Why Unicorn Overlord’s gameplay is making people surrender their lives to it 

“I stayed up all night last night because I thought that liberating Elheim was more important than being awake and productive at work today. I regret nothing,” reports a Redditor, one of many who have had their lives claimed by Atlus and Vanillaware’s new tactical SRPG Unicorn Overlord. What makes the game so engrossing? 

Coming from the developers of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Unicorn Overlord boast a high degree of freedom and a unique real-time strategy/battle system, allowing players to explore a vast field including five different countries in any order. The ambitious title aims to channel the DNA of classic SRPGs of the 90s, while also incorporating elements such as online battles. Unicorn Overlord’s popularity so far seems to have exceeded even the developer’s expectations, as they recently issued an apology for the game’s physical edition running out of stock. It has even been recommended by the director of Final Fantasy Tactics (Related Article). 

In the meantime, there have been increasing reports of Unicorn Overlord “ruining” and “taking over” players’ lives, the Reddit thread above being one example. The game has also earned the nickname “time stealer” on Japanese social media, as users find themselves unwittingly devoting hours to it. 

Unicorn Overlord’s unit formation system seems to be what’s consuming players’ thoughts the most – the game allows you to encounter and recruit a cast of over 60 characters, and even employ general-purpose NPCs. The vast Army is further organized into units. Each squad can have a maximum of three vanguards and three rearguards. Within this framework, you can devise endless combinations, such making a cavalry unit, or having the rear guard absorb attacks while the vanguard deals out damage. 

Which characters to equip with Accessories and other items is another point to consider, and Unicorn Overlord even lets you decide conditions and priorities for actions in battle. For example, if a character is to block attacks, they can be assigned who to guard and from whose attacks. In a similar fashion, priority targets for attacks can also be assigned. The sheer depth of strategy in Unicorn Overlord is what makes it engrossing enough to take over people’s thoughts even outside of the time spent actually playing it. The author of this article is likewise obsessed with thinking of ways to improve unit synergy and eliminate weak points. 

As an aside, Unicorn Overlord provides in-game help on how to utilize each class. There are even some examples of formations, which can be helpful for organizing your units. In addition, the official website offers tips and tricks on unit formation and “advanced tactics.” If you find yourself thinking too much and having a hard time progressing, you may want to make use of these tips to get by. 

Unicorn Overlord is available for the PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.   

Written by. Amber V based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2024-03-13 16:554 JST)