Trapt

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Tecmo
  • Release Date: Nov 1, 2005
Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 36
  3. Negative: 5 out of 36
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  1. NTSC-uk
    80
    By far the most worthy of mention, though, are the Dark Illusions. These are giant setpiece traps which cause horrifying damage in even more horrifying ways, and have secret (and often bloody obscure) conditions for their activation.
  2. PGNx Media
    80
    It would have scored higher if the game didn’t suffer from an inexplicably poor framerate. It almost ruins the entire game.
  3. AceGamez
    80
    There really is nothing else quite like it - which could be a good thing or a bad thing, as no competition for Trapt means that the flaws can stay.
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  5. VGPub
    78
    An incredibly unique game in today’s gaming scene. If you’re in the mood for something new, give it a shot.
  6. Worth Playing
    77
    It offers a nice mix of strategy (almost reminiscent of Dynasty Tactic's "push, attack, push, attack" combo system) and action where timing plays a crucial role.
  7. Game Chronicles
    76
    TRAPT is one of those games that is wickedly fun to play, but it’s not all that deep of an experience or even that challenging until the very end where the enemies have an almost unnatural ability to detect your traps.
  8. IGN
    75
    The traps do begin to get repetitive a bit and the AI could have been a little smarter, but again, death and destruction is always good fun. If that's all your expecting from Trapt, you'll likely have a good time with it.
  9. IncGamers
    70
    If you are bored with the current crop of samey sport sims or bland RPGs, then Trapt can provide you with some light relief and faith that there are original ideas out there that can be utilised.
  10. GameCritics
    70
    The story may be as dull as dirt and the graphics may lack a satisfying level of detail, but there's no denying that Trapt (and its three predecessors) provide a crazy sort of skewed gameplay that simply can't be had anywhere else. Very few projects actually make me laugh out loud with maniacal glee, but this was one.
  11. GameSpot
    69
    A fun experience that's unfortunately spoiled by a terrible frame rate that all but breaks the game. It can be entertaining to experiment with different traps, but after a few hours the game starts to feel repetitive, and it doesn't offer enough of a challenge to keep you coming back for more.
  12. Game Informer
    68
    I enjoyed the Deception series on PSone, but this sequel hasn't made any strides forward. [Dec 2005, p.174]
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  13. PSX Extreme
    68
    A good experience Trapt is not, but the mechanics of laying traps and unleashing them on enemies can, at times, be extremely satisfying.
  14. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    65
    But as much as I enjoy building giant human mousetraps, the package here is light on content. And without any real guidance, you have to make your own fun. Imagination sold separately.
  15. PSM Magazine
    65
    For a good while, this is wickedly - even perversely - fun. [Holiday 2005, p.90]
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  16. Console Gameworld
    65
    It’s a game with a good idea but too many flaws in its execution to be very enjoyable.
  17. Next Level Gaming
    65
    What detracts from the game are the reoccurring enemies, ease of the game throughout most of the missions and the intelligence of the enemies.
  18. Armchair Empire
    65
    Brings back fond memories of older puzzle games but doesn’t show the polish that could have made the game better.
  19. IC-Games
    64
    A game based on the creation of ingenious and deadly traps sounds like a novel and interesting premise, sadly the execution proves to be the equivalent of being slowly buried alive.
  20. Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
    60
    A feast for creative quirk-seekers; a famine for lazy mainstreamers. [Dec 2005, p.130]
  21. GamerFeed
    60
    Unfortunately, the AI isn't so easily fooled, and what you'll have to do is repeatedly run about a room hoping that your attacker will wander into the right spot. It's really boring, yet the payoff is worth the time invested.
  22. 1UP
    60
    Not only is the camera annoying, but baiting the enemies into your trap becomes a mundane routine that's based on a few simple tactics -- most of the enemies are too stupid to realize they're being set up for a trap.
  23. GameSpy
    60
    The problem is that there's only so much that can be done with the concept, and it becomes routine and boring before the game is even close to over.
  24. TotalPlayStation
    60
    Trapt is a novel effort, but it just doesn't try hard enough, and that much is blatantly obvious in the enemy AI, the environments and the translation.
  25. GameZone
    60
    Trapt is clever, innovative, and left a lasting impression. I won't forget its accomplishments. I wish I could overlook its flaws, but the repetition is immense and the technical issues are inexcusable.
  26. DarkStation
    60
    Setting traps and luring your enemies to their doom is a brilliant idea, but Tecmo doesn't build on that with more gameplay variety.
  27. Gamer 2.0
    60
    Trapt is a fun diversion with unexplored potential. Unfortunately the poor camera system, lack of variety, clumsy AI, and graphical handicaps keep the game from achieving any type of noteworthy standing.
  28. Eurogamer
    60
    With such a tediously unengaging storyline, vanilla locations, rubbish camera system and an all-round feel of technical impoverishment, what you're left with is a game that's certainly fun, original and hugely engaging for a while, but one that fails to live up to its early promise.
  29. Jolt Online Gaming UK
    60
    It is built on an entertaining concept, but let down by poor presentation. The dreadful frame-rate makes it almost unplayable in places, and that is unforgivable in a commercial product, especially when the graphics, sound and story could all have been so much better.
  30. Boomtown
    60
    By letting you explore the mansion and other location at your own discretion, we could have had a brilliant title on our hands.
    All this publication's reviews
  31. GamePro
    50
    The graphics are obviously improved over the PlayStation predecessors, but even fans of that trilogy will be disappointed by the comparative dearth of traps to choose from. Ultimately, mediocrity ensnares Trapt with it's own lack of gameplay meat.
  32. RewiredMind
    50
    Like long car journeys, rainy days or when there's nothing on TV, playing Trapt is one of those times when you have to make your own fun. The only real puzzle here is who but the most ardent strategy fans and death fetishists will bother.
  33. G4 TV
    40
    Trapt would be a decent budget title, with its extremely limited, repetitive gameplay and generally low production values. As it is, this game isn't worth a $50 purchase.
  34. Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
    40
    The problem with Trapt is that its randomness means you don't really feel satisfied when a masterplan pays off. [Mar 2006, p.96]
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  35. PSM2 Magazine UK
    39
    Yes, it's Crapt. [Apr 2006, p.72]
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  36. Game Revolution
    33
    Don't be lured in with its evil promises - the shallow gameplay and rough delivery will make everyone who plays it a victim.
  37. Computer Games Magazine
    20
    Quotation forthcoming. [Jan 2005]
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 20
  3. Negative: 2 out of 20
  1. frederik1478
    Nov 17, 2021
    6
    a nice experiment but need more traps, I had the feeling while playing this that this was a first draught of a good game it doesn't reallya nice experiment but need more traps, I had the feeling while playing this that this was a first draught of a good game it doesn't really feel like it is entirely done but it is still fun and I would recommend it if you can find it for a good price, what game there is it fun and you will like it if you in Joy weird PS2 games… Full Review »
  2. aspentitan
    Jan 19, 2020
    7
    This is a game that will definitely have polarized reviews. On the negative side the camera is quite bad and the game can be played withoutThis is a game that will definitely have polarized reviews. On the negative side the camera is quite bad and the game can be played without originality, essentially running in circles and using the same few traps over and over, until the game is beat. It can be a short monotonous game if you want. On the other side, the plus side, you can play this game extremely creatively and utilize an impressive playground of traps. How you decide to play the game makes the game if you know what I mean. And so if you see low scores and high scores thats probably why. I'm gonna give his game a 7/10. I rate must play/own games at 8/10. First annoyance you will come across is the camera. It is inverted on the x axis and no options change that. Thankfully your r2 button will reset your view to have enemies put into seeable vision placement. I soon became adapted to using it and the game was decently playable. The story is subtitled in English from Japanese and was passable. Gameplay wise is where the game shines. Not great? Ok use the same three traps over and over, pause, place, unpause and cheese it. There is no penalty for this so you can run in circles and beat the game if it gets way too difficult. Not feeling cheesy or self motivated for something different then sandbox your own trap combos and enjoy your creativity, there are tons of traps to use in this game and also special sequence traps, the creme de la creme. So the game can be played by almost any mentality. Furthermore there were many enemy types allowing for strategy enhancement. Some enemies have tricks up their sleeves too. As for the endings there are multiple but the story really isn't why youde play this game. Once you beat the game you can do repeat play through sand unlock more stuff and see different endings. All said you can beat this game quick or keep playing it and advancing more content. Further you also have a challenge mode which is waves of enemies much like the current popularity of "zombies" modes. So in sum, if you are creative and willing to self utilize sandbox resources you may score this game high. The game fun factor can be sky high. If you are not creative you will probably not see and feel the appeal of this game design and it could be a real let down. Personally I think all the tools are there for nearly anybody to play this but what you get out of the game comes from within, do not expect the game to hand you a great experience. That's where your gamer intuition comes in. As mentioned already camera and production could have been better. Had there been difficulty options ( for example limiting "pause and place" or speed) I would have had a hard time not giving this game at least an 8 rating. Unfortunately the game is only as it is, a very simple design and it requires work on the players part to enjoy but is a very decent game none the less from my perspective. If you like sandbox games this one has a lot of hidden potential.… Full Review »
  3. XV_
    Oct 24, 2021
    7
    The bones of the story might not be as groundbreaking but what makes it unique is the part where she needs to survive its pursuers with theThe bones of the story might not be as groundbreaking but what makes it unique is the part where she needs to survive its pursuers with the help of the traps, there are some developments here and there but for the most part, the plot is pretty bland. Although sometimes the game will make you doubt if the characters are good or bad, so in a sense it also has some mystery element to it, but nothing that will make you burst with anticipation or to be surprised with many of its outcomes as most of the twists can be foreseen from kilometers away, still it is fun to see how the story unfolds and how its players will react with each event.

    The characters aren’t the most unique, they represent some kind of trope but for the most part, they are likable and fun to be around with, although they tend to have two sides to them, they all are one-dimensional but serviceable.

    The game is separated into chapters and from the very first chapter you can choose to do a side story before it, these side stories are linked to the chapter (not necessarily in a narrative way) so if you miss one you’ll have to wait for another playthrough to do it. They add a little more depth to the main narrative but nothing too meaty, you can also read enemies descriptions of the current chapter before you start your mission, they tend to add more insight on how they feel towards Alicia, but most importantly they are like micro-stories on their own, as they told you about the character and how they might be linked to a future or past enemy, these descriptions remind me a lot of FromSoftware’s item descriptions and they also have a Yoko Taro dark twist to them, many times I was most invested in these micro-stories than the main narrative so make sure to give them a read before you start a chapter.

    As much as intriguing the plot can be, the most interesting part by far is the gameplay. Each chapter has the same objective: to kill or scare away your pursuers with your traps, think of Home Alone but with deadly and inventive traps. You can equip three traps into three types: wall traps, floor traps, and ceiling traps, they have different cooldowns and they also tend to have some delay between the moment you hit the button and the time you activate them, so you need to consider timing to activate them. Each room in the mansion has its own traps, some of them have only one use and some others can be reusable, the fun part of it is that you can mix your traps with room traps to make bigger combos and earn more points.

    The way you lure enemies is very simple, you can only run away and activate the traps so basically you locate yourself between your trap and the enemy and wait for them to enter the activation zone, if it sounds simple it’s because it is and the enemy AI isn’t as clever to avoid them, although as you advance through the campaign enemies won’t be susceptible to some traps so you need to get more inventive. The problem with the fixed room traps is that many times it’s hard to understand how to activate them, and even when I finished the game twice I couldn’t activate a couple of them. Maybe some kind of cryptic hint would help to figure out how to use it without losing its mysterious nature.

    As you may expect, the fun aspect of the game depends a lot on how creative can you get with the usage of traps, so if you don’t experiment by yourself it could be easy to get bored, in this regard I recommend you to change your set of traps with each chapter this way you kind of force yourself to be more resourceful with what you got, or if that doesn’t bother you, it is easy to use the same traps and exploit them over and over, I like this free approach, however, it could rob much of its challenge as the game isn’t that difficult and get away from pursuers is certainly an easy task at least for the first two-thirds of it, after that, it has a considerable increase of difficulty but nothing too impossible.

    I don’t think it is a masterpiece by any means but it does what it is supposed to do right and that is to have fun putting traps to kill your enemies and to the hunted become the hunter, or at least it does it right in a more subdued way. Still, it is an interesting premise that I’m very glad that it exists and it is hard to imagine a game like this being made in 2021, at least not by a big studio like Tecmo but with an indie developer, I understand that there is a sequel (as Trapt is the 4th game in the series) that I’m eager to try even when Trapt isn’t that great from a narrative or mechanic perspective, but it’s hard to not feel allured to its unique premise.    … Full Review »
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