Coming 3 years after the last installment,Orcs Must Die 3brings about the return of a series many years in the making. Robot Entertainment has promised to deliver a wilder experience on an unprecedented scale for long-time fans of the franchise.
The shooter/tower defense hybrid series has attracted gamers since the original’s release way back in 2011. Unlike the studio did in the previous game,Orcs Must Die! Unchained, Robot Entertainment has opted to move away from traditional console gaming on the PS4 and has instead declared exclusivity toGoogle Stadia. Showcasing new and familiar enemies, players can choose to pair up with a friend with online co-op, or go solo through the story.
RELATED:Orcs Must Die! 3 Interview: Dev Talks Story, Stadia, and More
The replay value of theOrcs Must Dieseries is one that has ensured its success over the last decade. This one is set to offer the same, detailingapproximately 12-15 hours of fresh gameplayfor gamers to come at any which way they please. Presenting a new story to accompany the classic gameplay, this version of Robot Entertainment’s project attempts to bring thehighly-touted franchiseinto the modern era.
Since the servers forUnchainedwere shut down in 2019, many were left having to replay the originals from 2011 and 2012. With the new platform on the Google Stadia however, fans will be able toenjoy the tower defense quicker than ever.
Destructoid(Chris Carter)
“Instead of having orcs of varying enemy types bust down doors and make their way to the end of a stage to damage your core (called a rift), battles take place on sprawling set pieces that trump anything the series has done before. 100 orcs on-screen at once, the whole nine yards.”
Score: 7.5/10
TSA(Dominic Leighton)
“Orcs Must Die! 3 is a great return for the series, giving you a near endless number of ways to bring down destruction on the Orc hordes, even if the larger War Scenarios lose some of the series' carefully weighted balance. "
8/10
TechRaptor(William Worrall)
“If there’s something you need to understand aboutOrcs Must Die! 3, it’s that it feels very co-op centric. While it’s possible to get through on your own, it’s certainly much, much harder without a friend by your side. The battlefields are often complicated, and with multiple entry-points, trying to manage the enemies on your own can be stressful.”
Score: 7/10
Mirror(James Ide)
Orcs 3 doesn’t revolutionise the series, and while the story is a little light and the gameplay a tad repetitive, it’s so delightfully fun watching unsuspecting orcs haphazardly wander into your deadly machinations and be stabbed, skewered and smashed into a thin paste.
IGN(Dan Stapleton)
“Orcs Must Die! 3 is a respectable, if long-overdue followup to the excellent Orcs Must Die! 2, but it feels more like an expansion to the 2012 game than a true revival or sequel. It’s certainly worthwhile for the 18 new and challenging maps it comes with, but its selection of traps and enemies are overly familiar and the large-scale War Scenario levels don’t meaningfully expand on the great third-person action meets tower defense idea like you’d expect.”
Score: 70/100
Although reviews fail to break the mold of previous installations, there is at least a reliability in the desired product. The real question here however is whether or not theGoogle Stadia will be able to match the burgeoning successof its rival console releases, and whetherOrcs Must Die! 3can survive on it alone.
Orcs Must Die! 3is out now on Google Stadia.
MORE:Orcs Must Die! 3 Dev Reveals New War Scenario Details and War Machines
