Deathtrap (2015)

i'm halfway through a NG+ playthough of Deathtrap. It's a very decent amalgation of tower defense and Action Role-playing game genres. I am lukewarm on tower defense games but I liked Dungeon Defenders ok, and this seems to draw a bit of inspiration from that and Diablo II. I play it solo and coop with some others and its a nice game to play in either mode.

The game revolves around you, a player character of basic RPG classes (tank, ranged, mage, thief) you can deal direct damage to incoming minions in classic blizzard LoL style or diaglo style with your abilities. You can pick and spec your abilities and dump points into them as you level up (just like diablo 2) You also get points progressing through the campagin map with each successful mission, which you can further upgrade your traps. Traps remind me a LOT of the way masteries worked in diablo 2. Thus the game is essentially making a comp between your skills, your traps and your very basic gear. For instance you can focus on physical damage (warrior/fighter) or lightning (sorceress/mage) and focus on building traps around that.

There is a good bit of variation in the maps themselves, and not only do you have three dififculty levels with each 'new game plus repeat' of the game map (its a fairly short campagin) but you have challenge maps and bonus objectives to increase your XP, loot or win special upgrade points.

The only thing this game fails at is really the gear. There are niether many gear slots or eally that much you can do to spec with them. There are also balance isues in what kind of gear is worth more and to what extent the rolls will be. But overall it seems that it is a simple task to pick your gear (and does not require much playtesting)

its a simple but addictive TD/ARPG hybrid that competently combines both concepts in the way its design. IT feels a bit light in some ways with a short campagin and limited gear spec. I'll continue to play but I don't desire to replay the game with a different class. Also know that In coop mode it can be tricky to win upgrade points as you progress through the waves because one of your party members will tend to earn the most kills and thus kill steals your upgrade points which can be a pain to manage and compensate for if your team members arent aware of it and expect you to cover a section. For this reason playing with others can actually make the game way harder if you are playing with people who dont know what they are doing or have bad builds, or don't make use of the traps you've invested in. :o

In the end Deathtrap is a mixed bag with some flaws and shortcomings.. and It can get repetitive in the ways both genres can be. But its nice to see the two combined in the way it was here. I really like this game though and quite hooked on it.