Orcs Must Die! Unchained Is Ridiculous Fun, Open Beta Now Available

Orcs Must Die: Unchained is a free-to-play game that knows its fan base well and is available now for open beta. The trademark humor from previous Orcs Must Die installments is still here in the design of the characters and each aspect of the customization options available, delivering an enjoyable experience that never feels dull.

There are several co-operative modes with 5v5 PvP siege mode and 5-player co-op PvE siege mode too. Although you are also given the option to play solo with the accompaniment of bots or play around at your leisure in practice mode, Orcs Must Die: Unchained is far more fun when playing with other people or competing against other players.

During a private meeting with the game, I got a chance to play some of the new multiplayer game modes as the Prospector character. He is essentially a gray-haired rogue with the passive ability to be undetectable to larger enemies. I’ve played rogue characters before but having a sneak build was helpful tactically. While this particular passive ability is exclusive to the Prospector, it clearly shows that the team behind Orcs Must Die: Unchained has gone to great lengths to make sure each character has a unique set of abilities.

The Prospector can also dig holes between two separate points on the map at any time, which all team members can use. This helped out a lot during the endless siege mode where you and your team try to last as long as possible against hordes of enemies in order to survive as many waves as possible and earn as many points as you can to climb the leaderboards. Being able to quickly retreat back to the rift we were guarding to prevent enemy stragglers from entering it was convenient.

Of course the Prospector is just one among many characters in Orcs Must Die: Unchained. The one aspect of each character that is similar is the unchained attacks that you can execute. These unchained abilities are gained during battle by filling up an unchained meter while defeating enemies and executing attack combos. Once activated your character gains increased attack and defense abilities for a short period of time. Enough time to help turn the tide in a close match.

The crafting system adds another layer to shaping your own tactical style in the game. While you can choose which traps you bring into each level, each one can be customized with three different upgrade slots. Even though the general pick of traps are the same for everyone on your team, the upgrades are very different so if you and your team are using the same ones you can coordinate which upgrades to use depending on the enemy types you’ll be facing off against or the area you’ll be fighting in.

Along with the ability to craft high-end traps and upgrades with items looted from different stages, there is also a system that allows you to craft traits and assign them to your character, allowing them to do more damage to specific minions or gain bonuses to XP or gold collection from killing enemies or performing certain attacks in battle. These traits combined with the amount of customization you can do when upgrading traps give players an incredible amount of options so that the tactical aspects never get too redundant.

There are also guardians you can bring into battle with you, who effectively act like tanks when placed on specific spots on the map. The guardians have specific perks that activate for your entire team if you fight on a map associated with their particular home. To efficiently coordinate specific trap/guardian combinations you can save numerous loadouts so you don’t have to spend a ton of time doing battle prep before jumping into a game with your team every time you play.

There will be in-game content available for purchase including chests and various packs that award players with new skins, characters, and other useful items for battle but those chests also have a chance of dropping as loot at the end of a battle. The crafting system can also be used to make everything, but skins so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get great gear and characters the more you play. Orcs Must Die: Unchained is a great game for anyone looking for a competitive multiplayer tower defense experience. The open beta is currently available for PC and the game will release later in 2016.