Orcs Must Die! 3

Let’s hunt some orc

Those pesky orcs! Despite everything, they’re back for a third round of slaughter. No matter how many traps you strategically lay down or what direction you try and coax them in, a few stragglers are almost always bound to sneak into the rifts you’re assigned to protect. Luckily, young apprentices Egan and Kelsey are both equipped with a suite of tools and gear ideal for staving off the endless legions. Being successful in this endeavour is sometimes tough, yet never has doing so felt as creative or charming as it does in this fantasy threequel.

Trap types start out simple at first, ranging from piercing ground spikes to arrow walls that are handy for dealing damage over a great distance. Most will probably be familiar to series veterans. Eventually, though, you find yourself divvying up currency in ways that let you experiment with tactics further. Should you invest in gravity wells that send enemies up in the air, or would sticky tar tiles that can temporarily slow foes and buy you time be better? The layouts of all 18 maps might differ, yet Orcs Must Die! 3 does well to make choice just as powerful a weapon as any bow or blunderbuss.1 No scenario need ever play out the same twice.

The big feature this time around is what’s called War Scenarios. These are essentially larger-scale battles that take the tower defence action outside the castle.2 While good in theory, these levels being so open often makes managing the horde flow a bit of a chore, especially when compared to the more traditional compact mazes. Combine this with a couple of inconsistent difficulty spikes, and Orcs Must Die! 3 is a solid (if somewhat unsurprising) continuation of the strategic orc-slaying concept.

FOOTNOTES 1 Egan and Kelsey’s weapons can be upgraded. 2 War Scenarios see you get acquainted with bigger trap types like Flip Boards.