Action · October 11, 2011
Orcs Must Die! (2011)
Slice them, burn them, skewer them, and launch them - no matter how you get it done, orcs must die in this fantasy action-strategy game from Robot Entertainment. As a powerful War Mage with dozens of deadly weapons, spells, and traps at your fingertips, defend twenty-four fortresses from a rampaging mob of beastly enemies, including ogres, hellbats, and of course, a whole bunch of ugly orcs. Battle your enemies through a story-based campaign across multiple difficulty levels, including brutal Nightmare mode! Will you roast orcs in pits of lava, pound them flat with a ceiling trap, or freeze and shatter them with a slash? No matter the weapons and traps you choose, you’re sure to have an orc-killing blast! Key Features 24 Fortresses to Defend – Twisting passages, tall towers, and wide-open chambers all need a war mage to protect them 6 Orc-Killing Weapons and Spells – From crossbow and bladestaff to the magical power of the elements 19 Deadly Traps and Fierce Minions – Choose from a wide variety of traps including arrow walls, spike traps, spinning blades, and flaming brimstone or call in allies to assist you in the destruction of the orc horde 11 Unique Enemies – Including ogres, flying hellbats, and of course, a whole bunch of ugly orcs Story-based Campaign – Fend off orcs across three acts to discover the mysterious power behind their relentless assaults Persistent Upgrades – Unlock improved traps as you progress through the campaign Extensive Replayability – “Nightmare Mode” and a skull ranking system provide extended play Scoring System and Leaderboard – Compete with your friends for the title of Best Orc Killer!
Action releases from 2011
54 Action titles launched in 2011 — top 6 by review volume.
Peer Action titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Tower Defense · 503
- Action · 303
- Strategy · 261
- Third Person · 208
- Fantasy · 182
- Indie · 170
- Singleplayer · 169
- Comedy · 134
- Funny · 103
- Third-Person Shooter · 98
- Cartoony · 73
- Magic · 65
- Great Soundtrack · 55
- Multiplayer · 50
- Score Attack · 49
Position in Action
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 8.2k Steam reviews | Top 45% in Action |
| Positive rating | 96% positive | Genre average: 83% — this title sits in top 9% |
| Metacritic | 83/100 | Genre average 77 — top 27% of Action titles |
| Engagement hours | 6 h average | Top 63% for session depth among Action |
Localization Coverage
Interface / Subtitles (9)
- English volume_up
- German volume_up
- French volume_up
- Italian volume_up
- Spanish - Spain volume_up
- Russian volume_up
- Japanese volume_up
- Polish volume_up
- Portuguese - Brazil volume_up
Full audio (9)
- English
- German
- French
- Italian
- Spanish - Spain
- Russian
- Japanese
- Polish
- Portuguese - Brazil
Reception Metrics
Steam community
96%Overwhelmingly Positive · 8.2k reviews
7.9k positive · 328 negative
Metacritic
83/100 critic aggregate
Metacritic user score
8.0/10
Curator recommendations
6.5k
Press Quotes
“Not since Lemmings has a game so seamlessly mixed engaging mechanics, humor, cuteness, and gleeful cruelty.” 90/100 – PCGamer “I was pleasantly surprised by just how good Orcs Must Die! is, and I think you will be, too. Welcome to the new standard in ACTION TOWER….” 4.5/5.0 – gamespy “Orcs Must Die! embellishes your devious side, encouraging you to devise clever ways of fulfilling the command of the title.” 9.0/10 – Editors’ Choice - IGN
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
6h
short (5–15 hours)
Median
3h
Typical completion time
2-week avg
3h
Current engagement
Achievements
27
Steam unlocks available
Features & Capabilities
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Cloud
- Stats
- Steam Leaderboards
Input & Comfort
- Partial Controller Support
Other
- Single-player
- Family Sharing
Release & Availability
| Release date | Oct 11, 2011 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Robot Entertainment |
| Base price | $2.49 |
| DLC / Add-ons | 2 released |
| Platforms | Windows |
| Estimated owners | 1M–10M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support |
More from Robot Entertainment
Robot Entertainment has 5 titles indexed — all listed below.
Editions & Packages
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