Overlord (2007 video game)

Overlord
PAL box art
Developer(s)Triumph Studios
Publisher(s)Codemasters
Director(s)Lennart Sas
Designer(s)Lennart Sas
Writer(s)Rhianna Pratchett
Composer(s)Michiel van den Bos
Mark Knight
SeriesOverlord
Platform(s)Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Linux, OS X
ReleaseWindows, Xbox 360
  • NA: 26 June 2007
  • EU: 29 June 2007
  • AU: 6 July 2007
PlayStation 3 (as Raising Hell)
  • EU: 20 June 2008
  • NA: 24 June 2008
  • AU: 26 June 2008
Linux, OS X
21 July 2016
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Overlord is an action role-playing video game developed by Triumph Studios and published by Codemasters for Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Linux and PlayStation 3. It was released in 2007 in North America on 26 June, in Europe on 29 June and Australia on 6 July.

Development on the game began in early 2006[1] and the game was announced in May of the same year,[2] with gameplay demonstrated at E3 2006.[3] After over a year and a half of development,[1] its release in 2007 was met with generally favourable reviews,[4][5] and helped boost overall sales for Codemasters that year.[6] An expansion pack entitled Overlord: Raising Hell was released in February 2008, along with additional multiplayer maps and a local split-screen co-op mode.[7] Raising Hell was also released for the PlayStation 3 in June 2008, bundled with the original game. A sequel, Overlord II, was released in June 2009, followed by a spinoff for the Wii, entitled Overlord: Dark Legend, and a Nintendo DS game called Overlord: Minions.

Overlord is set in a fantasy world, where the player takes the role of a resurrected warrior known as "The Overlord" who has control over hordes of gremlin-like creatures known as "Minions". The player must defeat seven corrupt ruling heroes in order to reconquer the lands and establish his lordship over its inhabitants. The game features a corruption feature, similar to that of the Fable games, but allowing the player to "be evil… or really evil",[2] where certain actions and choices affect different aspects of the story and gameplay. While the Overlord is controlled in a third person perspective, the way minions are controlled brings elements of real-time strategy and upgrades bring those of role-playing games. The game uses dark humour, and is a satirical parody of the traditional fantasy setting and plot.[8] The story was written by Rhianna Pratchett.[9]

  1. ^ a b "Overlord Development Blog - Part One". The Audio Guys. 30 August 2007. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Overlord Announced". IGN. 2 May 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
  3. ^ "GameSpot's E3 2006 Editors Choice Awards: Best Surprise". GameSpot. 20 May 2006. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
  4. ^ "Overlord for Xbox 360". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Overlord for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  6. ^ "US Sales Drive Record Growth for Codemasters". Team Xbox. 19 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2 January 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
  7. ^ "Raise Hell Again with Codemasters: Announcing the Launch of New Overlord Content, Now Available for Xbox 360". GameSpot. 15 February 2007. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
  8. ^ Eric Brudvig (9 July 2007). "Overlord Review (PC)". IGN. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
  9. ^ Kuchera, Ben (28 June 2007). "Talking with Rhianna Pratchett, writer and co-story designer of Overlord". Ars Technica. Retrieved 24 October 2023.