The Talos Principle Reviews
The Talos Princple succeeds in many ways, with smooth controls, a gorgeous environment, and an engaging backdrop of thought-provoking story and theme. The puzzles begin simply, and slowly evolve with new elements to test your mettle; since you can tackle any open area in any order, there's a certain freedom that goes well with the thematic overtones.
The Talos Principle builds a giant collection of 3D puzzles, puts you in the middle of it, and then gives you a philosophical puzzle to chew on that's even larger.
The Talos Principle is a game of challenges and conundrums and philosophical wonderings, filled with logic puzzles and cerebral mysteries. Its chunky mechanical processes are underpinned by a compelling breadcrumb-trail narrative that tackles the intangible notion of humanity and consciousness. Consequently, despite playing a robot that interacts with computer terminals and takes instruction from a disembodied voice in the sky, it exudes personality and charm; its mechanical precision complementing its aesthetic qualities. For an experience bereft of human contact it boasts a very big heart indeed.
The Talos Principle's philosophical puzzling is the closest anyone's ever come to recapturing what made Portal special.
A puzzle worth brooding over
The Talos Principle has some important things to say, but more thoughtfully, it wants the player to have important things to say as well. Even those who do not bother to think about the philosophical topics can find a smart, sometimes frustratingly difficult puzzler here. It really shines for those open to both.
Much like Portal, The Talos Principle makes you feel smart just by playing it, as the bulk of the puzzles hit that sweet spot between too easy and near-impossible.
The philosophical side of the game won't be for everyone, and you can largely leave it alone or skim the texts if you really don't get on with it. I really enjoyed digging into the archives so I'd recommend giving it a good go, but ultimately it shouldn't get in the way of enjoying the excellent puzzle side of things.
An adept and satisfying puzzle game with a narrative that requires a bit of player investment to yield its biggest rewards.
The feeling of accomplishment from solving The Talos Principle's puzzles is almost like a high, and the game does a mostly great job of guiding you in the beginning and then letting you figure things out for yourself. Some hiccups near the end drastically change the pace of problem solving for the worse, but it's a game that will seriously challenge you to think and to reason.
The real problem is that Talos suffers in comparisons. While Portal was just a series of connected puzzle chambers it always felt that a developer was leading you through it. The Talos Principle feels like boxes within boxes, left by the developer for you to play in.
The Talos Principle may spend a bit too much time stroking its beard and showing off how deep it is, but the fact remains that it regularly deserves to posture. Not only is it a highly accomplished puzzle game, it's a genuinely fascinating collection of reflective notions.
If you love brainteasers and philosophy, then The Talos Principle is better than a night at the movies
Excellent puzzles are only the tip of the iceberg for The Talos Principle, an existential journey about what it is to be human.
The fact that everything plays out so smoothly here suggests that the finished product is extremely close to the designers' original vision for the project, a compliment that certainly can't be levelled at all games. This clarity of creation brings us a game of expert pacing and reward, as well as one that possesses more depth than the vast majority of its genre peers.
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 Talos Principles manages to be both a great game and a contemplative piece of art, and the world is a richer place for it.
Games that are this thought provoking and enjoyable are rare. Rarer still are those that imbue this level of pride and honor upon completion.
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 go away and figure it out on paper if you need to (I needed to, frequently).
Not content with merely being a fairly impressive piece of writing and first-person puzzle design, The Talos Principle sets out to expand your horizons, and will most likely succeed. Croteam's foray into territory beyond absurd, large-scale first-person shooters is not without faults, but it proves without a doubt that they aren't the one-trick pony you thought they were.