Anotha’ week, anotha’ dolla’- holla’.

Okay, so maybe that was a little uncalled for but we can’t help it we’re excited! Excited for another entry in the Tech Labs Indie Game of the Week series!

This week we’re going to talk about a magnificent tower defense title. If you don’t know what tower defense games are, the premise is fairly straightforward. In a tower defense game, you fight to protect an object, or location, from waves of enemies by placing weaponized towers across a map. The enemies progress through the map, usually in some kind of mazelike path, and you must defeat them before they reach the end.

Just to rattle off some examples of tower defense titles, there is Defense Grid, Radiant Defense, Towers N’ Trolls, Sanctum, and Anomaly: Warzone Earth. All of the games we just mentioned put their own spin on traditional tower defense play, but they don’t include one particularly ambitious feature that our Indie Game of the Week does! Online co-operative play!

That’s right folks! Our Indie Game of the Week, Orcs Must Die 2, features multiplayer co-operative gameplay so you can slay baddies with your BFF.

Indie Game of the Week: Orcs Must Die 2

It goes without saying that Orcs Must Die 2 is a sequel to the first Orcs Must Die, from Robot Entertainment.

“Orcs Must Die! 2 begins days after the ending of the original game. With the rifts closed and the magical Order dead, the War Mage finds himself suddenly thrust into a new battle against the mindless orc mob. He has a powerful, if questionable, new companion in the Sorceress, an ex-War Mage responsible for the destruction of the Order.”

You have the same purpose in Orcs Must Die 2, protect magical Rifts from invading Orcs. To protect the rifts you have several different types of weapons, and defense units which can be placed throughout the map.

“Orcs Must Die! 2 thrusts players and their friends back into battle against a terrifying mob of orcs and other monsters. With a redesigned spellbook, players will have a broader range of options to build a deadly arsenal of defenses. Investing hard-earned skulls in an enormous new upgrade system will allow players to cater to their favorite methods of burning, grinding, tossing, or dismembering orcs.”

What Kind of Game is Orcs Must Die 2?

As with normal tower defense games, the enemies will emerge through doorways placed throughout the map and will follow a specific path to the rifts. Along the path that the Orcs take, you can set weaponized tower units which inhibit or mutilate the oncoming horde. You can also fight the enemies using one of the multiple weapon types.

Throughout the level, you earn money from defeated enemies, to spend on new defense units.

You are also allotted one additional accessory item called a trinket which you can equip to add various perks during gameplay. Trinket perks include earning more money when defeating enemies and resetting traps at faster intervals.

After completing each level in Orcs, you are given a skull grade (1-5, 5 being the highest score), and you can then use your collected skulls to purchase new equipment or unlock goodies. Trinkets, new costumes, new levels, new weapons, and new traps can all be unlocked using skulls.

The best part about Orcs Must Die 2 is that a friend can connect and play with you at any time. Two characters are available in Orcs 2, the Sorceress and the War Mage. Each character has a different play style and fulfills a different role while defending the Rifts.

Orcs Must Die 2 is Available Now!

The first Orcs Must Die was a terrific game, but it lacked multiplayer and co-op. Robot Entertainment listened to the fans and added co-op into Orcs Must Die 2, but that’s not all they improved. Orcs 2 also includes tons more unlockable content, plenty of different enemy types and levels, and of course a much more expansive game experience.

If you’ve never played the first game, now is the time to get into the series. Orcs Must Die 2 is well worth the $15 asking price. We recommend purchasing Orcs Must Die 2 through Steam.

If you like games as much as we do, you should definitely check out our ongoing Indie game of the Week series!

The Tech Labs Indie Game of The Week Series:

• Machinarium
• A Valley Without Wind
• Salvation Prophecy
• Holyspirit
• Wizorb
• Hoodwink
• Krater: Shadows Over Solside
• Tiny & Big: Grandpa’s Leftovers
• Hack, Slash & Loot
• Deponia
• Orcs Must Die 2
• Last Knight
• Containment: The Zombie Puzzler
• To The Moon
• Faster Than Light