Don't let anyone tell you the universe doesn't have a sense of humor. A few weeks ago, ahead of a Monster Hunter Wilds hands-on preview event, I staggered into a softly lit hotel room in Osaka, Japan, my suitcase trailing behind me like an anchor and my tired blue eyes briefly lighting up at the sight of a bed. Even a hotel bed would do; not even hotel-standard flimsy pillows that feel like grocery bags filled half with vanilla cream and half with rocks could keep me from sleep. After a long flight, nothing could. Except, it turns out, the thing that kept me from sleep many, many times this year: Unicorn Overlord, my 2024 GOTY.
Unicorn Overlord is a new strategy RPG from Dragon's Crown developer Vanillaware. It is where I spent 240 gleeful hours this year and it's one of my favorite games of all time, slotting in just behind Hollow Knight and Elden Ring. It is not 240 hours long, unless you are me, and I have it on good authority (me) that you aren't me. But if number goblins hold the reins of your brain, too, you may find it as all-consuming as I do – a holy library of units and items and skills and matchups where I could comfortably spend eternity.
