PS Plus Adds MK1 and Spider-Man, but Unicorn Overlord Is the Real Win

The PS Plus Drop That Actually Got Me Excited

PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium’s August lineup goes big with Mortal Kombat 1 and Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered. That’s a headline-friendly pairing, sure. But the pick that made me stop scrolling was Unicorn Overlord-the brilliantly tuned tactics JRPG from Vanillaware that quietly stole 2024 for strategy fans. It pulled a 17/20 over in the French press and for good reason: it’s one of those rare “one more mission” games that respects your time while still letting you sink deep into the meta.

Key Takeaways

• Unicorn Overlord joins PS Plus Extra/Premium this month alongside MK1 and Spider-Man Remastered.
• It’s a smart, stylish tactics JRPG with deep squad-building and conditional AI-more Tactics Ogre meets Fire Emblem than action JRPG.
• Approachable length (roughly 40 hours for the main story), with optional depth for min-maxers.
• No service fluff or microtransactions-just a complete single-player campaign that runs great on consoles.
• Not subbed? There’s a limited-time PlayStation Store discount until August 28 (regional pricing may vary), and it’s also on Switch and Xbox Series X|S.

Breaking Down the Announcement

Sony’s August slate is designed to cover the spread: a prestige first-party remaster, a flashy fighter, and a deep-cut JRPG. MK1 is perfect for quick bursts of online chaos and Spider-Man Remastered is still a gorgeous open-world comfort game. Unicorn Overlord is the “if you know, you know” addition—the kind of AA Japanese gem PS Plus subscribers often miss until it vanishes from the catalog. If you care about smart systems and tactical tinkering, start here.

What Makes Unicorn Overlord Special

Vanillaware (Odin Sphere, Dragon’s Crown, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim) has a reputation for painterly 2D art and mechanical ambition. Unicorn Overlord leans into both. On the overworld, you’re moving real-time across a sprawling map, liberating towns, managing supplies, and choosing which fronts to push. When battles trigger, you’re not button-mashing—you’re deploying squads you’ve pre-built and tuned like intricate watches.

Each “unit” is a small formation of characters with classes that synergize in surprising ways—guard-heavy hoplites to anchor a line, assassins and archers to snipe backliners, griffin riders for map control, mages to melt armor or control tempo. The twist is conditional AI: you set tactics like “focus healers first,” “guard allies under 50% HP,” or “use stun only if the enemy is charging.” Fights then play out according to those priorities, turning each encounter into a test of planning rather than pure reflex.

The art direction is classic Vanillaware—hand-drawn 2D animation with lush character portraits and a diorama-like world map. It’s not pixel art; it’s that glossy, painterly look the studio does better than almost anyone. Performance is rock solid, and the soundtrack sells the grandeur without drowning out the strategy brainwork.

Two honest caveats: if you need fully manual control in combat, the semi-automated resolution may feel hands-off at first. And the story is more heroic-fantasy comfort food than 13 Sentinels-level mind-bender. But the campaign’s rhythm—short missions, meaningful upgrades, constant squad tweaks—makes it dangerously moreish.

Why This Matters for PS Plus Players

Subscription months stuffed with blockbusters are great, but they’re also predictable. Unicorn Overlord is the rare “try it because it’s here” game that actually rewards experimentation. You can dip in for a couple missions after work, or lose a weekend optimizing formations and chasing S-ranks. Unlike some gigantic JRPGs that demand 100+ hours, this one respects your schedule while still offering depth that min-maxers can chew on for ages.

It also fills a lane the PS Plus catalog often lacks: a premium-feel tactics title that isn’t bogged down by gacha systems or live-service hooks. It’s a complete box product with a satisfying arc, and that’s refreshing in 2025.

How It Stacks Up Against the Headliners

MK1 is a visual showcase and a great party pick—no argument there. Spider-Man Remastered remains one of the smoothest, most joyful traversal sandboxes ever made. Unicorn Overlord fits a different mood entirely: it scratches the same strategic itch as Triangle Strategy or Tactics Ogre, but with freer exploration and more flexible squad-building. If Fire Emblem’s recent entries felt a bit chatty or corridor-like, this is the antidote—less classroom, more campaign map.

Availability, Platforms, and the Clock

Unicorn Overlord is in the PS Plus Extra/Premium catalog now. Catalog titles do rotate, so don’t assume it’ll be around forever. If you’re not subbed, there’s also a sizeable PlayStation Store discount running until August 28 that brings the price down significantly (around €23.99 in some regions). Prefer other hardware? It’s also on Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S, with a physical edition for collectors.

TL;DR

MK1 and Spider-Man Remastered will grab the headlines, but Unicorn Overlord is the PS Plus pick you shouldn’t sleep on. It’s a gorgeous, cleverly designed tactics JRPG that respects your time and rewards your brain. Queue it up now, before the catalog shuffle moves it off the board.