Developer: RVL Games
Publisher: RVL Games
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux
Tested on: PC
Ezaron Defense – Review
Tower defense games have been around for a while. The first game that’s seen as a Tower Defense is named Rampart, made by Atari. Ever since that title, the genre has been developing and evolving up to the point that there are many titles available. While generally overlapping in their gameplay, the games often have their own differences in style and programming. What’s different about Ezaron Defense compared to others?
Story
The story feels like your standard fantasy bit. You play as a knight in service of the king, tasked with driving back monsters that are flooding the lands. There’s also something to do with mines that supply crystals with special powers that could be used by you or the enemy. In an effort to help your king, you take on various missions to either defend your lands or push (which is also still defending) into enemy territory. Most of the time the story isn’t very important or entertaining in a tower defense game, and while this time it’s no different, Ezaron Defense is still quite charming in its own way.
Graphics
While the graphics during the story bits are far from great, the overall models and creative touches are very pleasant to look at. Each map feels like it has a bit of an RTS touch to it, with some extra objects here and there and interesting woods surrounding you and your towers. The towers are pretty cool, even though the projectiles feel a bit basic. You could probably say about Ezaron Defense that the models are well-made and colorful, but the overall animations leave room for improvement. This is true for animations during the story, the enemy movements, projectiles, and spells being cast.
Sound
Most of the sounds in Ezaron are basic or have a royalty-free ring to them. The music in the game itself is the least bothering, compared to the sound effects and the menu music. Especially sounds such as those coming from a laser tower are loud and intrusive. The aesthetics and sounds in the game actually make it feel a lot like a mobile game. There’s something about all of it that feels slightly low quality for a PC game, but it doesn’t make the game bad.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Ezaron Defense is as straightforward as any tower defense can be. There’s a pre-determined line or multiple lines that enemies will follow from spawn to end. Next to these lines, you can build towers where spots are available. The towers then shoot enemies, and you have to try to kill all the enemies before they reach the end. If they reach the end anyway, there’s a knight standing as a “defense” there that stops a couple of them before you lose the game.
The main issue with all of this is that, while it’s a pretty common tower defense, Ezaron Defense is easy. Up to a certain level, there is barely any challenge present. There are only four towers available in the game, and all have hardly any upgrades. The game introduces a type of skill tree with some overall upgrades, but it’s also fairly plain. There’s an RPG element introduced where you can actually build up a town too, but it’s useless aside from unlocking extra points to use in the skill tree. While it all looks cool to mess around with, as soon as you realize it’s actually partially useless or mundane, the pleasure you get from i.e. building your city quickly disappears.
Aside from the critique on these aspects, the game is still quite enjoyable though. It’s good old, straightforward tower defense gameplay. Just don’t expect a game with any real in-depth gameplay or extensive gameplay. If you go for a fun, accessible game with a small enjoyable story, it might be enough.
Conclusion
There’s little to really hate about Ezaron Defense, and while it’s not the best tower defense out there, it’s still a simple, enjoyable game. It’s a shame it’s sometimes too simple or that it has some RPG and RTS elements implemented that are rather useless, but it’s still not a bad game whatsoever. This is one of those scenarios where the offset is fun and simple, it could have used a lot more meat on its bones to make it memorable.
Ezaron Defense - Review,
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