Unicorn Overlord Review (PS5) | Push Square

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Vanillaware doesn't miss. We've been spouting that line for ages, but with the arrival of Unicorn Overlord, it rings truer than ever before. Following up on the superb 13 Sentinels was never going to be easy, but the Japanese studio has somehow manged to produce an equally excellent game three years later — and it's not even in the same genre.

Unicorn Overlord is a strategy RPG that takes obvious inspiration from classic properties like Fire Emblem and Ogre Battle / Tactics Ogre. It's got an unmistakable old school air to it — not unlike Dragon's Crown, another Vanillaware favourite — but it's dripping in the developer's trademark art style, and it's decked out in modernised design. This is very much Vanillaware's take on an established concept — again, just like Dragon's Crown — but the title's lack of originality never stops it from being a deeply fulfilling adventure.

Set in a world of medieval fantasy, complete with magical artefacts, elves, and even big furry lion people, it's the game's plot that doesn't quite weigh up to the rest of the package. Princely protagonist Alain is about as flat as revenge-seeking royalty gets, and the storytelling is largely dry and serious. In that sense, it's all very Fire Emblem — but from a time when Nintendo's series hadn't gone full anime. It's not bad, but outside of some especially dramatic scenes, it rarely has you glued to the screen.

However, just like in Fire Emblem, it's the surrounding cast that'll pull you through. Unicorn Overlord boasts over 60 recruitable heroes across a campaign that lasts around 50 hours — and you'll no doubt grow to adore most of them. These are characters who earn your admiration through repeated battles, when they're snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and trying their best to make you look like a tactical genius.

Some characters are introduced through the main story and will have a specific role to play, but many are found via side quests — optional battles that, more often than not,