Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap preview: new traps, powerful skills, and unbelievably massive orcs

“We want people who have been fans of this series for a long time to not feel like we left them behind”

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap / Robot Entertainment

Robot Entertainment’s colorful tower defense sequel quadruples the carnage with four-player co-op. But for Kyle Snyder, game director at Robot Entertainment, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap still gives solo players plenty to love - like a new trap that snags foes on a fishing hook.

“So it shoots down hooks and brings them back and they’re hanging down from that. We make all these spots where you could put it over the ocean on certain levels, and it hangs them. They get grabbed off the level and then just dropped right into the drink.”

• Read more: Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is coming to PC and Xbox Series X|S in 2025
  
  

The series’ first-ever modular trap comes in the form of a buildable track hosting a cavorting minecart that runs straight through enemies and knocks them off their routes with a thunderous thud. Staple traps meanwhile make a return: spiked floors slow enemies, while arrow walls shoot out dangerous projectiles.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap / Robot Entertainment

Like all three previous Orcs Must Die! games dating back to 2011, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is playable solo and in two-player co-op. The core concept is still laying traps to take out waves of fairytale foes and battering the rest by getting your hands dirty with third-person combat. But my hands-on session in the new four-player mode reveals a horde of balance changes that improve the experience.

For instance, traps have been massively reworked. Now they dish out more pain than ever, doubling and sometimes tripling the damage your character does. That means they carry a higher level of importance. Finding the right combination of traps helps keep the orc onslaught low and your damage output high. 

Because traps are more important, the developers have given you more places to put them, whether it’s the floor, walls, or ceiling. “We’ve made these larger levels,” says Snyder. “As you get better and you improve, you can start just painting the map with traps, because you earn more and more coins by getting those combos.”

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap / Robot Entertainment

It matters more than ever where you put your traps, and when you do so. There’s no point placing a bunch of traps that suspend enemies in mid-air if your buddy hasn’t got any coins left to purchase a trap that will damage them while they’re there. Synergy is key.

That’s not to say third-person combat is reduced. Mopping up mobs while traps do the work was arguably the weakest part of the series, but in Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, enhanced spectacle makes you want to wade in and get your hands dirty. 

Several classes each come with multiple unique moves and a screen-wiping ultimate ability. My character can trace a glowing blue line on the ground and incinerate any enemy currently in contact with it. Another ability comes in the form of a controllable arrow guided like a remote missile. One class can even temporarily conjure three clones of themselves to triple their damage.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap / Robot Entertainment

Unlockable powers mean the more you play, the better your character becomes. By returning to your castle hub after battle, you can spend currency to level up your hero, improve your weapons, and bolster traps. This incentivizes sticking with your chosen role and learning the best way to play them, which is critical in four-player co-op. 

• Read more: The best co-op games to play in 2024

The challenge ramps up when four players enter the fray. More waves of intensifying orcs stream from a greater number of entrances. Environmental factors like weather and time of day, meanwhile, promise to alter your strategy, but they aren’t present in my preview build.

You’ll need every tactic you can think of to hold out against a greater enemy sizes. That goes for both their number and their sheer bulk. Some of them are as big as buses, and require all four players to team up and target them. Teamwork is in your best interest - if one player falls, it gets progressively harder.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap / Robot Entertainment

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is a surprisingly harsh game. Despite its charming visuals, the game punishes you. You can make it even harder by using the new all-or-nothing mechanic that lets you stake all the currency you just won in a new game which, if you lose, robs you of everything. Players can vote whether or not to take the risk.

Solo isn’t part of my hands-on, but Synder says balance is a core concern. “Not only do we do health and damage differences, but there are enemy changes when you play solo. Even the pacing of the waves is different.” In four-player mode, you’ll get assaulted from multiple entrances simultaneously; in single-player, they’ll come from fewer places, and there are fewer enemies to deal with overall.

“We want people who have been fans of this series for a long time to not feel like we left them behind by shifting to a full multiplayer focus,” says Snyder. “So we’re actually doing more than ever to balance this game around being able to play solo.”

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap / Robot Entertainment

Robot Entertainment’s fourth game in the series offers more of everything: more traps, more skills, and more enemies to grind into meaty chunks. 

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap releases in early 2025 on Xbox Series X|S and PC.