Speaking as someone with a deepset hatred of multiplayer games, Orcs Must Die! 2 is only fun when played with a pal, preferably in the same room as you. When you're on your own, it's a fairly compelling tower defence/third person shooter, with cheerful, cartoony graphics and some fun toys. It's fine. The weapons are for the most part generic, but some are strikes of brilliance- a staff whose main attack is a charged blast, and whose alt attack is mind control, or a blunderbuss, that, when upgraded properly, causes foes to fall over, in a "oh dear I've suddenly lost the bones in my legs" ragdoll fashion. The wind belt allows you to push foes back, with a gust of wind, ideally off a ledge.

The traps, however, are where the game shines, and there the traps shine are the springs. You'd think it'd get old to see foes get launched across the map and fall into a pit of lava or acid, but it simply doesn't. It's hilarious every time.

Alone, it's just serviceable. With Pal in hand, however, it's transcendent. The designers really understood how to make cooperative play not just enjoyable, but exhilarating. The shared experience of victory or defeat is made only more meaningful by the fact that you planned your loadouts, you scouted the map, you picked your weapons and chose your chokepoints. You sweated, panicked, strived and rebuffed, together. You synergized.

Seeing as the developers aren't going to remove head from anus and stop wasting their time on a MOBA for a while, enjoy this in the meantime.

Speaking as someone with a deepset hatred of multiplayer games, Orcs Must Die! 2 is only fun when played with a pal, preferably in the same room as you. When you're on your own, it's a fairly compelling tower defence/third person shooter, with cheerful, cartoony graphics and some fun toys. It's fine. The weapons are for the most part generic, but some are strikes of brilliance- a staff whose main attack is a charged blast, and whose alt attack is mind control, or a blunderbuss, that, when upgraded properly, causes foes to fall over, in a "oh dear I've suddenly lost the bones in my legs" ragdoll fashion. The wind belt allows you to push foes back, with a gust of wind, ideally off a ledge. The traps, however, are where the game shines, and there the traps shine are the springs. You'd think it'd get old to see foes get launched across the map and fall into a pit of lava or acid, but it simply doesn't. It's hilarious every time. Alone, it's just serviceable. With Pal in hand, however, it's transcendent. The designers really understood how to make cooperative play not just enjoyable, but exhilarating. The shared experience of victory or defeat is made only more meaningful by the fact that you planned your loadouts, you scouted the map, you picked your weapons and chose your chokepoints. You sweated, panicked, strived and rebuffed, together. You synergized. Seeing as the developers aren't going to remove head from anus and stop wasting their time on a MOBA for a while, enjoy this in the meantime.