other, I needed to roll out a unit with a first-rate who might per chance maybe well rupture down barricades first, to clear the manner for my cavalry.

Consistently, I faced choices in accordance to what the enemy was once doing, how important time was once left, and what bid my gadgets had been in. Particular particular person unit stamina can descend swiftly, and an overworked unit can go itself launch to an enemy strike, so I even had to comprehend that into myth.

Abet to the previous

With all this in thoughts, I used to be once already fascinated. And after doing fairly analysis, I needed to peep how important Unicorn Overlord pulled from the previous. So, I went and booted up Ogre Fight: March of the Dark Queen. It’s more or much less improbable to place the two aspect-by-aspect; it makes it fairly evident the place Vanillaware drew inspiration from, for its real-time overworld technique.

Screenshot by Destructoid
Screenshot by Destructoid

That’s now now not to articulate it’s all Ogre, even supposing. Items of Unicorn Overlord moreover dredged up various tactics giants; the stats and stage-up hide hide, besides to the usage of the “Focus on” feature on the battlefield, all jogged my memory of Fireplace Place. And the aforementioned good judgment-tactics add their very contain scoot to issues. Its continual overworld gives me flashes of Heroes of Can also and Magic at instances.

So yes, Unicorn Overlord feels worship Vanillaware rekindling an venerable Ogre Fight flame that’s been dormant for fairly a whereas. The closing unique entry was once over twenty years ago, despite all the pieces. But my combining and wearing its influences on its sleeve worship this, Unicorn Overlord soundless feels recent and thrilling, in particular for those worship me who overlooked this technology reduction when it first came about.

It’s nice to feel worship pillars of this genre are getting renewed hobby, and with that Vanillaware contact of art and tune, too—each and every of that are very perfect, by the manner. The fairly lengthy demo gives a fairly correct scrutinize at what’s forward, and now I’m more uncommon than ever to peep whether or now now not Unicorn Overlord can stick the landing.

Eric Van Allen

Senior Editor – While Eric’s been writing about games since 2014, he is been playing them for heaps longer. Generally chanced on grinding RPG battles, digging into an indie gem, or putting out across the Limsa Aethryte.


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