One of the most recent franchises I’ve become invested in thanks to the Jingle Jam Games Collection is Orcs Must Die!. I found the third game to be an engaging time, with the tower defence gameplay offering some nice strategy across its campaign. A new game was shown off during Jingle Jam, with Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap offering more of what I enjoyed under a different progression system.

In starting, there’s a simple cutscene giving a brief overview of the story. An order of mages protect the rifts from the orcs, who have now split into factions. Each faction must be destroyed, with the head of each faction being who to aim for to sow chaos among the orcs. Six War Mages are ready to step into combat and bring the orcs down. Each of those War Mages is playable, with each having different skills on the field.

Some utilise long range attacks, while others go for close-quarters combat. Each also has a unique trap, one best suited for who they are. As I looked through all these characters, there was only one I could be choosing. The bloodthirsty feline, Sophie. Who wields two daggers for quick strikes against enemies. Has a passive ability that restores health on a critical hit, along with a trap that will guarantee critical hits if an orc is within range.

Going to the mission select, I had the choice of three maps. Each of the maps had a condition that would be active, such as special enemies appearing each wave. Or not being healed between waves. It means map selection isn’t the only thing to consider. There could be a map that I know a great strategy for, but if that condition is going to be too impactful on my run, then I’m avoiding it.

Appearing on the map, I was then able to move around, getting a feel for it, seeing the paths the orcs will take, and laying traps to whittle down their health. The traps I’m familiar with are all here, such as the spike trap, the saw blades, and the brimstone. Roast orc is on the menu again! Once I’d spent all the rune coins I had, I set my readiness and let the wave commence.

I was in the thick of battle, not letting the traps do all the work. And without any loss to the rift points, I’d cleared the first wave. And could select a thread. Threads are positive conditions that can improve traps or the War Mage for the duration of the run. Some do have negative effects along with a positive, so it’s up to me to decide whether I take such a negative for a greater positive. Which I haven’t ever done at present.

Getting through all six waves of mission one, it was onto mission two. Which I failed at. Completely overestimating just how many routes the orcs could take. Which is where the barricades would have been useful, but I wanted to test my abilities without them to start. With that fail, it was back to the fortress of the order, ready to prepare for another run to the faction leader.

And this is what I mean when I say Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap has a different progression than OMD3. Deathtrap is a roguelite, where failure is but a minor setback that allows improvements before another run. Exploring the fortress, there was someone who allowed improvements on a skill tree. Someone who allowed purchases of new traps. Someone who allowed upgrades to traps. And someone who allowed purchases of new threads.

All of that uses skulls, earnt through missions. Successfully completing one grants a golden skull, used to purchase new traps. Everything else uses the regular skulls, earnt from completing waves, dropped by enemies, or through threads. With each upgrade purchased, the cost of the next increases. As such, there’s plenty of runs needed to make things on the battlefield easier to manage.

After a fair few runs, I managed to reach the first faction leader. Which only required completion of two missions. Boss fights are a different beast compared to regular missions. There’s no pausing between waves, and legions of orcs are still trying to reach the rifts (yes, there can be more than one on a map). There’s a lot to be aware of, with so much action happening once I’d readied myself.

Somehow, I managed to beat the faction leader. With victory in hand, the run to the second faction leader could begin. This time with three missions before facing the boss fight. Though I managed to get to it after just a few runs, it wasn’t to be. Since I was so low on rift points by the time I got to it that the enemies were easily able to destroy the rift crystal I had to defend. At least I didn’t lose by getting killed, thus taking all the rift points out at once.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is a game that keeps me coming back. The tower defence gameplay is as strong as ever. Such gameplay fits perfectly into the roguelite genre. Combine that with some unique heroes to bring the assault directly to the enemy, and some great rockin’ music during battles, and it makes Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap an easy recommendation.

Images Taken From:
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap | Xbox Series S