Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 77 | 30 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 86% | 79 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 92% | 86 | 19 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 55 reviews sampled · 41 total reviews in window · weighted 37.3 up / 3.4 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (38)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 60
“A couple of notable modes and a few of new traps could not hold the wave of disenchantment with Orcs Must Die! 3.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“It's different, it's better, it's more orcish. If you're a fan of the tower defense genre or you just like orc slaughter, Orcs Must Die! 3 is a great game for you. It will entertain both fans of games where you destroy your enemies by the hundreds and where you feel like the absolute number one, as well as those who like to take tactics and let others do the work for them thanks to good planning.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Orcs Must Die! 3 is a hectic, challenging hybrid of action and tower defense that is a lot of fun for anyone looking to kill a ton of orcs.”
read full review ↗ - 83
“Orcs Must Die! 3 is a highly entertaining blend of action and tower defense. Although the formula hasn't changed substantially from the previous installments in the series, the game promises unadulterated fun, especially in co-op play, and slaying orcs in creative ways is still something we'll never get tired of.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“As tower defense games go, this should be the new gold standard as it’s chock full of strategy but levels that with being able to actually control your hero and let you go hands on with the action. Hopefully this one doesn’t get forgotten due to its exclusivity to Stadia because it will be a real shame if this is the last Orcs Must Die…especially since I am now a huge fan.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Orcs Must Die! 3 is a welcome addition to consoles. Tower defense is one of my favorite genres, and there are not a lot of great games representing the genre on consoles. Orcs Must Die! 3 is a pretty great game. It’s vibrant and funny, with the right combination of strategy and action that kept me coming back for more. A bit more content and variety would have been appreciated, but what is here was still very enjoyable.”
read full review ↗ - 82
“Orcs Must Die! 3 is a great continuation of the series, providing some epic large scale battles and being true to the foundations that made the previous games so delightful.”
read full review ↗ - 74
“Orcs Must Die! 3 is decent if the long-past due follow-up to the amazing Orcs Must Die! 2, yet it feels increasingly like development to the 2012 game than a genuine recovery or continuation.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Orcs Must Die! 3 is definitely a case of “another verse, same as the first”, but fortunately the formula still holds up. The changes to gameplay balance mostly work, as does the implementation of the new Scramble game mode. However, the War mode shows that throwing more orcs into a stage doesn’t necessarily make it more fun, and the level design generally doesn’t feel quite as fresh as it once did. All that said, the visceral pleasure of slicing through a group of orcs with a buzzsaw launcher is as present as ever, and ultimately the experience is still a fun time. For tower defence fans, Orcs Must Die! 3 is worth checking out, particularly if you’re planning on playing co-op.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Orcs Must Die! 3 is an intrinsically enjoyable and fun game. With deep mechanics, a wealth of content offerings, rewarding progression and impressive level of scale, it’ll delight those of the strategy and action background. It’s narrative is harmless and its technical capacity teeters under the weight of its ambition, but these do little to detract from the brilliant fun you’ll undoubtedly have playing it. Orcs Must Die! 3 is more than worth your time and will be a game I’ll be playing a lot more of.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Burn, toss, zap, stab - it still works and there are a lot of orcs which must die!”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Orcs Must Die! 3 is a great return for the series, giving you a near endless number of ways to bring down destruction on the Orc hordes, even if the larger War Scenarios lose some of the series' carefully weighted balance.”
read full review ↗
3DNews
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TheSixthAxis…and 26 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Hotfix 1.2.5.6May 22, 2024
- Hotfix 1.2.5.5May 21, 2024
- Hotfix 1.2.5.3May 3, 2024
- Hotfix 1.2.5.2May 2, 2024
- Patch 1.2.5.1May 2, 2024
- Hotfix 1.2.1.1Jun 14, 2023
- Patch 1.2.1.0Jun 5, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix 1.2.0.2Apr 26, 2022
- Hotfix 1.2.0.1Apr 13, 2022
- Patch 1.2.0.0 UpdateApr 7, 2022
- Hotfix 1.1.1.1Feb 1, 2022
- Update 1.1.1.0Jan 20, 2022
- Update 1.1.0.0Nov 11, 2021
- Small HotfixOct 8, 2021
- October UpdateOct 7, 2021
- Large unit pathing updateSep 22, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Slag Field HotfixSep 19, 2021
- Spellbook HotfixSep 16, 2021
- September Patch NotesSep 16, 2021
- Corrected Chinese LocalizationAug 11, 2021
- August Patch NotesAug 11, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Key Re-Binding 1.0 and New Chinese TranslationJul 27, 2021
- FPS Cap Hot FixJul 23, 2021
- HDR Disable HotfixJul 23, 2021