Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap Steam Charts & Stats

I’ve never played any of the Orcs Must Die! games before this one, so I’m reviewing Deathtrap as a standalone—and I’m loving it. The roguelike elements are great, the different characters keep things interesting, and planning traps with my husband is one of the best parts. It’s strategic, rewarding, and a lot of fun in co-op. I also appreciate the option to make things harder when we want a challenge. So far, I haven’t run into anything I’d change. It delivers exactly what it promises: solid tower defense mixed with action and roguelike mechanics. It’s polished, fun, and addictive. And about the mixed reviews… I honestly don’t get the negativity. Maybe it’s from people expecting something different based on the earlier games, but coming in fresh, Deathtrap feels like a hidden gem. If you enjoy strategy, traps, or co-op gameplay, it’s definitely worth your time.

Like it - 6.5/10 Aside from having to watch 2 tutorial videos just to start playing the game... (cough cough Should be optional cough cough) it's more fun then the previous games. They added quite a few things. I highly recommend playing one mission with each character, heads up... Mac sucks.

The last Orcs Must Die (OMD) I played, was OMD2. This is a fun successor and I am enjoying it, even though it is a little different than before (which is fine). So, would I recommend it? I would! It's a fun tower defense game :-)

Its fine... I guess. The lack of campaign or any sort of direction outside of "here, play some maps" really kills any motivation to play.

I have played the other games and I was hesitant to purchase this one due to the mixed reviews, however I saw some solid updates implemented and it looked like the game was in a better state than at launch, so I grabbed it and after playing a few runs have decided that I do like it. OMD3 never felt great to me and I'm just starting with this one, but I like the roguelike feel and the abilities of the various characters are pretty neat. So far I like the game and would recommend it if you like the series or action tower defense. I don't get the feeling of joy from the map layouts as I did in OMD2, but it is a very pretty game with an art style that I really enjoy and the levels are ok, but feel kind of restrictive are far as playing with what traps you want to. But there is an upgrade system and lots of things to unlock for future runs, so I'm not too bothered by that yet. It feels like a solid game in the series to me and I appreciate the turn toward 4 player coop and roguelike.

I was hoping for OMD4. This is not it. Hopefully this is just a filler game until a proper OMD4 can be released.

I wish there was a neutral review. I don't want to say yes, I don't want to say no. But I respect the attempt to branch out and try something new, so I'll put it on positive. Can the game be fun? I'm sure of it. It's still OMD. It's still orc killing goodness. With some more time I'm sure it will get more fun. Though I haven't put too much time into the game yet but my first impressions are very clear. I'm an avid fan of the OMD series with 60+ hours in each game, having completed on max difficulty multiple times. And MAN am I missing some introduction. You start off with a dozen traps, dozen enemies and maps that make my brain hurt. It's big, open, difficult to make fun trap combinations or kill boxes and it is just.. so.. much. The maps are huge and mostly open. No walls, no roofs. Just floor traps, which are barely effective because the space is so big. The only small corridors are stairs where you can't place them. Floor traps are also significantly more expensive (spikes being 800 instead of 300), though income is higher. With the lack of a simple introduction having a few traps and a small area, even though I have so much experience, I felt so lost. I feel a lack of progression being thrown in with so much stuff against so much stuff. Also your starting traps don't match the starting levels (wall traps without walls, ceiling traps without ceilings, etc) but this is more a level design issue. The missions are also very long without an option to save. Starting a full run means either playing for 1+ hour. Enemies have different hp scalings than I'm used to. Those trolls are dead in 4 hits while earth elementals take an incredible beating. It all went from being VERY easy to handle to being overwhelmed in one wave. I don't understand why quite yet. This is something to get used to but it amplifies that lost feeling. I think if the current starting point later on after a few levels it would've been fine. Now I just feel like joining a new survival game world where your friends already passed the early game, you know? I'm sure I'll have much more fun later on.

I was disappointed at the end of playtest when the studio explained that this wasn't just a small preview of gameplay but actually the whole gameplay, so I didn't buy this at release. I now bought it at discount because I was bored lately, but after playing for 100minutes I kind of already regret and it am considering to refund the game and buy OMD3 instead on PC. No proper progress, no campaign, almost no story except "we found 3 new strong guys, go kill them". Most characters look ugly and I'm not even talking about Wren - which might become the ugliest ingame character of 2025 - but also formerly attractive/cool looking chars like Max and Gabby, they now just look bad. The whole game also suffers from nowadays common blurriness of unreal games due to TAA and Bloom. OMD3 and OMDU are both infinitely better than this OMDD. If we base the price off the game quality and compare OMD3 with OMDD, OMDD is worth 15$ at best. The amount of action/entertainment per unit of time is approximately one third of OMDU and less than half of OMD3. Big maps are great, but it just sucks if it makes all waves take 2-3x as long as we are used to from OMD3. In addition to that, they removed one of the best features of OMD: environmental traps/effects/tools. Also, what's the point of huge maps if there is no endless mode. The only thing that makes me want to play again is to test out the new types of organic traps, but I feel like it's not worth it just for that.

Same game, just a little grindier and no story progression.

A Disappointing Step Backward for a Series I Love I grew up playing Orcs Must Die! with my dad, and we spent hours solving puzzles, laughing, and finding creative ways to beat the maps. It was a core memory — full of fun, strategy, and discovery. That’s why it really pains me to say this entry in the series just doesn’t hold up. Character Variety and Gameplay Repetition One of the big issues is how all the characters feel too similar. You're locked into specific characters, and even though the devs recently added movement abilities to everyone (which is a welcome addition), it ends up making them feel repetitive and less distinct. There’s no real reason to switch up your character other than cosmetics or stats, and that hurts replayability. The game quickly becomes repetitive. In past entries, each map felt like a new puzzle — a fresh opportunity to play your way, whether that was aggressive and trap-heavy or smart and efficient. Now, it's the same traps, the same layouts, and the same characters — just cranked up in difficulty. It loses that sense of creativity and personal play style. Roguelike Elements Fall Flat The “Threads” system and mid-round challenges were supposed to freshen things up, but they rarely feel meaningful. Upgrades are mostly random and don’t synergize well, so you don’t get that satisfying "build moment" you’d expect in a roguelike. Think of a game like Hades where duo boons create exciting combos — Orcs Must Die! could really benefit from something like that to bring depth and surprise to each run. Traps and Environmental Design There also seems to be a lack of trap variety compared to previous games. I loved the concept of the new organic thorns — watching them grow is cool the first few times — but by the 50th time, it’s lost its charm. Maps themselves often feel unfinished. I found myself exploring between waves, reaching hidden areas or detailed spots that looked like they had potential, only to discover they were empty or inactive. For someone like me who enjoys finding secrets or exploring off-path areas, that was really disappointing. Character Progression Feels Rushed The idea of leveling up characters and helping others online is awesome, but it feels shallow right now. The character trees are tiny — 7 upgrades that you can get in just a few runs. That’s not progression, it’s just a checklist. On top of that, the upgrades are hit or miss, with many of them being barely noticeable or irrelevant. On Playing Karlos, the bear character, and I actually enjoyed him quite a bit. He felt unique, but not quite finished. His mobility is a serious issue, especially on solo maps with double rift locations or flying enemies. Even with the blink ability, he’s just too slow, and it leads to frustrating moments. A simple solution might be to increase the height of his right-click jump by 50%, and make it a charged ability — that way, it’s more functional and easier to use strategically. Suggested Changes and Improvements 1. Character Design & Diversity Increase character uniqueness: Expand abilities and passive traits to make each character feel more distinct in both playstyle and role. Improve movement abilities: Differentiate them more clearly between characters to prevent overlap and sameness. Expand character progression: Increase character talent trees to offer more meaningful, diverse upgrades (7 nodes is too limited). Improve progression pacing: Make talent trees longer-term with deeper choices, allowing players to gradually invest and specialize. 2. Game Variety & Replayability Increase map variety: Ensure each map offers different challenges, layouts, and solutions (as in previous games). Encourage multiple strategies: Support both aggressive and passive trap-centric playstyles rather than funneling players into one meta. Make difficulty scaling more dynamic: Instead of just increasing numbers, add new enemy behaviors, alternate map routes, or environmental hazards at higher difficulties. 3. Trap Design Expand the trap pool: Add more trap types to offer fresh tactical opportunities. Current selection feels limited compared to older titles. Add visual/audio variety to traps: Make trap activation effects more distinct and satisfying to keep gameplay feeling fresh. 4. Roguelike Systems ("Threads") Improve synergy in upgrade drops: Create interactions between upgrades (e.g. combo or "duo" effects like Hades) to build unique and powerful runs. Balance randomness with relevance: Ensure threads/upgrades are relevant to the character and build style in use. Make upgrades visually impactful: Reflect power increases through effects or cosmetic flair to keep upgrades satisfying. 5. Exploration & Map Design Reward off-path exploration: Add hidden chests, lore items, or bonus threads/upgrades in out-of-the-way areas. Activate or utilize unused map elements: Interactive environments (e.g. sentinel posts, high ground platforms) should feel purposeful rather than decorative. Add secrets and easter eggs: Lean into the fun of discovery, especially between waves or during downtime in solo play. 6. Character-Specific Feedback (Karlos) Improve Karlos’s mobility: Increase the height of his right-click jump by ~50% to reach critical paths more easily (especially on double-rift maps). Make the leap a chargeable ability so it can be timed intentionally and used for combos or traversal without spamming. Adjust solo performance balance: Ensure all characters, including Karlos, are viable in solo play across all maps — especially when dealing with fast or flying enemies Final Thoughts This game has good bones — you can feel the effort to evolve the franchise — but right now, it feels incomplete and lacking polish. As someone who has deep nostalgia for the series, it’s disheartening to see a game that could have been amazing end up feeling rushed and repetitive. I hope the devs take the feedback to heart, because the core concept still has huge potential.