This is going to be an incredibly biased review which is based entirely on my own preferences for video games. Most of my problems with this game are my own fault and are no fault of the game itself. Or at least I assume so. So yeah...
I wanted to try out Unicorn Overlord the moments I heard about it back in June of last year. 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim had quickly become one of my favorite games of all time, so I was more than happy to try out another Vanillaware title. So, I went and pre-ordered the limited edition that came with the little card game and the soundtrack. That was how much I had come to love the studio.
But then I learned at some point that this was going to be a strategy game, and I got really scared. You see, my three least favorite video game genres are, in ascending order of dislike: fighting games, racing games, and above all else, strategy games. But at the very least, there are some fighting and racing games that break the mold for me, and I can still have fun with any of those while playing with friends. But strategy games? In all honesty, anything more complicated than Sid Meier's Civilization V is just way too much for me. I prefer my games to either be fast and adrenaline inducing, or emotionally powerful and tear inducing. And sadly, all that strategy games do for me is make me feel either frustrated or bored.
But hey, I was still willing to give it a shot! And I learned that its apparently a lot like Fire Emblem! Awesome! I liked the very few games I played in that series, so surely I'll enjoy this one.
And I did!
For the first few hours.
When the game was holding my hand, and allowed me to feel like a cool general building my army and ripping apart anyone in front of me, I enjoyed it quite a lot! It felt really unique and refreshing to play, and even if the plot was pretty barebones, I was still loving everything else the game was working with.
But once I got into Drakenhold, everything just changed.
Suddenly, there were just so many mechanics to work with, so many small little details to move around and optimize, so many different characters and abilities... I just got overwhelmed. And then after that, the game stopped holding my hand. And everything just fell apart.
Now main battles were lasting upwards of an hour, I was losing so any soldiers, and I was just getting so damn frustrated. I even lowered the difficulty down to baby mode, which helped for a bit, but even that wasn't enough to push me through.
I know it's my fault for not fully engaging with the game's mechanics, but these kinds of mechanics are the ones that my brain just entirely despises. Having to slowly work through all the characters and meticulously build the best teams and strategies sounds like actual torture to me.
So in the end, even though I really liked the game's art style, atmosphere, world building, and the general game direction as a whole, I just decided that it wasn't worth it. I just wasn't having any fun anymore, and I'd hate to only make myself dislike this game more by forcing myself through it.
I'm giving this game a seven out of ten because I do think its really special and unique, despite how much I ended up really disliking the gameplay. I think my single favorite aspect of the game was how amazing it felt to build up your army. It really did feel like you were building together a huge force and liberating the world around you. I loved exploring the overworld and getting to know everyone, if the game was built more around that, this might have been one of my favorite games ever.
Overall, I think Unicorn Overlord is a really cool game, but since I just don't like strategy games at all, it sadly just isn't for me. If you are a fan of strategy games, you'll probably love this game, give it a shot! But if you're like me, only try it if you really think this will be the one that changes your mind on the genre.
And be mindful, aside from the game genre and general setting, this is nothing like Fire Emblem at all.
I wanted to try out Unicorn Overlord the moments I heard about it back in June of last year. 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim had quickly become one of my favorite games of all time, so I was more than happy to try out another Vanillaware title. So, I went and pre-ordered the limited edition that came with the little card game and the soundtrack. That was how much I had come to love the studio.
But then I learned at some point that this was going to be a strategy game, and I got really scared. You see, my three least favorite video game genres are, in ascending order of dislike: fighting games, racing games, and above all else, strategy games. But at the very least, there are some fighting and racing games that break the mold for me, and I can still have fun with any of those while playing with friends. But strategy games? In all honesty, anything more complicated than Sid Meier's Civilization V is just way too much for me. I prefer my games to either be fast and adrenaline inducing, or emotionally powerful and tear inducing. And sadly, all that strategy games do for me is make me feel either frustrated or bored.
But hey, I was still willing to give it a shot! And I learned that its apparently a lot like Fire Emblem! Awesome! I liked the very few games I played in that series, so surely I'll enjoy this one.
And I did!
For the first few hours.
When the game was holding my hand, and allowed me to feel like a cool general building my army and ripping apart anyone in front of me, I enjoyed it quite a lot! It felt really unique and refreshing to play, and even if the plot was pretty barebones, I was still loving everything else the game was working with.
But once I got into Drakenhold, everything just changed.
Suddenly, there were just so many mechanics to work with, so many small little details to move around and optimize, so many different characters and abilities... I just got overwhelmed. And then after that, the game stopped holding my hand. And everything just fell apart.
Now main battles were lasting upwards of an hour, I was losing so any soldiers, and I was just getting so damn frustrated. I even lowered the difficulty down to baby mode, which helped for a bit, but even that wasn't enough to push me through.
I know it's my fault for not fully engaging with the game's mechanics, but these kinds of mechanics are the ones that my brain just entirely despises. Having to slowly work through all the characters and meticulously build the best teams and strategies sounds like actual torture to me.
So in the end, even though I really liked the game's art style, atmosphere, world building, and the general game direction as a whole, I just decided that it wasn't worth it. I just wasn't having any fun anymore, and I'd hate to only make myself dislike this game more by forcing myself through it.
I'm giving this game a seven out of ten because I do think its really special and unique, despite how much I ended up really disliking the gameplay. I think my single favorite aspect of the game was how amazing it felt to build up your army. It really did feel like you were building together a huge force and liberating the world around you. I loved exploring the overworld and getting to know everyone, if the game was built more around that, this might have been one of my favorite games ever.
Overall, I think Unicorn Overlord is a really cool game, but since I just don't like strategy games at all, it sadly just isn't for me. If you are a fan of strategy games, you'll probably love this game, give it a shot! But if you're like me, only try it if you really think this will be the one that changes your mind on the genre.
And be mindful, aside from the game genre and general setting, this is nothing like Fire Emblem at all.
2 Comments
@Pikaton That's actually something I've been thinking about. The combat of 13 Sentinels is, by all means, real time strategy. It's even defined as that when you look it up. But I think the reason why I like that game's combat and don't like Unicorn Overlord's is just because of how much more digestible it is for me.
The way I look at it: Unicorn Overlord's gameplay is more geared towards people that enjoy the more meticulous aspects of real time strategy like deep team building and heavy planning ahead, while 13 Sentinels is more appealing to those that like faster gameplay and spectacle. Strategy was decently important in 13 Sentinels, but it was far more limited compared to what Unicorn Overlord offers, and that's a big reason why I prefer that game's combat; the more limited gameplay just feels more comforting for someone like me that just doesn't like real time strategy games. I never really felt overwhelmed playing 13 Sentinels.
I guess I would say that 13 Sentinels is kind of a middle ground between Vannillaware's game catalogue. It has real time strategy gameplay like Unicorn Overlord and GrimGrimoire, but it also has fast and rewarding gameplay like Odin's Sphere or Dragon's Crown.
But also I just really loved the story side of 13 Sentinels. Even if the gameplay was way more strategy focused, I'd probably still love the game as long as I could just breeze through the combat and focus on the great story, which is what a lot of people seemed to have done based on what I've seen. Which is something that I sadly can't do with Unicorn Overlord.
The way I look at it: Unicorn Overlord's gameplay is more geared towards people that enjoy the more meticulous aspects of real time strategy like deep team building and heavy planning ahead, while 13 Sentinels is more appealing to those that like faster gameplay and spectacle. Strategy was decently important in 13 Sentinels, but it was far more limited compared to what Unicorn Overlord offers, and that's a big reason why I prefer that game's combat; the more limited gameplay just feels more comforting for someone like me that just doesn't like real time strategy games. I never really felt overwhelmed playing 13 Sentinels.
I guess I would say that 13 Sentinels is kind of a middle ground between Vannillaware's game catalogue. It has real time strategy gameplay like Unicorn Overlord and GrimGrimoire, but it also has fast and rewarding gameplay like Odin's Sphere or Dragon's Crown.
But also I just really loved the story side of 13 Sentinels. Even if the gameplay was way more strategy focused, I'd probably still love the game as long as I could just breeze through the combat and focus on the great story, which is what a lot of people seemed to have done based on what I've seen. Which is something that I sadly can't do with Unicorn Overlord.
Pikaton
21 days ago