PAX East 2015 -- Orcs Must Die Unchained Hands-On Preview

Being a big fan of the original Orcs Must Die! game, which came out on Steam a few years ago, I have to say that I was a little nervous about the fact that the upcoming Orcs Must Die! Unchained game will be a free-to-play title. However, after getting the chance to actually play it at PAX East 2015, I am very excited for Unchained to release on PC and PlayStation 4 later this year.

Fast-Paced MOBA

Unchained is a MOBA, and it works a lot like current MOBA king, League of Legends. There are five players on each team, with two of the players generally playing defensive positions and three of them playing offensive positions. Just like League of Legends, each team is trying to push their way into the other team’s main base. Unlike LoL, teams only get points for getting minions, which can be upgraded and developed using points gained during battle, into the main base.

During my time with Unchained, I played as the defensive character Maximilian. Defensive characters are charged with protecting their main base by laying down traps in certain areas, which, if placed properly, can deal massive damage to minions. There will be a number of traps to choose from when the game finally releases, including wall traps, ceiling ones, and floor ones.

Many Characters, Many Skills

On top of that, each character has his or her own special attacks and skill, which can be upgraded after gaining a certain amount of levels. Maximilian, for example, is able to electrify his body, causing enemies to take damage upon touching him. He is also able to shoot multiple arrows from his crossbow at once, dealing a good amount of damage and stunning enemies. There will be around 17 or so characters to choose from when the game releases, the developers told me, and each one will be different.

Each one can also be earned simply by playing the game. Of course, since it does follow a free-to-play model, characters, new traps, and other various things can also be purchased using real money, although, like LoL, if you play long enough, you’ll be able to unlock pretty much everything without spending a dime. Only cosmetic items will require real money to use, but they only visually change the characters, and do not actually impact gameplay at all.

While a release date has not been set as of right now, Orcs Must Die! Unchained is expected out sometime this year, so MOBA fans should keep a lookout for more information in the coming months.