The Talos Principle

As i am writing this review, not much information on the game itself is shared on IMDb. And no other reviews written, but if there is a game i have played recently that deserves this, it's this one.

This is one of the most rewarding games i have ever played. I did not know what to expect when i started to play it, except that it contained a lot of puzzles. But when i was done playing it, i was sitting still for a long period of time, reflecting on what i had just experienced.

What this game does to you, is to give you a series of puzzles ranging from quite easy to very challenging. As you progress through these puzzles you are also following a story that drives you into an amazing journey of philosophy, ethics, morale and so on.

Many other games have tried this, and many have failed. A puzzle game is the last place you would ever expect to find a deep story like this, and one of the things that makes this game pure genius. The deeper into the game you get, the deeper the story goes, and since you are constantly solving more and more complex puzzles, you feel a sense of accomplishment few other games can measure up to, and this sense of accomplishment makes you want to face difficult subjects like philosophy head on.

The game is also quite long, depends on how much of it you want to accomplish, but we are talking about at least 12 hours of gameplay, bigger than portal and portal 2 combined.

This title is a must for all puzzle fans, and i can not recommend it enough. The atmosphere, the music, the challenge, the gameplay, the graphics, the story, the voice acting. All of it come together to form one of the most memorable gaming experiences i have ever had.

10/10 - Masterpiece

And this game was made by the same guys that made the Sam trilogy? Are you serious? ;)

The Witness from Jonathan Blow made me buy this game. I had absolutely no expectations, I only bought it because I had read they were similar, and The Witness is set to release later this month.

Turns out The Talos Principle was one of my favorite game experience ever. I rarely play puzzle games and even when I do, I usually don't have the patience to try and solve/search for everything. But Talos caught me really fast. The way the game teaches you stuff is amazing. You are exploring a world filled with puzzles. You solve those while using tools and get rewarded with sigils. Eventually you will unlock more tools and more worlds with those sigils. And maybe if you get enough, you will be able to understand the beautiful world you are trapped in, because all you really want is to escape, right?

The game also contains hidden stars. This is where the game is really at, where the challenge is. You just can't beat the feeling you get by discovering 'how' to get and solve some of those harder stars. They are also dozens of easter eggs everywhere and those are all about exploration of the world, getting out of boundaries, being clever, taking a leap, being innovative and you get rewarded really good sometimes.

Most puzzle games have little story or not at all. But yet, Talos got me into it's story more than RPG games such as Dark Souls. You have those metaphysical conversations with a terminal. They get really deep. You end up questioning yourself about your actions, choices, who you are and what you believe, humanity in general, so much more too.

The music is quite relaxing and really amazing. It fits the theme really well and it didn't took me long to realize I might have to buy the soundtrack too.

I bought the DLC Road To Gehenna to get me some more puzzles. Talos also made me buy Portal 1 and 2.

The only flaw is most of the stars are impossible to find without any help.

THE TALOS PRINCIPAL (2014) was a very unique puzzle game with amazing graphics and metaphysical, thoughtful narrative. It almost makes me think it's a more serious, philosophical counterpart of the (unrelated) Portal games, which I also loved. In The Talos Principal game, the player is allowed to explore a hyper vivid and beautiful world, in a series of stages with unique and increasingly challenging puzzles-each having their own theme and feel, creating a very original experience.

Visually, it is a work of art. The experience the game offers is really amazing with a lot of philosophical and existential questions that make you really think while you play. The challenges and puzzles are also very mind-racking, that you'll feel like your getting a brain workout just playing this, so it's definitely not quite the easy play for those gamers looking for mindless action and quests.

Overall, this game leaves a lasting impression and offers an unforgettable experience. I would recommend for fans of interactive narrative games filled with challenging puzzles and problems and philosophical themes. Beware, some of the puzzle can get quite difficult towards the second half of the game and it can be frustrating to play. Solving the puzzle and the overall mystery of the story can be very rewarding.

STORY: 10/10 GAMEPLAY: 8/10 GRAPHICS: 9/10 ART DESIGN: 9/10 MUSIC: 9/10 OVERALL RATING: 9.

Nearly a masterpiece. Would give it a 10 if most of the puzzles weren't that miserable and frustrating and the amount of puzzle you have to go through is also frustrating and the game is too long for it's own good. Like the last 30% of the puzzle could've been removed from the game and it would've made the game better.