Control a giant laser in action-strategy defense game Taur

(Image credit: Echo Entertainment)

I hope a game that's a blend of shoot-em-up and wave survival and tower defense sounds good to you, because that is what I’ve got here. In Taur, you control a single giant gun emplacement that you surround with automated defenses. Then, waves of enemies come. Your cannon is powerful, but can't be everywhere at once, so you optimally attack the enemy as they come, obliterating swathes of lesser foes with a huge laser as your defenses hold off the rest. It's one of those games that sounds normal but then looks downright thrilling in motion. Observe:

Of course, a giant laser is not the only option. Taur has a big tech tree to go through for new defenses and cannon options, and the cannon itself has a secondary weapon with more guns on top of that. This seems, to me, like Mindustry: A game that will eat an entire weekend and then suddenly you will have to go to work on Monday and that will be bad. The work will be bad, not the weekend-eating game. That will be good.

You can find Taur on Steam for $25, or 10% off until February 26th.

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.