Taur
- February 19, 2020
- Echo Entertainment
- 9h median play time
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Get on Steam"Taur is a single-player action-strategy sci-fi game with wonderful mechanics and fabulous visuals. Command the Prime Cannon, unlock and upgrade weapons and abilities, and build defenses to withstand different types of attacks. Every object in the environment is destructible, providing a tactically engaging experience, but beware of the heavy grinding."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Great graphics and sound design, creating an immersive experience.
- Unique gameplay that combines tower defense with active shooting mechanics.
- Engaging tech tree and upgrade system that allows for various strategies.
- Repetitive gameplay with limited enemy and map variety, leading to a lack of long-term engagement.
- Difficulty spikes can be frustrating, especially if players lose a mission and struggle to recover.
- RNG elements in weapon upgrades and resource drops can lead to unbalanced gameplay.
- story299 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and largely underwhelming, with players noting that it lacks depth and character development, primarily revolving around defending against an invasion. While some appreciate the basic premise, many reviewers express a desire for a more engaging narrative and varied mission types to enhance replayability. Overall, the consensus is that the game excels in gameplay mechanics but falls short in delivering a compelling story.
“The game starts out interesting and your choices seem to matter in how the missions play out.”
“The story is super simple but makes sense and needs little added.”
“Just played through the story campaign on normal, and it was better than expected.”
“This is not a game you play for its story; it really doesn't have much.”
“There is really no story, neither campaign. The customization is nice, but the levels get repetitive very quickly.”
“The story takes about 7-8 hours to get through and is very bare bones.”
- gameplay179 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its engaging mechanics, stunning graphics, and addictive gameplay loop, particularly in the early stages. However, several users noted that the gameplay becomes repetitive quickly, lacking depth and variety, and suffers from issues such as poor UI, frustrating mechanics, and a lack of content. While some players found the core mechanics enjoyable and the game visually appealing, others felt that it ultimately fell short of its potential due to these shortcomings.
“It's a great game with nice ambience, sounds and graphics, with successful mechanics that make you play it over and over again.”
“The gameplay loop is simple: you just play mission after mission trying to gather resources to advance a tech tree and power yourself up.”
“The gameplay is enjoyable but it feels lacking in variety.”
“Very frustrating as this has the potential to be a fantastic game, but currently the core gameplay/fun proposition is broken, as it's a bad 'shooter', with awful aim and unsatisfying player-controlled shooting, but also a bad tower defense, with turrets and units that are very weak and can't be relied upon for anything.”
“While the graphics and sound design are decent, the gameplay itself is lackluster and fails to engage the player in a meaningful way.”
“The gameplay loop gets old with no way to modify or alter the experience other than your tower build.”
- graphics141 mentions
- 70 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning visuals, unique art style, and smooth animations, contributing to an engaging and immersive experience. Many players appreciate the attention to detail in explosion effects and overall aesthetic, although some note optimization issues that can hinder performance on lower-end systems. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point of the game, enhancing both gameplay and player enjoyment.
“The graphics and visuals are absolutely stunning, and the gameplay is very engaging.”
“The aesthetics, from the visual design to the sound effects, are awesome, and once you get these massive battles on screen it's chaotic and exciting.”
“The graphics look fantastic in motion.”
“On the other hand, optimization is still terrible as lowering the graphic settings does not change anything at all.”
“Do not get suckered in by the visuals and sound design, and its promises of 'strategy,' lest you end up like me; horribly disappointed by the actual gameplay.”
“It's an aesthetically pleasing game, but mechanically vapid.”
- replayability49 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The reviews present a mixed perspective on replayability, with some players praising the potential for varied strategies and builds, while others criticize the game for its limited content and lack of new experiences after the initial playthrough. Many users note that although there are elements that could enhance replay value, such as different difficulty levels and playstyles, the overall experience tends to become stale quickly due to repetitive gameplay and a lack of significant updates or variety.
“Overall, a 10/10 game that hasn't stopped being fun and replayable in my 929 hours of playtime over the course of 5 years.”
“I enjoy the experience and believe it has decent replay value, as there is room to try different builds and strategies.”
“Great replay value too since you can try different strategies and base layouts.”
“The only downside I see is the relatively short playing time, which is about 8 hours per run, and the lack of replayability, because you see all there is in the first run.”
“There is no replay value in the game, since it features the same enemies, the same towers, and the same tech tree.”
“Unfortunately, I don't see the game having much replay value in its current state.”
- music38 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its quality and atmosphere, particularly in menus and preparation phases. However, several players express disappointment over the lack of in-game music during battles, suggesting that the absence of a dynamic soundtrack detracts from the overall experience. While some find the existing music relaxing and fitting, others feel it becomes repetitive or insufficient for the game's action-packed moments.
“Brutal sound effects in the battles, and impeccable sci-fi feeling music in the preparations part.”
“The gameplay is immensely enjoyable, the soundtrack, graphics, and game mechanics flow smoothly with each other.”
“The soundtrack, level art, atmosphere—everything is cool.”
“The problem with this game is there is no soundtrack.”
“The game itself is pretty decent, but for some reason, shooting a horde of minions with a lot of explosions without any uplifting soundtrack like in the trailer makes the game dull.”
“There is literally no music apart from when you're in the campaign menu.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and overly time-consuming, particularly after initial excitement fades. While some enjoy the variety of upgrades and the research tree, many express frustration with long wait times, repetitive gameplay, and a reliance on randomness that detracts from the fun. Overall, the grinding can feel excessive, with significant time spent on upgrades that may not feel rewarding.
“Tediously unskippable long waiting time between each action, feels like it's stretched out for filler purposes (entering a location, winning, losing, etc...).”
“You will constantly be cast into death spirals over and over with no hope of recovery; the progression can feel pretty grindy, and nearly everything the player does is dictated by pure randomness.”
“All in all, you're missing out on about 1 hour's worth of content with 5 hours of grinding.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players praise its performance relative to the graphics, others report issues with the main menu UI, settings, and performance degradation during gameplay. The reliance on RNG for upgrades can hinder performance, particularly in the early game, and there is a lack of clarity regarding offense/defense configurations. Improvements in these areas are recommended for a better user experience.
“To start off with, the optimization is fantastic for the level of graphics, and I absolutely adore the sound effects and the way enemies die and fall apart.”
“Although it has gameplay that I can definitely recommend during discounts, I recommend the devs improve the main menu UI, settings, fonts, and performance.”
“- A big part of the game is an upgrade mechanic (to increase your main weapon's damage) that completely relies on RNG, eats up a ton of resources, and can easily cripple your performance, especially early game.”
“Although it has gameplay that I can definitely recommend on discount, I urge the developers to improve the main menu UI, settings, fonts, and performance.”
“A big part of the game is an upgrade mechanic (to increase your main weapon's damage) that completely relies on RNG, consumes a ton of resources, and can easily cripple your performance, especially early in the game.”
“There is no really good way to tell if your offense/defense configuration is optimized or which towers are performing effectively.”
- stability6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -17 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's stability is mixed, with some users reporting significant issues such as freezing on exit and bugs related to controller use, while others find it largely bug-free and polished. However, a notable percentage of players experience crashes during gameplay, indicating that stability remains a concern for many. Overall, while some technical issues exist, the game is perceived as relatively stable compared to others in the genre.
“In fact, the entire game seems to be bug-free.”
“The game feels quite polished and bug-free.”
“The stability of the game enhances the overall experience.”
“The game sometimes doesn't close, and tabbing out of the game is buggy.”
“The game now locks up and freezes on exit.”
“There are small technical issues, such as mouse acceleration and the mouse becoming unusable when a USB controller is plugged in. The game also freezes when trying to exit from the main menu.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is noted for its humorous approach, combining absurdity with irony, particularly in its cheeky commentary that playfully insults the player. The comedic elements enhance the overall experience, making the gameplay both entertaining and engaging.
“A funny game where you kill stuff with more stuff.”
“Funny pew pew.”
“I do love that irony at the beginning of the game though... it's sort of insulting the gamer in a cheeky, funny way. Love that bit.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express frustration with the game's current state, indicating that it has negatively impacted their emotional connection to the experience. They are hopeful for improvements in future updates but are currently disengaged.
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the game's atmosphere, highlighting the impressive soundtrack and level art as key elements that contribute to an engaging and immersive experience.
“The soundtrack, level art, and atmosphere are all incredible.”
“The immersive atmosphere draws you in and keeps you engaged.”
“Every detail contributes to a captivating atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience.”
