Deathtrap

You may treat tower defence as a distant, but not forgotten, genre of gaming. Think again. Neocore Games have completely reinvited the genre with Deathtrap, to create a hybrid of action, role playing and of course, tower defence.

When you launch the game, you will be required to create a character, choosing from three different classes: a sorceress, a mercenary, or a marksman. The marksman class is currently unavailable, but most features are fully operational and well-developed. After your character is created, you can choose to play on your own, cooperatively with a friend, or in an online ‘Versus’ mode. Unfortunately, competitive play isn’t playable yet, but if the single player is anything to go by, this mode will not disappoint.

You should be able to pick up the game fairly quickly, as the first map you play acts as a fairly easy-to-follow tutorial. You will start off with a certain amount of ‘Essence,’ which you use to build traps to help prevent the enemies from passing through the ‘gate’ or ‘life point’. If 20 enemies pass through your gate, then it’s game over. You gain Essence each time you kill an enemy, making it possible to build and upgrade more traps during the wave, rather than just before and after.

The setting for Deathtrap takes place in the hidden regions of the “Ink,” the mysterious otherworld of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, from the same developers. There are currently five available maps to play on, with the option of replaying them at a higher difficulty to improve your rating for each level. This gives you some replay value before additional content is released.

In most tower defence games, the player assumes a very passive role, but not here. You’re able to dive in and get your hands dirty with your character, rather than just sitting back and admiring your traps. You can use your character to fill in the gaps where you may not have any traps. You can fight as the first or last line of defence. Or if you play with a friend, a sorceress can sit at the back, picking enemies off at range, and the mercenary can be right at the front gates, pounding enemies’ heads in one by one. This is what makes this game really stand out from the rest. It takes the passiveness of tower defence and gives it a completely new twist by allowing you to fight alongside your traps and towers. It’s also what makes this game so much fun.

Fighting is simple enough. Use left-click for your primary attack and right-click for your more powerful secondary attack. It’s all very Diablo-esque with the amount of clicking that‘s required. You also have an ability to temporarily improve a selected trap, as well as a global ability that freezes enemies (sorceress) or one that allows you to dash around the battlefield (mercenary). You are able to upgrade and unlock new abilities with skill-points, which you acquire each time you gain a level. Players are also given the opportunity to unlock new traps, as well as upgrade existing ones, which can allow you to gain the edge over your enemies. Levelling up your abilities and traps can be a tedious exercise, however, because the skills screen has a very cumbersome layout, making it hard to navigate, and thus analyse all your different abilities. Deathtrap is still in Early Access, so this is subject to change.

Adding to the strategic depth of the game are the 40 different types of enemies. Every foe reacts differently to certain traps, so you must figure out which traps to use against what enemies, otherwise you may find them to be ineffective. All of the five maps have unique layouts that all pose various challenges. Some are narrow, and some are in open spaces; you must adjust your traps accordingly.

Each map has lootable items, such as gold and health potions. You can spend gold at the store to improve your character with a range of products, such as armour, enchanted jewellery, new weapons and more. The game also rewards player curiosity. Some maps have hidden chests, which you can loot if you are able to find the keys.

The one feature that this game wouldn’t be the same without is the Map Editor, which allows you to create your own map. You can choose what type of enemies and how many of them there are in each wave, as well as outlining the path they’ll take to get to your base. You have complete control over what your map will look like. You can then challenge your friends to play it by sharing it on the Steam community, or you can play it cooperatively. As expected, it takes a very long time to perfect your map. It is extremely hard to balance the waves as well as deciding how much Essence the player starts with. Since it is still in Early Access, the visual appearance of a player-created map is very average. The ground just appears as gray stone. Nevertheless, the Map Editor is an extremely fun feature to use if you are willing to put time and effort into it.

Neocore Games have created a stunning hybrid of tower defence and action RPG with Deathtrap. It has everything you would expect from a tower defence game, but the inclusion of action and role-playing elements make this game a truly exciting piece of work. Despite it still being in Early Access, it is surprising how polished the game is so far. Admittedly, the graphics are not too flash, but this is easily overlooked as you dive in to the gameplay. Each level provides you with a new challenge, which you can take on by yourself or with a friend. The Map Editor is really the cherry on top for this game, allowing players to design their own levels in entirety. There is still some work to be done for Neocore Games, but every gamer has something to look forward to when this game is fully developed.

Gabriel Polychronis, NoobFeed
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