Unicorn Parade on Facebook: Magical adventures vs monotonous farming

Today, Facebook games need to be more than your run-of-the-mill FarmVille to succeed. You can't just put out a game about farmers and expect to make it big, but you can still include the option. In fact, almost every game out there does, including Unicorn Parade by Ohai. Created long before reportedly being bought by video game giant EA, Unicorn Parade goes a route much similar to games like Ravenwood Fair and Glitch, but with far more lighthearted vibes and elements from both games.

While planting and harvesting cacti that produce money is a bore no matter how you slice it, it's the game's adventure elements that are so compelling.That's because curating your own island space serves one purpose, theoretically: To keep your animals happy and energized enough to go on adventures.

Unicorn Parade thrusts players into a land where ordinary animals must find the last remaining Unicorns across Forestland. However, you must keep them fed by planting trees and crops that produce Energy-bearing foods--and the types of food that grow off the trees in Forestland are expectantly insane like the Bacon Tree.

%Gallery-129111%

Players must decorate the space to keep their growing colony of animals happy. The amount of animals you can buy and raise increases as you unlock more areas to explore, but more on that later. Each animal has a set of base statistics--Speed, Luck and Strength--that influence their performance during adventures. Players can increase those stats through performing specific tasks on adventures, like searching to increase Luck. And one important thing to remember is that the only limitation on your play time it seems is how much Energy each of your animals has. (Players don't have an overarching Energy meter.) This means that the more animals you have, the more exploring you can do daily.

There are quests both at home and abroad, but out in the wild is where this game becomes more than just another kooky farming game. Players choose an animal and click on the field to make it move across the map. Each area can be explored based on a percentage, and you must explore at least 60 percent of a territory to move on. To see what needs to be done in order to successfully explore an area, the game provides a number of goals such as "Search 8 Rocks." Each time a player searches something to either to fulfill an exploration requirement or a quest from a fellow forest animal, it consumes one Energy.

It's hard to explain why turning over rocks and interacting mildly with other characters is fun. Perhaps it's the relaxing, unobtrusive background tunes. Or maybe it's the glaring, chuckle-worthy humor dripping from every quest. The adorable, seemingly hand-drawn visuals don't hurt, either. The game adds a level of personalization in allowing players to name their own animals, but also keeps true to genre tropes like item collections for in-game rewards and items that cost Facebook Credits. (Players can also visit their friends' islands--about as far as social features seem to go.) In other words, there is no reason why you shouldn't try Unicorn Parade on Facebook--just stick around for a few levels after the tutorial.

Click here to play Unicorn Parade on Facebook >

Have you tried Unicorn Parade yet? Do you think the game does enough to escape the farming simulator trap? Should Facebook games focus even more on adventure? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.