Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap to continue killing Orcs in 2025 with new co-op thrills and roguelite progression

rockpapershotgun.com:

Back in 2011, Robot Entertainment released tower defender Orcs Must Die!, adding an exclamation mark to spark some urgency and also, irritate anybody who has to write about video games for a living, though not as much as the absolute maniacs behind Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. Evidently, players did not sufficiently meet their demand for wanton Orc-massacring, for Robot were forced to release two sequels, which I personally would have titled Orcs Must Die!! and Orcs Must Die!!! or perhaps Orcs Must Die!!?, to indicate a mounting existential crisis.

Now, Robot have stepped things up by announcing Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, a newly roguelite, four-player spin on the goblin-farming formula, whose subheading throws bumbling Orc murderers a bone by specifying that you might try building a trap of some kind, a deathtrap possibly. Please find below a suspiciously innocent trailer, which I promise you isn't covering a wall of arrow launchers or similar.

According to monsieur press release, Deathtrap "stays true to the beloved humor, personality, and charm of the series". We can expect "witty orc chatter", "over-the-top physics" and "a strong guitar- and drum-heavy soundtrack".

They're also promising randomised buffs and debuffs for heroes, traps, weapons, stats and levels. Weather and time of day will further influence the odds. As for the roguelike stuff, you can choose to push forward against the hordes, stacking buffs and debuffs, or return to your castle hub to spend some points on persistent progression. The combat has apparently been tightened up, with a perspective and controls that remind me of Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare.

It certainly sounds like an advance upon the first Orcs Must Die!, which Alec Meer (RPS in peace) described as "about as good-natured a game as I've played this year: a one trick pony that makes the absolute best of what's a very good trick indeed."

Alec was less keen on the second game, noting that it "does share its predecessor's sins as well