Deathtrap

Lore & Background

Deathtrap takes place in the same gothic fiction setting as NeocoreGames' The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. The player controls a lone protagonist who is sent to a border world in an alternate dimension called Ink, tasked with defending a series of ancient strongholds against monsters invading from Ink's depths. The enemies seek to break through to the physical world, and the player must stop them using both traps and direct combat.

Gameplay involves choosing one of three classes—warrior, sorceress, or marksman—which determine the action aspect. Each map has pre-set enemy routes and slots for building traps using the mystical currency essence, which is earned by killing enemies and completing waves. The player wins by eliminating all enemies in a level and loses if a certain number reach the base portal. Between levels, role-playing elements allow character upgrades via experience points, and equipment can be bought or crafted to boost abilities related to action or trap-building.

The basic story mode contains 13 levels. After gaining enough experience, two additional modes unlock: scenario mode, which increases difficulty through restrictions, and endless mode, a non-stop survival challenge with limited resources and increasingly tough enemies. Deathtrap also includes multiplayer (cooperative and versus for up to 4 players) and a map editor.

Reader's Guide

Deathtrap's significance lies in its fusion of tower defense and action RPG genres, a combination that reviewers considered innovative and refreshing even though the individual components—the action aspect compared to the Diablo series and the tower defense aspect—were not seen as introducing anything significantly new. The game received generally favourable reviews, earning a Metascore of 77 on Metacritic for the PC version. Its release history includes an Xbox One version on 3 January 2017 under the title The World of Van Helsing: Deathtrap, and a PlayStation 4 port on 28 September 2020. The game's legacy is tied to its successful genre blend and its connection to NeocoreGames' Van Helsing universe, offering a distinct experience that appealed to fans of both tower defense and action RPGs. The inclusion of a map editor and multiplayer modes extended its replayability, while the scenario and endless modes provided additional challenges beyond the story campaign.

Did You Know?

• The game features three character classes: warrior, sorceress, and marksman.
• A PlayStation 4 port was released on 28 September 2020.