That's it, I've seen enough: with Fire Emblem and Suikoden vibes, this beautiful tactical RPG is officially one of my most-anticipated games of 2024

gamesradar.com:

I was pretty sold on Unicorn Overlord the moment it was revealed at September's Nintendo Direct simply because it's the new game from Dragon's Crown and 13 Sentinels developer Vanillaware. After reviewing an extended breakdown shared by the devs and publisher Atlus – yes, the Persona Atlus – it's jumped even higher on my list of most-anticipated 2024 releases.

Unicorn Overlord is out on March 8, 2024, for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, and the day can't come soon enough. Vanillaware promised "the rebirth of tactical fantasy RPGs" in the game's reveal, and it certainly looks the part in these new details. 

Set in the wartorn realm of Fevrith, Unicorn Overlord challenges you to find allies among five fractured kingdoms and unite against a corrupt empire. As fallen prince Alain, you sit at the frontlines of battle and diplomacy, and also chicken-catching, woodcutting, village-building, NPC-recruiting, cooking, shopping, side-questing, and a whole bunch of other fun and silly-looking stuff that makes this unmistakably a Vanillaware game. 

The actual tactical combat of Unicorn Overlord looks good, and I'm not just talking about the incredible art. Fights are split between open-world maneuvering and actual 2D encounters. That's the game's centerpiece, but the buffet assembled around that combat is what's really got my attention. 

You'll need to liberate and rebuild forts and cities, for example, and the process of upgrading and staffing them looks engrossingly Suikoden-like. Likewise, you'll sift through a wealth of potential recruits to join you, and beyond a large cast of core characters, there's a huge pool of units with distinct stats and strengths to consider. Choose guards, hire mercenaries, and expand