Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap was originally released on PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store) and Xbox Series X/S back in January. It is the fifth title in the Orcs Must Die! franchise, which focuses on players taking on the roles of War Mages as they take down hordes of invading orcs. The games have always placed quite a bit of emphasis on co-op gameplay, and Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap continues this tradition.

The physical release of Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap features the disc for the game, along with an art booklet, a Supporter Pack DLC that includes 7 hero and weapon skins, and a redemption code for a digital copy of the game’s soundtrack, composed by Phill Boucher.

For more details about Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, check out our review, where we gave it a score of 7 out of 10, praising its visuals and game feel, while criticising the lack of control over Threads in each run.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is yet another addition to the formula, though it experiments with rogue-lite mechanics. Even if there’s somewhat of a grind and doesn’t significantly evolve on the beloved gameplay loop, Deathtrap does score with its map design, character variety, and presentation.

The story is what the story has always been – Orcs want to jump into the Rift and it’s your job as a War Mage to defend it. You’re a venerable one-person army, running around and unleashing hell with blades, arrows, magic spells, and whatnot. There are six heroes to choose from, each with unique abilities and Ultimates (aka Overdrives).

"Creating a killzone with Saw Blade Launchers bouncing back and forth in an enclosed space is cool. However, a Tar Trap to slow incoming enemies, ensuring they’re hit by all the bounces is even better…"

Sophie, with her dual daggers, can leech health from enemies with critical hits, create a trail of darkness that damages anyone in its path once it’s activated, and summon Bartholomew, a skeleton soldier who fights alongside her. Then you have Wren, a spell-slinger whose Overdrive summons copies of herself for more damage and who can perfect  reload, Gears-style to gain additional ammo. The variety of playstyles is solid overall and allows for interesting synergies depending on your approach.

However, you also have traps, which truly even the odds. Said traps include the standard Arrow Wall for launching volleys at unsuspecting foes, Auto Crossbows to target from afar, and, well, Ceiling Lasers because of magecraft. Or something.

Traps fall into three categories – Ceiling, Wall, and Floor – and while it might make sense to cover the map in Auto Crossbows, you can’t. The Rift Coin cost often discourages this but you also need to account for the map’s architecture, since traps can’t be placed wherever, whenever. Some traps also work better on some maps than others. A tall staircase that Orcs have to climb is ideal for some Flip Traps – just remember that the tallest foes can’t be launched, at least not initially.

It’s also important to remember that trap efficiency is as important as quantity. Creating a killzone with Saw Blade Launchers bouncing back and forth in an enclosed space is cool. However, a Tar Trap to slow incoming enemies, ensuring they’re hit by all the bounces is even better, especially since you can space out like Brimstone and Spike Trap to give them more to reset.

Each map presents an intriguing puzzle in this regard, especially as subsequent waves open up more spawn doors for the Orcs to filter through. Take the Patio Gardens, for instance – the open-air space around the Rift isn’t ideal for Arrow Walls or Ceiling Lasers. Use those barricades to carefully filter them towards the keep’s door, where other Orcs eventually emerge, and you can lay down enough Floor Traps, Saw Blade Launchers, and more to deal damage.

"Extra War Mage health, primary attack damage, and trap damage are nice, but a three percent increased critical hit chance from Primary Attacks doesn’t exactly inspire joy."

However, this may not always pan out depending on the chosen modifiers during a run. You may opt for flying enemies that can heal their allies since that sounds less annoying than reduced crit chance and headshot damage. But you need traps (or heroes) that can deal with said threats, lest you face waves that out-heal your traps’ damage. Kobolds having double health and counting for two Rift Points may not seem too bad until your entire set-up falters and you’re swarmed. Then you have options like the barricade limit getting reduced by one per War Mage, which isn’t troublesome when playing solo.

Each subsequent mission requires picking a new modifier, so everything will add up en route to facing the boss on the last node. Completing waves during a mission allows for selecting Threads, upgrades ranging from her Overdrive continuing to build for Sophie even while Bartholomew is active, launching enemies twice as far, and much more. You could even bestow Saw Blade Launchers with a chance to Rend leading to more critical hits, which means more health leeching opportunities for Sophie. You only have three choices, though, and I’ve yet to discover a way to reroll them, which means one wrong move could lead to negligible benefits (if not hamper a run entirely).

As you complete missions, you’ll earn Skulls to unlock new Threads, trap upgrades, and character passives. Maybe it’s because I played solo, but a single run (albeit failed) was only enough for one passive upgrade on a character and a few trap improvements. Traps are unlocked using gold Skulls, and the rate they’re doled out feels fine enough, but considering you need to level up each hero individually and complete Thread Quests to make the modifiers available to purchase, there’s a significant grind to be had.

The character upgrades also aren’t the most exciting outside of the ability improvements – extra War Mage health, primary attack damage, and trap damage are nice, but a three percent increased critical hit chance from Primary Attacks doesn’t exactly inspire joy. At least they’re more affordable than a lot of the Threads. Those cost hundreds of Skulls, and while I’m all for long-term pursuits, they feel a bit excessive.

"Despite its rogue-lite machinations, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap sticks to what makes the series work – setting up elaborate kill boxes and slaying Orcs by the dozens, ideally with friends."

The map layouts can take some getting used to, especially when accounting for the different enemy types, but they offer up some interesting nuances. They also look incredible, with the entire animated presentation coming up exceedingly well, and it’s hard to not get hyped when the epic metal riffs begin, and Orcs are burned, rent, launched, and diced. Performance is also solid throughout, though I did find some visual noise when selecting different upscalers. TSR on DLSS 3’s Quality Mode works well enough, thankfully.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t really mess around with the online co-op, which is the main attraction of any Orcs Must Die! title. While the solo component is robust enough, you’ll have the most fun playing with others, so keep that in mind. It’s also worth noting that I couldn’t save a run and exit, picking up where I left off. Perhaps the option will be available at launch, but considering that runs can take an hour or more while solo, it would be appreciated.

Despite its rogue-lite machinations, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap sticks to what makes the series work – setting up elaborate kill boxes and slaying Orcs by the dozens, ideally with friends. I would have liked some kind of Classic Mode for that old-school experience, but what’s here can be quite fun. Here’s hoping for further optimizations to the grind for Threads, skill tree points, and trap upgrades to make them more palatable alongside more quality-of-life features and rogue-lite essentials.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Orcs Must DIe! Deathtrap will launch on January 28, Robot Entertainment has announced with a new gameplay trailer, which you can check out below. The trailer also showcases new gameplay footage, plenty of which shows familiar tower defense action that fans of the series will recognize. Meanwhile, new features such as War Mages, new roguelike progression mechanics, and more. You can check out the trailer below. 

Upon its launch next month, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap will be available on Xbox Series X/S and PC. When (or if) we can expect a PlayStation 5 launch remains to be seen, though Robot Entertainment has yet to announce anything on that front.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap will introduce a number of major mechanics and systems that will be entirely new to the series. That will include four player co-op and new roguelike progression mechanics, in addition to several new playable characters with their own unique sets of abilities. Beyond that, you can also expect improvements to the physics and visuals, as well as to the combat, among other enhancements.

“We are thrilled to unveil the latest instalment in the Orcs Must Die! franchise,” says Robot Entertainment co-founder and CEO Patrick Hudson. “Our goal has always been to push the boundaries of fun and creativity. With Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, we embraced the challenge of innovating within a thirteen-year-old franchise by listening closely to our fans and their requests. We’ve stayed true to the classic chaotic action and light-hearted tone, while introducing four-player co-op, new and versatile heroes with deeply unique abilities, expanded level variety, and new roguelite progression choices. This game is all about delivering the most exhilarating orc-slaying experience yet.”

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is due out in early 2025, and will release only for Xbox Series X/S and PC. There’s no word on whether Robot Entertainment also plans on bringing the game to additional platforms down the road. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks and months. 

While Orcs Must Die! 3 has been playable on a PS5 so far thanks to backwards compatibility with the PS4 version, the official native release now makes use of some PS5 features, including improved visuals, faster loading times, and cross-gen multiplayer support.

Orcs Must Die! 3 is, as its name might imply, the third game in the Orcs Must Die! franchise. The games feature hordes of orcs that have to be fought off by players, with up to one friend being able to join in for co-op. The third game in the franchise adds more weapons, more traps to lay, and more orcs to fight. It also features a brand new story, set more than 20 years after the events of Orcs Must Die! 2. New features in the game include War Scenarios, which are battles on a massive scale.

Orcs Must Die! 3 was originally released exclusively on Google Stadia. Eventually, it made its way to PC, PS4, and Xbox One. In our review for Orcs Must Die! 3, we gave it a 7/10. Read the full review to find out more.

It was announced at E3 last month that Orcs Must Die! 3 would be launching for PS4, Xbox One, and PC soon, and the game is out now for the platforms. It’s also playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, of course, via backward compatibility. A launch trailer of the game shows off plenty of gameplay footage, focusing on the many different kinds of beasts you’ll be fighting, and the various devious tools you’ll be using for that purpose. Check it out below.

In our review of Orcs Must Die! 3 last year, we awarded it a score of 7/10, saying, “Despite some hitches in its structure and similar levels, new additions to the orc killing formula make Orcs Must Die! 3 as fun as the series has ever been.” You can read our full review through here.

At the E3 2021 PC Gaming Show, developer Robot Entertainment confirmed that Orcs Must Die! 3 will be releasing for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on July 23. It will also be playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S via backward compatibility, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to get a native release there. The announcement was followed by a developer interview as well, which covered some of the headlining features of the title, as well as how it improves upon previous games in the series. Check it out below.

In our review of the game, we awarded Orcs Must Die! 3 a score of 7/10, saying, “Despite some hitches in its structure and similar levels, new additions to the orc killing formula make Orcs Must Die! 3 as fun as the series has ever been.” You can read our full review through here.

Anyone familiar with the series will instantly recognize Orcs Must Die! 3’s third-person tower defense gameplay. The orcs’ only mission is to enter a rift located somewhere central to the level, and if a certain number of orcs enter that rift over the course of multiple waves, you lose. Before every wave, you’re given time to place traps and weapons around the map in the hopes of killing every orc that enters your vicinity. You begin with access to simple spike traps and wall-mounted arrow launchers, but over time your arsenal expands with a lot of variation.

"More so than any of the past games, Orcs Must Die! 3 takes the orc killing gameplay the series prides itself upon and turns it up a few notches by increasing the number of ways that you can approach its tower defense, alongside implementing impressive new War Scenarios that see you killing hundreds of orcs at once."

Naturally, you hope to place traps in locations that can take out as many orcs as possible, so you might place an arrow launcher on a corner wall that every orc has to pass and a spike trap in front of the door they enter from. What becomes impressive is how much your defenses get beefed up by the time you reach later waves of a level and how different this can be on different runs, especially when you have access to traps that can work with each other. With the money you earn from killing orcs, you can place more traps and kill orcs more efficiently. Over time, this means that a hallway that might have one or two traps in wave one will become a satisfyingly effective hallway from hell for any orc that tries to pass through by wave seven.

The other side of gameplay is seeing what the traps can do while the orcs are invading. Whichever orcs your traps can’t catch are on you to clean up. Through the story, which is set 20 years after the last game but still boils down to voice overs that give you more reasons to kill orcs, you’re given the choice to play as a Sorceress or a War Mage, each of which has their own unique weapon. I played as the War Mage, whose weapon is a magic bow, though I mostly converted to the Blunderbuss because no orc is immune to a headshot from a shotgun. The time during the invasion is a bit of a double-edged sword. Seeing the results of your trap strategies is the reward that everything culminates to, especially in later levels when you can watch dozens of orcs be taken out in seconds. When you have to take over, though, it becomes a mostly average third-person shooter. While it’s definitely enjoyable to use your weapon to wound enemies, it’s most fun when you can do it in tandem with other traps. When you’re left fighting on your own with no help, the game’s cracks begin to show as it moves away from its strengths.

The biggest addition to Orcs Must Die! 3 is War Scenarios, a new type of tower defense level that’s everything great about the base gameplay on steroids. These are story-based levels where you fight literal hundreds of orcs attacking your base and must find ways to kill each and every one of them. To do so, you’re given a special arsenal of tools that aren’t available during regular levels, including explosive barrel launchers, legions of archers, and giant flip traps.

"While it’s definitely enjoyable to use your weapon to wound enemies, it’s most fun when you can do it in tandem with other traps. When you’re left fighting on your own with no help, the game’s cracks begin to show as it moves away from its strengths."

Though I wish these could’ve been placed indoors to balance out their usefulness when enemies reach the main rooms, each of these War Machines can satisfyingly kill a huge number of orcs in a single go, and it’s good that they do because there can be an overwhelming number of orcs if you’re not prepared. The environments for these are generally much larger, and they give you much more money to spend. While they can be a lot to wrap your head around at first, these War Scenarios were highlights because they’re basic expansions of the game’s core strengths. Though there is a tendency to sit in the barrel launcher during the invasion, as it’s the best active weapon you have, seeing an army of hundreds being whittled down never got old and almost made going back to normal levels disappointing because they had a fraction of the scale.

The orcs themselves have enough diversity to keep things feeling fresh throughout. As you become stronger, you’re introduced to bigger enemies like heavy orcs, ogres, and trolls. While they can be annoying bullet sponges, they’re worthy foes. All enemies, though, can be surprisingly dumb at points. While they only have one goal, it’s amazing how easily they can be redirected. Many levels have multiple paths to the rift, but placing barricades in the way of one makes the hordes reroute to the open path, even if destroying the barricades would be much shorter. The orcs don’t take their imminent deaths too seriously, though, as the entire game is filled with a jovial tone. Everything is infused with cartoonishly fluid animation, and the art style complements the lightheartedness well. Orcs have small one-liners about their mission or even a trap they’re caught in, and your player quips back at them often.

Environments, especially in the non-War Scenario sections, are a bit less diverse. They usually feel like similar castle areas with the same walls and structures, though more complex levels have more verticality and complexity in their designs to make them more interesting for strategically setting traps. This is especially evident in the Endless Mode, where you can take full advantage of every nook and cranny of each level if you get far enough. When it comes to the 18 story missions, though, one major drawback inherent in the game’s structure is the way it handles failure.

"The orcs themselves have enough diversity to keep things feeling fresh throughout."

Defeats usually happen in the later waves of each level, since they’re the most prone to having trap strategies proven weak, but it often feels devastating to have to restart the entire level after a failure, especially when you’re in late waves and have solid trap placements that you can’t get back. Most War Scenarios, too, end with a special boss-like named enemy who have a special ability, such as being able to disable traps or going after barricades, and they can completely disrupt your strategy without warning. Despite being interesting final-wave game changers, the bosses coming without any pre-wave notice feels like a cheap way to render your entire strategy useless and often were reasons for my failure on the last leg of War Scenarios my first time around.

Orcs Must Die! 3 doesn’t hide anything. From the get-go, its focus is on giving you the platform to kill as many orcs as possible with the tools available. It does this as efficiently and satisfyingly as the series ever has, and the addition of War Scenarios amplifies the scale and exponentially increases the number of ways you can take out orcs. While the gameplay of setting traps and seeing their results is much better than the third-person shooter it can become, it never gets old to take down entire waves of orcs, regardless of method. Much of what makes Orcs Must Die! 3 good remains from the previous games, but it’s still the best on the market for killing immeasurable numbers of orcs in grand fashion.

This game was reviewed on Stadia.

"Eventually, we will bring the game to other platforms, but for now we are working hard to deliver a fantastic experience on Stadia."

Why did you decide to launch Orcs Must Die! 3 as a Stadia exclusive?

We were asked this question a lot when the game was first announced.

We would have waited longer to make a decision on developing Orcs Must Die 3. Google was extremely supportive and anxious to get Orcs Must Die 3 on Stadia early.

Eventually, we will bring the game to other platforms, but for now we are working hard to deliver a fantastic experience on Stadia.

Is the Stadia’s cloud-powered nature something Orcs Must Die! 3 uses to its advantage from a game design perspective?

Making sure everyone gets to experience the war scenarios the same way regardless of their machine is the advantage here. As soon as we decided how much we could push the enemy army size it was nice to know that everyone would get to fight the same army. It’s pretty cool to think that as long as you have an internet connection you can play any of the games on Stadia exactly as they are intended to be seen and played.

It’s been a while since Orcs Must Die! 2 came out- given the gap between it and the upcoming sequel, what are the biggest leaps the game has made in terms of not only visuals, but also gameplay mechanics?

War scenarios & war machines are a pretty big leap in gameplay since OMD 2. The look & feel of the war scenarios is different as soon as it starts. Noticing you are outside of an Order fortress and on a giant battlefield will instantly let players know that the scale is amped up in a war scenario. The UI will change a bit at the start of a war scenario to allow players to use the war machine loadout bar.

The story and storytelling have moved forward quite a bit too. We have fully animated, in game cinematics in OMD 3. The story jumps ahead 20+ years after OMD 2 and our story fans are always happy to see how things are progressing or changing in our world.

On the art side, it’s obviously a brand-new engine. Orcs Must Die! and Orcs Must Die! 2 were developed on a now defunct game engine. Orcs Must Die! 3 is developed in Unreal Engine 4. So everything graphically is modern: higher fidelity characters, larger and more detailed textures, etc. We hope players agree that it’s a more vibrant and richer look.

"It’s pretty cool to think that as long as you have an internet connection you can play any of the games on Stadia exactly as they are intended to be seen and played."

Can you talk about the new War Machines, and how they change the flow of battles?

As for the war machines, in almost all cases they are much bigger than traps OMD2 players will remember. Players will also be able to mount some of them and control them during the battles. They are meant to control larger armies which is what you will be facing. In war scenarios, a single wave might pit the player against as many enemy’s as an entire scenario of waves from OMD 2.

To answer the “flow” of battles question I would say players need to balance a couple different things in war scenarios pertaining to war machines.

One is just the economy between spending money on war machines versus “regular” traps. Regular traps can be placed inside fortresses and outside on the battlefields. War machines can only be placed outside of the Order fortresses. The war machines can be fairly expensive.

Not all war machines are mountable but there is a little bit of a balancing act when comes to how much time to spend in a mountable war machine versus running around on the battlefield (or inside the fortress) fighting hand-to-hand or ranged. In other words, staying mounted in a powerful war machine might seem like a good idea but you have to know when to get out and take care of other “problems”. The opposite is true as well. Leaving your war machines too soon can be equally as detrimental.

At some point the army is going to threaten the gates that keep the bad guys outside of the fortress. The balance between moving inside the fortress and setting up in preparation for losing your gates is also crucial.

War Scenarios seem like the biggest and most exciting new addition in Orcs Must Die! 3, and so far, it definitely seems like they’re going to be highlights of the game. Can you tell our readers a bit more about what these are and what role they will play in the game?

Well, I sort of look at the war scenarios as “Boss Scenarios”. Not because there is some traditional “Boss-fight” in them (although there are named enemies in the war scenarios to deal with) but because the war scenarios feel like special milestones to reach and conquer as you play through the campaign. They are also a big part of the story. As players go through the story/campaign they will learn more about why they are dealing with armies they have never dealt with before.

Enemy variety is something Orcs Must Die games always excel in. With that in mind, what can players from new types of orcs being introduced in Orcs Must Die! 3?

Well, fans can always count on the fact the orcs will be orcs when it comes to OMD games. They have not gotten any smarter over the years. That said, there is a big variety of enemies new and old. That includes some new “named” enemies as well as a new race (not in OMD 1 or 2) that provide slightly different challenges when trying to beat scenarios.

"Fans can always count on the fact the orcs will be orcs when it comes to OMD games. They have not gotten any smarter over the years. That said, there is a big variety of enemies new and old."

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of Orcs Must Die! 3 be?

For the campaign alone I would say the average player will need 10 to 12 hours to knock it out. That can vary based on difficulty setting and skill level of course.

As seasoned OMD fans know we have a 1 to 5-skull rating system for scenarios. The time it takes players to 5-skull the entire campaign can vary a lot. Traditionally players like to 5-skull all the levels. The playtime can increase a lot if you are a completionist at heart.

There is also an Endless mode so in the end, amount of playtime you are able to experience in OMD games can technically go from 10 to 1000 hours.

What are your plans for the game’s post-launch support as far as new content or updates are concerned?

I can’t give away too many details here, but Robot is committed to OMD3 in the form of releasing updates and future content.

Stadia’s promise of massive, large-scale games driven by the cloud is an exciting one, but how long do you think it will be before that promise is fully realized? Are we going to see that manifest in Orcs Must Die! 3 itself as well?

Terms like massive and large scale can mean different things to players. When it comes to OMD 3, I think we are definitely going to scratch the surface with the large-scale army sizes in our war scenarios. That said, OMD 3 is primarily a single player or coop experience.

Not sure I can speculate on how long it might take to fully realize the potential of cloud gaming. I am sure Stadia has a few things up their sleeves and the game industry can move pretty fast.

It was inevitable that as Google entered the market with their upcoming cloud-based service that exclusives would be coming. One game you probably didn’t see coming was the revival of Orc Must Die! The orc battling adventure title is coming to the service with Orcs Must Die! 3, and it’s bringing a lot of orcs.

The game was announced at Gamescom with a new trailer that you can see below. The series has largely been absent since Orc Must Die: Unchained that released on consoles. Here the game wants to give a real stress test to Stadia by having a ton of orcs for you to slaughter on screen at once in the tower defense style game, up to 500 in fact. While the situations are not exactly the same, it’ll be curious to see if the reaction to exclusives on Stadia is quite the same as the Epic Games Store.

Orcs Must Die! 3 will release in Spring 2020 exclusively on the Stadia service. At this time no other platforms were discussed or how long that exclusive window will be.

https://youtu.be/TpaOvMK5KYU