Orcs Must Die!
Hooks you almost right away
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 6 reviews are negative (16%); after 7h it's 1 in 55 (2%).
- Fully opens up by hour 7.
- The opening is criticised less than in 81% of games we track.
- 29% of players who start reach the ending.
- Most players drop off before “Defender” (Complete Act 1): only 56% of starters get there.
- 93% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 8,577 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 300 reviews: 12.4h for positive, 2.3h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (93.2% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Defender Complete Act 1 Most players quit here 56% −44
- Keepmaster Complete Act 2 37% −19
- Master War Mage Complete Act 3 29% −8
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (27)
story milestone ending side
- Perfect 10! Get a 10 kill streak 100%
- Dead Orc = Good Orc Kill 1,000 orcs 82%
- Natural 20! Get a 20 kill streak 72%
- Defender Complete Act 1 56%
- SG1 Go through portals 20 times in one level 50%
- Giblet Storm! Gib more than 200 enemies on one level 44%
- Keepmaster Complete Act 2 37%
- Deck the Halls Complete the Hallway using only the Arrow Wall trap, weapons, and spells 33%
- Droppin' Ten Large Kill 10,000 orcs 32%
- Master War Mage Complete Act 3 29%
- What a Mess! Get a 30 kill streak 22%
- Tenderized! Get 50 pounder kills in one level 19%
- Ogre Bisque Kill an Ogre in a Lava Pit or an Acid Pit 18%
- Tunnel Vision Win an act 2 or 3 level using a single trap type 16%
- Skin of your Teeth Win a level with 1 rift point left 14%
- Pow! Pow! Get 50 kills with explosive barrels on one level 10%
- Who Wants Pancakes? Get 50 kills with the rolling log in one level 9.1%
- In your Face! Get 100 acid pot kills in one level 7.4%
- Who Wants Some?! Get a 40 kill streak 7.2%
- No Traps for You! Win an act 2 or 3 level without using any traps 6.7%
- Legendary Defender Complete Act 1 on Nightmare mode 6.0%
- Ultimate War Mage Earn 5 skulls on every level on War Mage difficulty 5.9%
- Member: 30k Club Kill 30,000 orcs 5.7%
- Great Balls of Fire! Get 300 fireball kills in one level 4.7%
- Legendary Keepmaster Complete Act 2 on Nightmare mode 4.4%
- Lights Out! Get 20 chandelier kills in one level 3.9%
- Legendary War Mage Complete Act 3 on Nightmare mode 3.8%