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The Talos Principle
The Talos Principle is a philosophical first-person puzzle game from Croteam, the creators of the legendary Serious Sam series, written by Tom Jubert (FTL, The Swapper) and Jonas Kyratzes (The Sea Will Claim Everything).
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The Talos Principle Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
The Talos Principle is one of the most brilliant and engaging puzzle games ever made, with a fantastic and contemplative story that isn't afraid to ask difficult questions. It's a masterpiece.
Unlike other Croteam titles, Talos 2 does not have any backup saves nor does its reset function actually reset your position. The game is also built to keep you out of where you should not be, almost to a fault, and so I unfortunately spent a good 30 minutes trying to get back to the island without dying a bunch. Thankfully I was successful. but had I not been I would have been very annoyed. I never ran into this issue again and hopefully down the road the developer can patch in a solution.
While I love a good puzzle game, The Talos Principle (2014) was one huge gauntlet of puzzle after puzzle with only minimal story in between, which almost made me bounce off it completely (I bounced off The Witness for the same reasons). The Talos Principle 2 massively expands the narrative elements of the series with exploration through a gorgeous world, engaging characters, and fascinating dialogue, all while maintaining high-quality puzzles.
Despite the occasional audio glitch or technical hiccup, The Talos Principle 2 stays faithful to the original while elegantly iterating upon all aspects of the game like a cleverly designed nesting doll. With its compelling narrative, complex characters, and perplexing puzzles, the sequel has exceeded my expectations on all fronts. This game is a testament to the art of thoughtful and immersive storytelling, with thought-provoking environmental puzzles that rival those of Portal and other icons of the genre. Navigating the philosophical labyrinth that is The Talos Principle 2 has been captivat...
Few games have everything working in such synchronised harmony as The Talos Principle. The world, puzzles, narrative and music are all served to the player in small helpings, never overwhelming and allowing you to soak in and become one with the world. By the end of the game, it has challenged your mind in multiple ways. As a game The Talos Principle forces the player to reason through the mechanics of its puzzles, all the while tickling the philosophical parts of our minds with deeper questions.
The Talos Principle is a brilliant puzzle game with story and gameplay elements that blend remarkably well.
The Talos Principle is a first-person puzzle game in the tradition of philosophical science fiction, written by Tom Jubert (FTL, The Swapper) and Jonas Kyratzes (The Sea Will Claim Everything).
If none of that sounds like your cup of Earl Grey and you just love 3D puzzle games then The Talos Principle will be worth the price of entry as you can ignore most of the musings on offer here. But I feel you’d be missing out on what makes The Talos Principle so interesting. It’s an experience that truly stretched different parts of my mind in more satisfying way than Portal. Though the puzzles frustrate at times, most are put together thoughtfully and in a simple enough way that you can...
While you could argue that all narratives strive to deliver some kind of moral, social, or psychological message, most games are more concerned with empowering the player or delivering an awe-inspiring spectacle than they are communicating any meaningful message. The Talos Principle, on the other hand, is a piece of art that manages to entertain while it challenges you to think introspectively about the world and your place in it.
The Talos Principle 2 has almost everything I could ever want out of a puzzle game. It builds upon the foundations of the original, and is a perfect callback to classics such as Portal and Myst. There’s a brave new world out there for you to explore, numerous sentient robots to meet, and countless puzzles that will make you wrack your brain.
The Talos Principle joins an unlikely pair of creative forces in a way that succeeds far beyond my expectations. It's a smart game that doesn't punish you for it, a puzzle game that allows a sense of creativity. And while it isn't the most upbeat thing out there, there's a vein of hope that runs through it — and ties it all together neatly at the end.
The one thing I would say is that the game is pricey to the point of being off-putting, certainly to at least one friend. It's £29.99 full price on Steam (pre-orders get you a slight discount). I think it's worth it and got about 12-15 hours of playtime out of it so far (obviously some of that was disgruntled tea slurping/glaring or taking a soothing Beyoncé dance break). I'll also return to finish off some bits - bonus stars and the like. At the moment, though, there's a free public test which offers a selection of three puzzles so you can try them out beforehand as well as Sigils of Elohim w...