Unicorn Overlord

Unicorn Overlord is a 2024 tactical role-playing game developed by Vanillaware and published by Atlus in Japan, and Sega worldwide, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Set on the continent of Fevrith as it is consumed by war, the story follows exiled prince Alain as he gathers allies to liberate the nations of Fevrith from the Zenoiran Empire. Gameplay follows Alain and his army units fighting in large-scale battles, with field movement and battles taking place in real-time. General Valmore of the kingdom of Cornia leads a rebellion against the ruling monarch Queen Ilenia. With most of the army siding with Valmore, Ilenia has her personal guard Josef smuggle her son Alain as well as the symbol of Cornian royalty, the Ring of the Unicorn, to safety.

Josef reluctantly follows Ilenia’s orders and flees as Ilenia makes her last stand against Valmore to buy them time to escape. Ten years later, Valmore—renaming himself Galerius—has reformed the ancient Zenoirian Empire and subjugated surrounding nations: Drakenhold, an old enemy of Cornia; the elvish land of Elheim; Bastorias land of the hybrid Beastmen; and Albion, a religious nation controlled by angels. Alain has been raised by Josef on the remote island of Palevia alongside the local priestess Scarlett to eventually take leadership of the Liberation Army. When Zenoiran forces attack the island, Alain takes up arms and successfully protects the local populace.

He finds out that the Ring of the Unicorn has the power to dispel Galerius’s mind control magic, which Galerius had been using to turn many to his side. Accepting his role as the leader of the Liberation Army, Alain travels back to Cornia to take charge, but Scarlett is kidnapped by Galerius for an unknown purpose. Alain then begins liberating Cornia from Zenoiran rule and recruiting allies until he is strong enough to rescue Scarlett. However, he is too late to stop Galerius and his sorcerer Baltro from destroying the last magical seal limiting Galerius’s power. Galerius and Baltro then leave to continue their plans while the spirit of an ancient Great Sage advises Alain to travel to Elheim to unlock the Ring of the Unicorn’s true power.

Unicorn Overlord is a tactical role-playing game in which players take on the role of exiled prince Alain as he leads the Liberation Army in a campaign across the fantasy realm of Fevrith. During exploration, the player guides Alain across an overworld to enter towns, use services such as blacksmiths and merchants to outfit his army, and engage in story or optional battles. In areas not controlled by Alain or his allies, enemies represented by sprites also wander the overworld. All the characters, locations and sprites are displayed using 2D art. The number of units that can be deployed during combat sections depends on a resource called Valor, which can be earned by completing battles. 

The overworld is freely explorable, allowing players to tackle some events in a different order. Towns also include side quests which require the player to gather materials and events where Alain can improve his relationship with a character. During the campaign, new characters either join as part of the storyline, or can be recruited. Some possible recruits are former enemies, with the player’s choice to either spare or kill them impacting future story events. Combat is split between movement of troops across large battlefields, and combat when two units meet. All combat takes place in real time, but the player can pause to change strategy and check on units. Parties are made up of up to five characters with an assigned character class. 

During the early game units are limited to two characters, but more character slots can be unlocked using a currency called Honors. Battlefield settings include open field areas, and urban environments such as towns and cities which alter gameplay. Some battles have gimmicks for players to exploit, such as a fire within the environment, or siege weapons that can be controlled by either the player or the enemy side. Units are arranged in a grid, with their position influencing their abilities and combat efficiency. Some character classes are designed for short or long range exclusively, while others have a more varied attack range or a different set of skills. Battles play out automatically based on character attributes and player-set behaviors. 

Battles last until either one side is defeated, or both sides run out of points used to perform actions, which stuns the defeated unit for a time. Three currencies—Gold for buying items and equipment, Honors for hiring mercenaries, unlocking more parties and character slots and promoting units to higher grade classes, and Renown which dictates player options with using Honors—are earned through either completing battles or exploring the map and completing objectives. There are multiple difficulty settings which players can select, and after a certain point an online multiplayer mode is unlocked separate from the main story which allows players to pit AI-controlled squads against each other.