With the release of Unicorn Overlord, fans of tactics and strategy RPGs have one of the best games in either genre in recent years. Vanillaware’s latest title is a mechanical marvel that ties a number of complex systems together into a tightly designed game that rewards strategy over brute force. While there are plenty of large-scale battles and small-scale side content to engage with in Unicorn Overlord, at some point you will roll credits as you help Prince Alain reclaim his throne. What next?
If Unicorn Overlord has only whet your appetite for tactics and strategy games, you’re probably looking for something equally engaging to sink your teeth into next. For that reason, we’ve collected our recommendations for the seven games you should play after Unicorn Overlord. Our recommendations have something for everyone. Whether you were captivated by its tactics and RTS elements or wished it had a deeper story, you’re sure to find something to love here.
Fire Emblem: Engage
While Unicorn Overlord does have incredible tactical combat, it doesn’t have much in the way of a memorable story. If you’re fine with that and enjoyed the game solely for the mechanical fun, you should pick up Fire Emblem: Engage next. The 2023 release doubles down on the franchise’s tactical gameplay, making for a more streamlined and satisfying combat loop. It does come at the expense of a pretty weak story, but hey, that’s not what you’re here for anyway, so just skip through the dialogue and fight away.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
However, if you do want a great story to latch onto in addition to satisfying gameplay, then try out Engage’s immediate predecessor, Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Three Houses, while not as mechanically tight as Engage, has an excellent story that involves more substantial relationship mechanics. This will be a nice change from the lackluster rapport system and overall story of Unicorn Overlord, but with enough mechanical complexity that you won’t be bored during battles.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
One of the best systems in Unicorn Overlord is Tactics, a menu that lets you customize every character’s actions in combat. The if-then-esque commands you tweak have a massive impact on battle and add a level of customization that many tactics games don’t have. It is also lifted from Final Fantasy XII, whose gambit system does the exact same thing, letting you dictate how party members act in combat. While FF12 is a real-time combat RPG and not focused solely on tactics and strategy, the gambit system will give fans of Unicorn Overlord a surprisingly deep system to enjoy while taking in the game’s epic story of roguish sky pirates and nations at war.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch
The Diofield Chronicle
A lot of the recommendations on this list lean into the tactics RPG side of Unicorn Overlord, but that’s only half of the equation. Part of what makes Unicorn Overlord great is the RTS action in battle. Square Enix’s The Diofield Chronicle leans into the strategy genre and offers similar opportunities to organize and direct large-scale battles on the fly. It’s another average medieval fantasy world, but the gameplay is worth it.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch
Valkyria Chronicles
If you enjoy the blending of genres in Unicorn Overlord, you should try out Valkyria Chronicles. Blending turn-based mechanics like planning out actions and issuing commands with real-time action that lets you control characters in the heat of battle, Valkyria Chronicles is a unique take on the tactical RPG, offering you the opportunity to do both strategic planning and active combat to great success. Anybody who enjoys the progressively larger and more complex battles of Unicorn Overlord will fall in love with Valkyria Chronicles’ massive scale.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Is Unicorn Overlord the first Vanillaware game you’ve ever played? If so, then you should play the developer’s previous title, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. The twisting time-travel story of Aegis Rim is an enthralling adventure unlike anything Vanillaware has done before or since. Perhaps the most narrative-heavy game in the developer’s catalog, it’s a nice inverse of Unicorn Overlord; where that game has a weak story but compelling combat, this one has a rich narrative, but fairly simple RTS segments that are a mere prelude to Unicorn Overlord’s intricate and rewarding tactics.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Tactics Ogre: Reborn
At the end of the day, Unicorn Overlord is an Ogre Battle homage. While it bears the greatest resemblance to Ogre Battle 64, that game isn’t easy to play on modern hardware, so instead you should play Tactics Ogre: Reborn. The remake of the 1995 title gives modern gamers access to one of the best tactics games ever made with one of the most well-written narratives in games. That’s thanks to director and writer Yasumi Matsuno, who would go on to make Final Fantasy Tactics and FF12. The game offers tactical complexity that will satisfy those fresh off of Unicorn Overlord, but with the added bonus of a deeply complex story that uses the game’s mechanics to drive home its thematic concerns about morality in war.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC
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