Fans of dark comedy and gore can look forward to both in Neocore’s upcoming tower defense title Deathtrap.
“Gory comedy tower defense” is not a phrase many games can include in their description, yet that is exactly the type of thing that Neocore’s upcoming title Deathtrap fits to a tee.
PC gamers might be familiar with the name Neocore from their fairly popular (and overall well-received) ARPG game Van Helsing. Now, the team wants to bring gamers a completely new experience: still dark, still monster-ridden, but in a genre far removed from Van Helsing’s hack and slash-iness.
Well, partially.
Deathtrap will bring to mind two other series that PC gamers will be well-versed with, those being Orcs Must Die! and the classic Dungeon Keeper games. Players take control of a single dedicated hero whose job it to defend humanity from the hordes of undead, demonic, and just plain nasty creatures who are hell-bent on invading. At your disposal is more than just your own sword-arm, though: each maze or fortress you work from is filled with archaic traps and machinery to bend to your will, giving you plenty of opportunities to maim, dismember, or just plain splat your opponents.
The preview video says it all, really.
Despite its dark, creepy aesthetic, it becomes immediately apparent that if there is one thing Deathtrap doesn’t do, it’s take itself too seriously. A sense of humor is always a great thing to see in games, especially those with a strategic bent, and Deathtrap most certainly looks to have one, as dark and sadistic as it may be. Though the game’s web-site is somewhat scarce on details at the moment (and by “somewhat scarce” we mean “content nonexistent,”) the game’s preview video and promotional materials that have been released all look promising.
Deathtrap is planned for a fall 2014 release for both PC and Mac via the nigh-omnipresent Steam distribution platform. Console versions for the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 are planned for some as-yet unanncounced point in the future as well, so if a little mechanized monster slaughter and mayhem sounds up your alley, the game should be readily available, no matter your taste in gaming style.