Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap Review – Thrilling Tower Defense

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is the latest iteration to the Orcs Must Die series from developers Robot Entertainment and offers a thrilling blend of tower defense and action-packed gameplay. Launching on January 28 on Steam, Epic Games Store and Xbox, the game shines particularly brightly in co-op mode, where strategising with friends adds an extra layer of excitement and challenge. For those that haven’t played a game in the series before, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is a new game set in the Orcs Must Die! universe. You’ll see some familiar faces and enemies from previous games, but you don’t need to have played any of them to enjoy Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap.

Starting out in Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap can be a bit overwhelming, but the game offers a tutorial that gently eases you into its mechanics. There are six main playable war mages in Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap and these are Vaan, Wren, Harlow, Mac, Kalos and Sophie. Each character has unique abilities, playstyles, and strengths, offering diverse options for players to choose from and experiment with. In our co-op playthrough, Garbz played as Mac, while I took on the role of Vaan. The initial runs were a learning curve as we figured out the best ways to block or funnel enemies through our carefully laid deathtraps. You use rune coins to place various traps where you think they will be the most devastating. In the set-up of each level, you will see the ghost trails of which way the enemy will run from each spawn door and more importantly, which monster types will be coming too. Sometimes the small and agile monsters will path differently to the flying monsters, and especially the larger ogres, trolls and more.

Each location starts with two spawn doors, and after successive waves, third and fourth doors will open. This means that you need to remember to leave some rune coins available for when those doors unlock. After you survive each wave, you will gain more rune coins to set more traps and use this time well to create additional choke points, improve the devastation of existing trap runs, and ensure you are able to cover new doors as they open. Each successful run rewards players with skulls, a valuable in-game currency to be used back at the Order Fortress.

The Order Fortress is the central hub where you can spend your hard-earned skulls. There are several key activities you can engage in here:

• Level up your skill tree: Improving your chosen War Mage’s abilities and enhancing global trap damage and other bonuses.
• Trap management: Buying new traps or upgrading existing ones.
• Thread shop: Threads are presented to you in missions once you successfully defeat a wave. You get a choice of three threads, and you can spend skulls on threads to improve an ability, trap, or change the way the traps function to make them more deadly.
• Practice arena: Testing out new strategies and refining your skills.
• Central portal: The starting point for all missions.

The fortress provides a comprehensive suite of options to customize and improve your gameplay experience, ensuring that each run feels rewarding and progressive. We could plan out our traps, ensuring we both bought different ones so that we have double the options of new traps for our next missions.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is immensely fun in single-player mode, but it truly shines in co-op. Playing with friends over voice communications elevates the experience, as coordination and teamwork become crucial. Communication is paramount because, while you can see enemy movement on the map, the action can get quite hectic. Enemies often find ways to sneak around your main trap areas and being able to quickly adapt and relay information to your teammates makes all the difference.

Each map in Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is a carefully crafted battlefield with multiple pathways and chokepoints. A unique feature is the presence of Sentinels – NPCs who fight alongside your War Mage. However, deploying Sentinels requires rune coins, adding another layer of strategic depth to your trap management. It’s crucial to balance your resources between traps and Sentinels to maximise your defensive capabilities. Orcs also cannot swim, so it was hilarious setting up spring traps and yeeting orcs and later trolls into the sea.

The maps are not just about surviving waves of enemies; they are also filled with secrets waiting to be discovered. These secrets can provide significant advantages to you and your team. Additionally, there are ways to unlock fan-favourite playable character Max from the Orcs Must Die series, adding more variety to your potential strategies and gameplay styles.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is a well-crafted and exciting game that combines the best elements of tower defense and action gameplay, and the addition of co-op makes it the most fun entry to the Orcs Must Die! series. The game is incredibly fun, and the co-op mode adds a layer of excitement that keeps you and your mates on your toes. Playing with friends over voice comms enhances the experience, making every victory over the hordes of orcs and trolls even sweeter.

This review utilised Steam keys provided by ICO Partners and Orcs Must Die! Deathtraps launched on January 28 on Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox.

#roundtablecoop