Game news I’ve rarely seen such richness in a video game: Unicorn Overlord impressed me!
Since the beginning of the year, a very specific genre of video games has emerged: 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. Another proposes to make monster hunting exciting. To conclude, the third one revolves around a dense storyline coupled with a turn-based combat system. Expected on consoles Friday March 8, Unicorn Overlord has its own experience. I played it and the richness of its combat system impressed me. I will 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 TRPG with his newborn: a tactical RPG. Something is showcased right from the start through numerous trailers. We see a medieval-fantasy universe where entities take turns to clash. Gameplay reminiscent of A fire symbolA true gateway to the TRPG genre, but much deeper than the series it’s inspired from.
Unicorn Overlord is a game that mixes real-time strategy and turn-based tactics. Each level is a part of the world map. Ellen, the protagonist, leads the liberation army. He must free the Favorit continent from the tyrannical rule of Glavius. Therefore, it is up to the player to move his various units made up of a maximum of 6 characters on the ground to achieve the assigned objectives: capture strongholds, surrender allied units, defeat enemy commanders.… It’s all the macro side that gets more complicated as the adventure progresses.
In real time this general management phase is accompanied by micro-phases: these are battles between units. These fights are turn-based, the order of which depends on the initiative of each character in the unit. The latter is made according to the wishes of the player, even if he must make sure to make it at least effective.. There is a wide field of possibilities that I am happy to explain to you below.
Once a battlefield victory is achieved, the player liberates the previously invaded territory. The local village serves him and gives him unique goods. It can also complete different forms to receive medals: this is the most important currency in the game because it allows you to enlarge your units and develop your characters.. A welcome pause 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 very surprised by the pace of Unicorn Overlord which manages to suit my desires, even if I don’t really recommend playing it for several hours straight as some of the battles can be trying. It must be said that the game features surprising depth to unit battles. Everything from A to Z is customizable, and every little detail matters.
Two units facing off on the battlefield are actually two sets of characters fighting. However, each character is distinguished by its class. For example, A swordsman is admired for his agility in hitting fast targets such as thieves. Additionally, the hoplite favors absorbing damage and protecting his allies. The game is filled with different classes that can then be combined within a single unit.
This class combination is even more interesting because it takes advantage of the combat system implemented by vanillaware.
In Unicorn Overlord, each character has two resources. AP gives active skills, while PP gives passive skills. These points are required to activate skills, which are specific to each class. And although fights are resolved automatically, the player can completely (or almost) control them. In fact, the activation of the skill can be conditioned by the player himself. For example, my mercenary can use the ability deadly chain : It attacks an enemy and gains AP if it destroys it. I added the condition “Enemy with less than 25% HP“For skill. In most cases, my mercenary will kill the enemy The deadly chain and may attack again.
Once this huge chunk of gameplay is partially digested, we realize the multitude of possible scenarios. Everything is important. During my gaming sessions, I would often use the same example to try to summarize the game to my peers. For example, it is possible to activate remote support (again, under conditions). However, bombarding the enemy early in the battle can be detrimental! This blocks the activation state of certain destructive skills. So every detail really matters.
Combat system pulled down by the rest
Unicorn Overlord features insane strategic depth on both the micro and macro levels (which we’ve deliberately left aside in this article). A density that is hard to see the end of even with several dozen hours of play. However, this prosperity 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, constant guaranteed wins make brawling less exciting to work on. A flaw that, and it’s not the only one, drags down the immense quality of the title.
In fact, the writing of Unicorn Overlord seems too cliche to thrill us. If each character has their own story, it is considered redundant. Everyone moves at high speed and some are especially difficult to connect with. As proof, I point to the limited names I remember after my time with the game.
In short, Unicorn Overlord has an impressively deep combat system. We enjoy conditioning each of our heroes in hopes of seeing them perform perfect martial choreography. Momentary or lasting pleasure? The judgment will be published along with the test, soon to be published on JV.
