Review

Orcs Must Die!

If you are looking for a game with an in-depth story and varying goals you should probably look elsewhere. If, however, you’re in the market for some good fun splattering orcs in varying ways with action-y tower defense gameplay, then your search is over. It’s like Plants vs. Zombies and World of Warcraft had a baby and named it Orcs Must Die!

The goal is simple: kill all the orcs before they reach the rift portal at the end of the hallway. If too many orcs get through or you die too many times, you loose. Orcs come in multiple waves with short breathing breaks in between to allow for further planning. There are several tools in your spellbook that you can choose from at the beginning of each level. Each spell costs money and more money is earned by killing orcs and surviving waves.

“But how do I kill orcs?” you ask? Well, that’s the fun part. Any way you like! There are many traps available to set up strategically in hallways much like in a traditional tower defense game. Anything from floor spikes to wall grinders. But there’s also the option to get your hands dirty and sling some spells yourself. Sometimes it’s necessary, but not always. It’s the choice that I like and what sets Orcs Must Die! apart from other tower defense games out there. If the enemy is coming from two directions at once you can set traps on one side while you face the other with a barrage of your fireballs and swordplay. Or you can set some traps on each side and run from one to the other shooting arrows like a blind maniac (my preferred method). The ability to set more traps during all this chaos also adds to the action and fun.

While I appreciate the fact that you can choose to switch up strategies, the game’s levels rarely actually force you to. Not as much as I’d like, anyway. I was stuck in my ways during most of my playthrough. To the point of totally ignoring new traps I had earned. However, later in the game, something called Weavers are unlocked to help vary the play style. They are essentially talent trees that can boost traps or your character’s skills. Only one of the three trees can be chosen each level and each skill will cost money to unlock. At first, I dismissed them as a waste of money best spent on more spike traps but eventually found them key to beating the later levels with tougher enemies.

Each stage comes in different varieties of “castle hallway”. With that said, there’s still enough variation to keep things fresh and interesting. Though, I think the developer really missed out by not adding a custom level creator. The game would lend itself well to one. I know I’d dig it. Even without one there is plenty of replay value with three difficulty choices, achievements, and leaderboards.

By combining third person action with a tower defense game’s strategy Robot Entertainment has made a fun game that crosses genres and interests. I’m no fan of the traditional tower defense genre but Orcs Must Die! successfully mixes things up and makes it entertaining.