Fatalism of the Orcs

I largely don't review games I consider good until I have completed them. I think Orcs Must Die is good, but I also don't think it's worth finishing. That's an odd paradox.

OMD is probably my favorite of the hybrid shooter/tower defense games to come out in 2011. Dungeon Defenders is considerably better looking in some ways (admittedly, the art style is worse, but that's an aesthetic choice) but the game is so damn boring and grindy, with this weird slippery feel to the game world. Sanctum is just worse in every respect other than having multiplayer - it's weird looking, aim intensive and lacks a satisfying feeling that conveys the effectiveness of your toys. OMD's shooting is less aim intensive more action than Sanctum and its traps feel far more satisfying.

It may seem a little weird to comment that a shooting / tower defensive hybrid is too aim intensive, but that's just the thing: You're not playing just a shooter. Having to line up perfect, weak point shots in Sanctum is the wrong type of gameplay, as you want to be observing the performance of your maze and your towers, not just shooting things. The end result if Sanctum is a bad shooter and a bad tower defense game, while OMD is a sloppy but satisfying shooter and a good tower defense game.

In fact, the core gameplay is almost spot on in every regard, except for two main problems.

The biggest, hugest problem with the game is it simply lacks the deeper polish that makes most tower defense games enjoyable in the long term. Each level represents a logical problem that needs to be deconstructed to effectively defeat, with multiple solutions based on the myriad of combinations. OMD really suffers in this regard. It has no ability to save your progress on any level, which chokes replay value.

I don't necessarily mean I want a rewind key. The game lacks the ability to save any concept of trap positioning, or let alone which traps you selected. You need to reselect your entire menu of traps each and every single time you restart a map. Accidents happen, mistakes are made, and the game punishes you severely for it. Even more ridiculous is how many things can't be reset once you've begun. Selection of the bonus powers talent tree can not be reset from within a map, you have to restart the entire level, repeating the entire stupid process. Again, and again, and again.

The menus and powers involved are mostly solid though. The menus are a delight to go through, with lots of personality and it is pretty quick. It's pretty evident that the developers completed this process over and over again, but it becomes a serious question of how they didn't fucking notice how unbelievably irritating not being able to save load outs is. It's baffling. In games where the load out screen is shitty (like, say, Mass Effect) you would actually just stop playing if they tried to make you build a new load out every single battle.

Traps, as an extension of this, are really satisfying. Unlike most tower defense games, OMD has few abilities you won't enjoy deploying. Picking traps is actually somewhat difficult simply based on how they're all good, all fun and all interesting. The game is a huge success on that angle, as opposed to like Sanctum where they're blocks I barely even notice doing anything. The various combat abilities are all delightful as well; Orcs are hurled, blasted, exploded, frozen and burnt in ways that while violent, are cheerful enough it doesn't feel especially grimdark. The game is colorful and gibtastic, with a delightfully nonchalant style to the whole matter.

However, getting back to the core problems, the game suffers from some seriously awful level design. The levels are weird, nonsensical constructs that have really nothing to do with being anything outside weird lines. Because of this, you really wonder why they bothered to make it an indoor castle thing and not something more of a say, fantasy reality.

But the real problem is that the levels work against the game's gameplay. While running multiple paths and different enemies types allows for a deepening game plan, after a while the game just start vomiting nonsense at you with multiple doors, confusing maps and overall irritation that gets away from the gibbing. Instead of spending my time enjoying the showers of gore, I'm instead running around, quickly putting up traps without planning and restarting maps because there is no manner of predicting where traps should go.

Trial and error gameplay is fine - In fact, you could argue Defense Grid the "Best" TD game has tons of it - but not when you're forced to spend minutes rebuild your interface and traps every single time you want to reconsider your plan. There's so little information presented, as well, that you are forced to trial and error through it. Couple the two together and while it's fun to limp over the finish line the first time you finish a level, several of the later levels just become too chorelike to bother replaying.

The worst part of this is the game always feel like it ends right after you've "solved" the puzzle. There is no satisfying part where the game slams you with massive enemy waves that your carefully assembled defenses pick apart - Instead, once you've crossed the basic "finish line" you're done. Maybe it's different on the highest difficulty, but I haven't read that and I'm not going to drag myself through the off last level just to discover the higher difficulty is even less enjoyable.

Like I said, this one of the few games I've really liked but have also found too much of a chore to finish. It's an odd contradiction to express but one that seems simple once you've played it. The gameplay is good. The game, on the other hand, has glaring holes in it that make it harder to recommend.

I'm gonna hold off on picking up the sequel til it's on sale, or til someone confirms me that the game's weird holes have been patched up.