So I finished up Orcs Must Die, some impressions
Took me 6 and a half hours to beat it on normal. And I have to say its probably my favorite attempt at TD in recent memory. Most TD's don't allow for the most fluid of play. They lock you into being the most efficient to survive. This didn't really have that requirement. It allowed me to fuck around a lot more between the bread and butter traps, and more of the unique ones. I made one where it would just lock the orcs bouncing back and forth between my two sides of catapult boards. Sometimes I just spammed minions. Other times I just upgrade my own character and went through the hordes.
It had a pretty swell balance between knowing what you have to do and creating what you want.
Of course its also a downfall. Nightmare seems to be a bit too hard(Just started it), while normal was too easy.
Which also leads to the next point, where your character was actually useful. They gave me enough spells to work with where on certain levels, I'd focus my traps on while, while handling the other with very little in the way of traps. Gust, Fire, Lightning, Ice. They work as how you expect it, but it actually gave me something to do and made it fun. Instead of just waiting to see if my maze failed.
Trap choice was solid. Some where every useful and regardless of the level you would have them. Others I just couldn't find a use for them. Like the grinder just didn't have enough range to work. While the Arrow walls and standard spike with slow were heavily used. The only other trap that became a must for me where the swinging maces, when they had a point. But the arrow+Spikes took care of nearly everything on their own.
Upgrades were a let down for the most part. Outside Spikes getting slow, most where pretty petty upgrades. For a good idea of allowing you to build up. They really failed on it. Good example was paying 3 full levels worth of skulls for a 100coin decrease on 5-6 traps. So now it costs 600 instead of 700. Nor did they allow upgrades to your characters weapons.
The final annoyance. Either there is online and I'm blind or there isn't online. A big why? When the gameplay feels like it would click very well with some coop.
