Why Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap Developers Introduced Roguelite Elements

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 29, 2025 2 Views 7 Min Read
Why Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap Developers Introduced Roguelite Elements
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When the first Orcs Must Die! launched in 2012, the title established itself as a great tower defense game that put a spin on the genre by incorporating a third-person perspective. The series has since released four more entries, with the latest being Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap. The game promises its players an even fresher take on the series with four-player co-op support and new Mages, traps, and enemies.

But a more interesting aspect of Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is the inclusion of roguelite features in the saga for the first time. By adding roguelite elements and meta progression to OMD!‘s formula, Deathtrap aims to offer players endless build possibilities. Game Rant recently spoke with game director Kyle Snyder about how OMD! Deathtrap‘s roguelite elements work and the challenges the development team faced when designing them.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap’s Roguelite Elements Explained

According to Snyder, one challenge the development team encountered when implementing roguelite elements in Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap was achieving numerous outcomes in every run. This was so players could see how their builds and decisions had a meaningful impact on their next run. From an early stage in development, Snyder “did not want all the player’s decisions to be simple stat increases.” He explained that, while stats are important for progression, other factors like visuals would also be needed. For example, if a player chose to triple the size of their traps, this effect would visibly manifest itself. Snyder expressed that balancing all these variables was no easy feat for the team:

“It meant the challenge was in designing efficient systems and tools so design, code, and art could get all of our cool ideas into the game as options. We’ve ended up with seven playable War Mages, over three dozen traps, and nearly 500 Threads (boons). It’s a lot of balancing work (although some broken builds are fun to keep), but we were able to make sure every run is a unique experience”.

In OMD! Deathtrap, three random “Threads” are offered to players after an enemy wave. Players can choose one Thread from the selection to boost their Mage’s stats, reduce trap and ability cooldowns, and more. It is also worth noting that each War Mage has its own special abilities, which add to the game’s build varieties. Every level also makes players choose between three random maps, each attached to a specific “Distortion.” These Distortions are stackable obstacles that will make a run more challenging by, for example, increasing trap prices or unleashing stronger enemies.

Upping the Stakes

Snyder explains that the development team tried to make the OMD! Deathtrap experience more unique by allowing players to up the stakes during their run. Unlike many roguelites that force fans to play on until reaching the end of the game or be defeated, OMD! Deathtrap gives players a risky choice after every level: they can decide whether to go back with all the experience earned or gamble half of it on a more difficult level.

“We’re asking the player to make a lot of meaningful decisions, which hopefully adds a ton of replayability, but also adds some real “risk vs. reward” tension”.

Once the run is over, fans can head to the Order Fortress and level up their characters and traps for the next round. It is the mix of every Thread, Distortion, and choices that make every run in Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap different from the last. For Snyder, it will be interesting to see how players manage to overpower their builds with the right combination of abilities and Threads. The game director shared an example of how he, along with a fellow dev, had headshot damage go from a standard 1,000 to 97,000 thanks to a specific combo of two characters and Threads. “And I know we’re just scratching the surface,” he said.

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