HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Taur'' is an action-strategy sci-fi game developed and published by Swedish studio Echo Entertainment, released on 20 February 2020. The game is inspired by the
tower defense Tower defense (TD) is a subgenre of strategy games where the goal is to defend a player's territories or possessions by obstructing the enemy attackers or by stopping enemies from reaching the exits, usually achieved by placing defensive struc ...
genre and mixes strategy with wave survival.


Plot

The game is played in a world called Taurea, homeworld for the technically advanced Taurea-droids. These drones are threatened by the enemy faction Imperion, which is controlling a major part of the galaxy. The player is supposed to stop the invasion of the emperion and destroy the overlord of the robotic aggressors. The player is the commander of the "Prime Cannon" and has to complete missions featuring different types of enemies with specific tactics, some are for example wave-based and others are more offensive in their strategy and way of behaving.


Gameplay

The player has the ability to take 360-degree control over the Prime Cannon, which in the start of the game is equipped with a railgun and can eventually be upgraded to contain a
laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
,
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
s, limited slow-mo and other destructive equipment. The Prime Cannon is equipped with a primary and secondary weapon that can be fired simultaneously. Later into the game the player gets a chance to construct smaller towers around the Prime Cannon, which can be used for firepower in battle. These mini-towers can be constructed on the so called hex grid. Players can also construct auto-turrets, droids, airplanes etc. Completing missions gives the player resources that serves as a currency in the game, which can unlock new hex grids as well as new abilities and upgrades in the research tree and tech tree. To be able to buy new abilities in the different sectors the player needs to have enough energy for it. However, the upgrades in the hex grid are not permanent and can get destroyed. An important factor in the game is therefore to have enough defenses to complete the missions and beat the enemies. Gameplay also involves destroying items and units in the environment, which can change the course of the battle if used correctly.


Reception

''Taur'' received generally mixed reviews from video game critics. Review aggregator website
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
rated the game 70/100, based on five reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Writing for '' GameStar'', Florian Zandt gave the game a mixed to positive review, describing the game as well-balanced and praising the graphics. However, he mentions the game's setting as a bit bland. Alex V of the ''New Game Network'' gave the game a mixed review, stating that "''Taur'' has a respectable enough gameplay foundation, but it doesn't really do much with it". He continues with saying that "Unlocking new towers and units along the way, and boosting their strengths does satisfy. But sadly, the battles never evolve beyond the basics, and your direct control of Prime Cannon never becomes enjoyable. If you're wanting something new to play in the tower defense genre, ''Taur'' is a decent option, but that's about it". Jordan Devore of ''
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ' ...
'' gave the game an overall mixed review, saying the following: "As is, ''Taur'' has a wonderful central idea – it lets you tear up the place with a ridiculously powerful sci-fi cannon that's a joy to control – but the elements surrounding that core concept aren't as fleshed-out, refined, or engaging. It's the kind of game that leaves you wanting a sequel that can fire on all cylinders".


References

{{reflist 2020 video games Windows games Windows-only games Science fiction video games Single-player video games Action games Strategy video games Video games developed in Sweden Video games set on fictional planets