Slice, burn, toss, zap, grind and gib massive hordes of repugnant orcs in this long-awaited successor to the award-winning Orcs Must Die! series. War Scenarios introduce huge maps and deadly War Machines to help fend off the largest orc hordes the series has seen...

Slice, burn, toss, zap, grind and gib massive hordes of repugnant orcs

The latest game in the Orcs Must Die! franchise is finally available for Playstation 5 owners. I originally reviewed Orcs Must Die! 3 when it was released last July (2021) for Xbox One / Xbox Series X/S. And, if anything, my love and appreciation of the game is even more now than it was then.

The release of the PS5 version delivers improved visuals, faster loading, cross-gen support and the ability to upload your Playstation 4 saved games.

"What's the point of buying this Playstation 5 edition?" I hear you cry. "I'll just buy the PS4/PS5 edition and save myself some money." Well firstly you won't save anything. It's worth spending the extra £5 and getting the Bundle edition over the standard game, as you get two DLC (which are £6.49 each) and in fact at launch the Bundle edition is reduced to £22.49 (making it £1.50 cheaper than the standard edition).

Defeat wave after wave of orcs before they reach the rift room

When you strip it down, there's not a whole lot to the game. A set number of waves of orcs break into your fortress and you have to kill as many of them before they reach the rift room, which transports them elsewhere to fight another day. The skill and fun is setting up traps to line the hallways to slow them down so that you can pick them off with your weapons. Of course there are various classes of orcs which makes killing them all a challenge. Some move quickly, others are insanely resilient to attacks and others have ranged weapons which chip away at your health.

The two DLCs include Cold as Eyes and Tipping the Scales.

In Cold as Eyes, Warmages must now battle against the mighty Cyclopeans across three new maps! To help hold off the hordes, Cold as Eyes also adds new tools for Warmages including the Molten Gold Trap, Cyclopean Gaze Trinket, and a Flamethrower. There are also three new scenarios in icy environments - Maps available in Campaign, Endless, and Scramble Modes. New Cyclopean Race - Upon death, heals all nearby Cyclopean units. New Enemy Cyclopean Shaman - Creates totems that disable Warmage traps. New Enemy Cyclopean Mesmerizer - Tracks Warmages with a powerful arcane ray. New Enemies Cyclopean Medium & Heavy - Bolster the Cyclopean army. New Weapon Flamethrower - Burns enemies with a powerful secondary breath attack. New Trinket Cyclopean Gaze - Turns Warmages and their enemies into stone. New Trap Molten Gold - Coats enemies in gold, with a chance to drop a special coin. New Buffs & Debuffs - Variety of new additions to Scramble Mode.

The game includes 2 DLCs: Cold as Eyes and Tipping the Scales

In Tipping the Scales, the new Tuatara enemy race invades across five new maps including a new War Scenario. Bring your new gear to the fight to overcome the Tuatara’s special ability that limits the damage they can take. The Tuatara Assassin is especially dangerous as a stealth unit avoiding your traps. There are 5 New Scenarios - 3 Standard Scenario, 1 War Scenario, 1 Orcs Must Die! Unchained Redux New Enemy Race - Tuatara – Capped damage (enemy units only take a max amount of damage per source). New Enemy Types - Light, Heavy, Ranger, Assassin. New Weapon - Gatling Gun – Fast firing gun attached to player’s hand. New Trinket - Reptilian Carapace – Provides protective shield around player. New Trap - Briar Patch – Grows to cover floor as it damages enemy units. Vanity Skins - Cygnus Sand Skin, Vorwick Sand Skin Achievements - 6 new achievements. Scramble Mode - All new maps added to Scramble Mode. Endless Mode - New maps excluding War Scenario map added to Endless Mode.

It's fast and furious and a lot of fun. Who doesn't want to despatch some orcs?

9

Nick Smithson