We at Geeky Hobbies would like to thank Shrimpcave Industries for the review copy of Trapper’s Delight used for this preview. Other than receiving a free copy of the game to preview, we at Geeky Hobbies received no other compensation for this preview. Receiving the preview copy for free had no impact on the content of this preview.
Trapper’s Delight is a multiplayer party game where the players are competing to collect coins and reach the flag on the other side of the board (hopefully first). Your opposition is not going to make it easy for you though. All of the players get to place various types of traps along the path in order to stop their competition from reaching the flag. Different traps include flippers, saw blades, arrows, lava pits, trap doors, and several other traps.
Each round begins with all of the players placing their traps for the given round on the map without the other players being able to see where the traps are being placed. Players then start moving through the maze at the same time. If only one player can successfully make it to the flag, that player scores a point towards victory. Another round is played and players get to add more traps to all of the traps already placed. This makes each successive round more difficult than previous rounds. If it ever gets to the point where no players can reach the flag for three consecutive rounds, the map is wiped and a new map is created.
In addition to winning rounds, players are trying to gather coins which are used to unlock better traps for that player to use against the other players. These are usually the best traps since most of them are invisible so other players have no knowledge of where they are located until a player springs them. The coins used to unlock the better traps are earned through picking up coins and from being the first player to reach the flag or the player who gets closest to the flag if all of the players fail to make it to the flag.
Trapper’s Delight initially caught my eye since I have always enjoyed these type of party games where you try to mess with the other players. A while back Geeky Hobbies looked at the game Ultimate Chicken Horse. What I enjoyed about that game was the fact that players created their own platforming levels where players added new obstacles in order to mess with the other players. What Ultimate Chicken Horse did for platformers, Trapper’s Delight does for puzzle games. While it is not perfect, Trapper’s Delight is already on track to be a satisfying party game.
Let me preface the rest of this review by saying that Trapper’s Delight is purely a multiplayer game. I don’t even think you can play the game without other people and I don’t know why you would want to anyway. Trapper’s Delight is the type of game that is meant to be a multiplayer game as that is the best way to enjoy the game. The game can be played split-screen or online. Personally I think the game works better online since you can’t tell what the other players are doing with regards to traps like you could playing the game split-screen.
Although you can play the game with anyone online, I would recommend playing the game with friends and family. While the game would still work playing with strangers, it would probably be best enjoyed playing with other people you know. The more people playing, the better. I believe playing with friends and family is best because the game thrives on being able to laugh at yourself and your friends/family as you fall into traps or lead the other players into traps. It is surprisingly satisfying watching another player walk into one of your traps when they have no idea what it going to happen. It is even better when you create a chain of traps that work together to kill the other players. Even though it is embarrassing, it is even funny when you run into your own traps that you forgot you placed.
At this point the variety of traps is pretty good. You can really mess with other players by placing a trap in just the right place. A player could have a safe path to the flag and one trap can mess it all up. The game is even more enjoyable if you play with more devious players. Some of the traps can be placed in the trees which make them hard to see if you’re not paying attention. Then there are the hidden traps which are the best traps by far since no one can see them coming, sometimes even the player who placed them. I kind of wish the game would make the hidden traps a little more common since they are the best part of the game right now since it is funny to see/hear the reaction of the other player when they step on a hidden trap.
At this stage the controls work quite well. I played the game with a Xbox 360 controller and I had no issues. The controls are so simple. When setting traps you just move to the space where you want to place the trap and then have the option to rotate the trap. Then you press a button to place the trap. Once the game begins you just use the control stick to move around the game world dodging the different traps. While I didn’t play with the keyboard I am guessing the keyboard controls work just as well.
While the game is pretty fun right now, here are some things I would like to see improved while the game is still in Early Access.
- While not a huge issue, the game did lock up twice in between two of the games I played. I am guessing this is an issue that will be resolved soon.
- The game has enough traps at the moment to be enjoyable. I hope the game continues to add more types of traps though. I especially would like to see some more hidden traps that will catch players by surprise.
- The game currently has a problem where players seems to follow one player through the maze. Maybe that is just how my brother and I play the game but outside of getting the bonus for reaching the flag first I don’t see much of a reason not to just follow another player since they will then set off all of the hidden traps. This leads to a game of chicken where each player tries to wait for the other players to go first. There is a time limit for each attempt which eventually forces you to make a move but I hope the developers find a way to prevent players from just following one another. Maybe a type of trap that is set off once a player steps on it that stops other players from following the first player to step on the space. For example maybe there can be a trap that once activated puts up a wall that players can’t move through. This would stop other players from following the exact same path as the first player.
- I think the coins placed on the map need some tweaking. Since players get to choose where they are placed, players tend to place them right by their own character at the beginning of a level so they can just quickly pick them up. Players can use the coins to lure people into traps but I think more players will just place them in a location that they can get to before all of the other players. Maybe there should be a rule where all coins have to be placed in the back half of the map or something like that.
- I personally didn’t like that you can place some traps on top of others which gets rid of the trap that was originally placed on the space. While I can get this with the bomb since the bomb is used to get rid of traps, this makes it too easy for a player to get rid of traps that other players have set up.
- While I understand that the game puts a time limit on how much time you have to place your traps (to speed up the game), I think the game should give you a little more time. The short time limit forces you to place your traps a little too quickly so you don’t have a lot of time to plan where you want to place them.
Trapper’s Delight just entered Early Access today so it is early in the process. The developers say that the game should be in Early Access for a couple months. I would say that the game is in a pretty good state right now. The game is already fun to play with the right groups. The controls work well and outside a couple issues with the game occasionally locking up it is worth playing at this time. While I wouldn’t say it is the type of game that I would play for hours at a time, it is the type of game that I would come back to every so often to play for an hour or so. If the premise of the game sounds interesting to you and you have the type of friends/family that would enjoy this type of game, I think you should enjoy Trapper’s Delight.
