Game news I have rarely seen such richness in a video game: Unicorn Overlord impressed me!
Since the start of the year, a very particular genre of video games has stood out: that of the Japanese role-playing game, also called JRPG. However, the similarities between Final Fantasy VII Rebirth; Grand Blue Fantasy: Relink and Persona 3 Reload are slim. The first highlights its content-rich open world. The second proposes to make monster hunts thrilling. To complete, the third orbits around a dense narrative combined with a turn-based combat system. Expected Friday March 8 on consoles, Unicorn Overlord has an experience just as much of its own. I played it and the richness of its combat system impressed me. I’ll explain why.
A TRPG with dense content
Unicorn Overlord is the latest game developed by Vanillaware. A studio renowned for the quality of its games, such as the excellent 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. He flits from genre to genre and tries his hand at the TRPG with his newborn: the tactical RPG. Something displayed from the start by the numerous trailers. We see a medieval-fantasy universe where units take turns skirmishing. A gameplay reminiscent of that of Fire Emblema real gateway to the TRPG genre, but much deeper than that of the series from which it is inspired.
Unicorn Overlord is a game that mixes real-time strategy and turn-based tactics. Each level is a part of the world map. Alain, the protagonist, leads the liberating army. He must free the continent of Fevrith from the tyrannical domination of Glavius. It is therefore up to the player to move his different units, made up of up to 5 characters maximum, on the ground in order to achieve the assigned objectives: capture strongholds, extradite allied units, defeat the enemy commander… All this is the macro side which becomes more complex as the adventure progresses.
This general management phase in real time is accompanied by micro phases: these are the battles between units. These fights take place turn-based, the order of which depends on the initiative of each character in the unit. The latter is created according to the desires of the player, even if he must make sure to make it a minimum effective. There is a gigantic field of possibilities that I have the pleasure of explaining to you below.
Once victory is achieved on the battlefield, the player liberates the previously invaded area. The local village serves him and offers him a unique set of goods. He can also complete different forms in order to acquire medals: this is the most important currency in the game since it allows you to enlarge your units and develop your characters.. A welcome break before setting off again to attack the invader. War (almost) never waits.
Every detail can change everything
A gameplay loop that you get used to very quickly. I was quite surprised by the pace of Unicorn Overlord which manages to adapt to my desires, even if I really don’t recommend playing it for several hours in a row as some battles can be trying. It must be said that the game displays a staggering depth for unit fights. Everything is customizable, from A to Z, and every little detail is important.
Two units facing each other on the battlefield are actually two sets of characters fighting. However, each character is distinguished by his class. For example, the swordsman is praised for his agility in hitting fast targets like the thief. Furthermore, the hoplite is favored for absorbing damage and protecting its allies. The game is full of different classes that can then be combined within the same unit.
This class combination is all the more interesting as it takes advantage of the combat system implemented by VanillaWare.
In Unicorn Overlord, each character has two resources. AP serves active skills, while PP serves passive skills. These points are necessary to activate skills, which are specific to each class. And although the fights are resolved automatically, the player can completely (or almost) have control over them. In fact, the activation of skills can be conditioned by the player himself. For example, my mercenary can use the ability Deadly Chain : it attacks the enemy and gains AP if it eliminates it. I added the condition “Enemy with HP less than 25%” to the skill. In the majority of cases, my mercenary will kill an enemy with deadly chain and can attack again.
Once this large piece of gameplay has been partially digested, we realize the multitude of possible scenarios. Everything matters. During my gaming sessions, I would often use the same example to try to summarize the game to my colleagues. For example, it is possible to activate (again, under conditions) remote support. However, bombarding the enemy at the start of a battle can be disadvantageous! This can hinder the activation conditions of certain devastating skills. So every detail really matters.
A combat system pulled from below by the rest
Unicorn Overlord displays crazy tactical depth both at the micro and macro level (which we have deliberately left aside in this article). A density of which it is difficult to see the end even with several dozen hours of play. However, this richness is not aimed at everyone. It is sometimes frustrating not to understand all the consequences of your choices, a fortiori when they lead to our defeat. On the other hand, a consistently assured victory makes brawls less exciting to work through. A fault which, and it is not the only one, drags down the immense quality of the title.
In fact, the writing of Unicorn Overlord seems to be too cliché to thrill us. If each character has their story, it is treated in a superfluous way. Everyone moves at a high pace and it’s difficult to get attached to some in particular. As proof, I point to the limited number of names I remembered after my time with the game.
In short, Unicorn Overlord has an impressively deep combat system. We take pleasure in conditioning each of our heroes in the hope of seeing them recite the perfect martial choreography. Ephemeral or lasting euphoria? Verdict to be published with the test, soon to be published on JV.