With a multitude of trap types and upgrades possible, alongside specific buffs for those traps which can be switched on and off at will, again nothing is left aside in Orcs 3. There’s a serious amount of replayability found in what Robot Entertainment have created and due to the fact that all levels can be tackled in a variety of ways, there’s rarely the feel of any grind. In order to nail the big 5/5 Skulls, expect to have to drop back into each stage time and time again, tweaking your strategies as you go. The amount of Skulls you’ll gather up for each level is dictated by how well you’ve guarded your Rift – just manage to scrape through and expect a lower reward than if your tactical calls work from the get-go. Selling gear when it’s not required (or you’ve realised it’s been placed incorrectly) recoups some cash too.Ĭomplete a stage and you’ll be rewarded with Skulls, which in turn can be used to buy new equipment for future levels. But similarly, traps can only be placed if you can afford them, with in-game coinage picked up for each and every death you dish out, building your bankroll and allowing for further trap placement. Of course, your hero comes with a health bar and mana bar attached, and so keeping an eye on these levels is critical to success. You’ll need to as well, as the traps alone will not be sufficient to push back the Orc hordes. It’s here where placement of traps is key, but this is no standard tower defense title from years gone by and the ‘action’ moniker that is attached to it allows for you to take direct control of your defenders, utilising melee and ranged combat too. Lose all points and you’ll forever find failure. For each attacker who finds their way into your Rift, a single point is lost.

Success in Orcs 3 comes in the form of saving your Rift from oncomers (mostly Orcs but occasionally other wannabe rift takers), batting them back the best you can. If you want to go deeper though, Acid Geysers, Boom Barrels, Ceiling Pounders and more – Orcs 3 runs some 60+ trap, trinket and weapon types – are all viable options. Sticking with the tried and trusted methods that revolve around Spike Traps, Arrow Walls, Gravity Pillars and Guardian Archers is enough to see you through the majority of what Orcs Must Die! 3 has. For us, these break up the flow too much and the new level-specific War Machine equipment that is thrown out is barely worth using – mostly as it’s too expensive to properly utilise. Sprinkled into the campaign are some further grander scale War Scenarios, introducing players to new ideas and larger levels. Well, as easy as can be when each round throws more and more opponents into the mix. Each of the stages are also split up into multiple waves and whilst the opening throes of each are tricky to navigate, once you start getting traps in place and working out the route your foes will take, each stage slowly gets easier. The main campaign is a deep one, some 18 levels in length, accompanied by the Drastic Steps second offering alongside it. The basic premise has you taking charge of a singular hero – although multiplayer options are also present – before being given time to survey the scene, understand the area you are in, and plan any Orc-destroying strategy and tactics that will need to be delivered for success, dropping down the traps in your armoury in hope that they’ll do the job intended of them. We’re not overegging how great the fast and frantic, utterly smooth gameplay of Orcs 3 is it really is so good that through our time with the game we’ve hardly been left wanting.

Orcs must die 3 characters