The Talos Principle

The Talos Principle wasn't a game that I ever really planned on playing but the fact that this masterpiece goes on sale for £2.50? I had to pick it up. It is a puzzle game with a heavy emphasis on it's theological story. To finish this completely and unlock every area, ending, puzzle and secret takes a lot of time, and for such a low price on sale? absolutely worth it.

Gameplay

The game has 4 main worlds, the first 3 split into 7 different areas, these are non-linear and so can be completed in any order, the 4th "world" being the puzzles leading up to the ending, These total to more than 120 puzzles. As you go through these areas and complete puzzles you will collect sigils which are used to unlock puzzle mechanics and new areas to progress.

There are a tonne of different puzzle mechanics across these worlds: Jammers to stop signals, lasers to activate things, cubes to press buttons and fans to blow yourself or other objects to different positions, with the main goal being to get to the end and get the sigil. The most difficult it gets is when it introduces a different version of yourself which copies your moves which means you have to look at puzzles in a whole other way.

There's also a bunch of secret stars in different areas either hidden or requiring you to setup puzzles in different ways so that you can, for example, see a laser from outside of the level in order to connect it and open up a secret area, and I think that's what this game does best, Easter eggs and hidden areas are littered through every single world mainly consisting of video game references.

Story

As you play through the worlds, the narrator will talk to you and guide you towards a certain ending, this game features multiple depending on the choices you make. There is a Terminal in each area where you can speak to an entity who will guide you to go against this narrator which gives you an alternate ending, all of these endings are similar but with slight differences in narration and meaning.

I can't speak on what the story is really about because, to be completely honest, a lot of it went over my head, it's a very theological and philosophical and there are so many dialogue options that it was really difficult to understand and follow. If you thoroughly read through every message in every ending it easily adds a tonne to your playtime.

Achievements (40/40)

The achievements here are quite annoying, requiring either multiple playthrough's or backing up save files in order to get all the alternate endings, the game does have in-game backups which works for most achievements but not all. I'd recommend using a guide if you don't want to re-do everything 3 times.

Settings/Accessibility/Misc

Checkpoints after each puzzle- Game stores up to 10 backups which you can revert back to at any point. Options to switch between first-person and multiple 3rd person perspectives. Option to change movement speed. In-game benchmark for performance. Motion sickness options. Rebindable keyboard and gamepad controls. Supports eye tracking. Workshop map support. In-game achievement menu. 15 languages supported for text, 13 languages supported for voice.

TL;DR

Phenomenal first-person story-driven puzzle game with a bunch of challenging puzzles and hidden secrets. Lots of unique mechanics and well-designed puzzles. Well worth it on sale. Achievements easier with a guide.

Check out my Curator page

Really one of the best puzzle games I've ever played... certainly on par with the original Portal, for sure. Here's my breakdown.


GRAPHICS
First of all, the graphics are... well, they threw me off at first. I assumed my graphics settings were way wrong, because it was way too pixelated. Fast forward about 10 seconds and I realized that was intentional, and they use it to great effect.

MUSIC/AUDIO
There's only one voice in the game, and I think it was voice-acted perfectly. Otherwise, the ambient music is beautiful and fits every scene.

PUZZLES
Some of these are definitely a bit mind-bending (and clever). That said, trying to find the stars would require a dedicated playthrough I feel, and might be tough without following a guide (which absolutely feels like cheating). That said, when you get one, you definitely get to feel pretty clever.

COMPARISON (to Talos Principle 2)
I'm partway through the sequel, and I can say at this point I certainly preferred the original. The puzzles are feel were a bit harder, I preferred the austere and simplistic setting, and think the sequel focused way too much on jaw-dropping visuals instead of compelling gameplay.

BUT... omfg. Best visuals I've seen in a game to date. It makes Cyberpunk 2077 look like Mario Bros by comparison. If 2 is a preview of what gaming is about to look like, sign me up - it just doesn't need to exist in a puzzle game IMO. Well worth it for some decent puzzles continuing in the style of the original, plus the incredible graphics feast.

CONCLUSION
Get this hidden gem.

The puzzles and story is really good. Great game design. Challenging

Great puzzles that are satisfying to solve. Good story creates a nice flow between it and the puzzles.

Great game. Solid story line very nice graphics and challenging puzzles. It can be a really relaxing game as well until you find a puzzle that takes up 3 hours of your time because you get a mental block after trying so many different ways to solve it. Would highly recommend both games which for the current sale price is an absolute gift.

🔲 You forget what reality is
🔲 Beautiful
☑️ Good
🔲 Decent
🔲 Bad
🔲 Don‘t look too long at it
🔲 MS-DOS

☑️ Very good
🔲 Good
🔲 It‘s just gameplay
🔲 Mehh
🔲 Watch paint dry instead
🔲 Just don't

🔲 Just press 'W'
🔲 Easy
☑️ Significant brain usage
🔲 Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑️ Difficult
🔲 Dark Souls

☑️ Nothing to grind
🔲 Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
🔲 Isnt necessary to progress
🔲 Average grind level
🔲 Too much grind
🔲 You‘ll need a second live for grinding

🔲 Kids
🔲 Teens
🔲 Adults
☑️ All

🔲 Eargasm
☑️ Very good
🔲 Good
🔲 Not too bad
🔲 Bad
🔲 I'm now deaf

🔲 Never heard of
☑️ Minor bugs
🔲 Can get annoying
🔲 ARK: Survival Evolved
🔲 The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

🔲 No Story
🔲 Some lore
🔲 Average
🔲 Good
🔲 Lovely
☑️ It‘ll replace your life

🔲 Long enough for a cup of coffee (0 - 2 hours)
🔲 Short (3 - 7 hours)
🔲 Average (8 - 20 hours)
☑️ Long (21-60 hours) [main story + DLC + All stars]
🔲 Very Long (61-100 hours)
🔲 To infinity and beyond (100+ hours)

🔲 It’s free!
☑️ Worth the price
🔲 If u have some spare money left
🔲 Not recommended
🔲 You could also just burn your money

"The Talos Principle" is an awesome game, I can't describe the greatness of this game. It's a phylosophic game which is based in the Adan and Eva story, which does greatly from the perspective of a robot that throughout all the game you will be reconsider what does makes us a human?

• Positives
  The game's story is truly remarkable, woven with intricate details, thought-provoking conversations, and symbolic elements that create a vivid and immersive experience. Every choice you make influences the outcome of various situations, adding depth to the narrative. Despite its philosophical depth, the game presents challenging and innovative puzzles that progressively increase in difficulty and introduce new mechanics. The soundtrack complements the atmospheric setting, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game. With its DLC, the game extends its philosophical exploration, providing hours of engaging gameplay.
  
• Negatives
  Remarkably, there are no discernible flaws with the game.

In summary, "The Talos Principle" stands as a masterpiece, offering a profound narrative, challenging puzzles, and an enchanting setting that elevates it to greatness. It remains one of the industry's most underrated gems, and it deserves a 9.5/10.

Puzzle game.....packed existential rhetoric. It will make ya think, alright.
With multiple endings....which will you choose? Recommended. ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

слишком много уровней при том что они не очень интересные

ahead of its time for sure--would play it a million times over now that I've actually completed all of the levels! In-depth plot and story--a lot of love and effort was put into it and you can tell when you first get into the game itself. I can't wait to play the second one!

Great game but why can't I redeem codes? The game freezes and after a moment it says "Content server is not responding."