The Turing Test
The Turing Test is a challenging first-person puzzle game set on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. You are Ava Turing, an engineer for the International Space Agency (ISA) sent to discover the cause behind the disappearance of the ground crew stationed there. Upon arrival a series of puzzles awaits you – tests which, according to the station’s AI, Tom, can only be solved by a human. These puzzles have apparently been set by the missing ground crew – but why have they created them and what are they hiding from? In an evolving story based on mankind’s instinctual need to explore, protect and survive, you’ll delve deeper into Europa’s ice crusted-core and discover that the lines between man and machine begin to blur. Armed with the Energy Manipulation Tool (EMT), solve puzzles to open the way forward as you learn the true cost of human morality.
Game Discussion
Steam User 16
“We must address, individually and collectively, moral and ethical issues raised by cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence and biotechnology, which will enable significant life extension, designer babies, and memory extraction.” — Klaus Schwab
The Turing Test is a ultimately a puzzle game in the vein of Portal and Q.U.B.E. — while its narrative is more analogous to a walking sim.
Taking place on the Jovian moon of Europa. You'll control Ava, a character investigating the team originally sent to the base. The base has an AI companion named Tom that will assist you through the tests as well as pose interesting yet traditional questions about the nature of AI and its purpose.
Gameplay
Ava has a gun that can move different energy or plasma balls in and out of circuits. So puzzles are largely based on moving switches, positioning and using delays to have the circuits function appropriately to reach the door and escape the puzzle room. As you may suspect, some of the puzzles require a human element. Something that may not logically follow that an AI simply would not engage with in the same way. A Turing Test, if you will.
The Gist
It's on the shorter side, about 6-7 hours if you skip the optional puzzles. While I did enjoy the story, and there are multiple endings. I found a few of the puzzles, especially in the final area, to be complicated enough to siphon my overall enjoyment. Which effectively impacted my emotional response to the game's final moments. I'd pick it up on sale if you enjoy games like Portal.
If you've found this review helpful, consider following my curation — Station Argus
Steam User 5
A really good and fun puzzle game that scratches the itch that Portal leaves behind after playing of wanting playing more games similar to it. I wish there was a sequel to it.
Steam User 2
Enjoyable puzzle game similar to the Portal series. Puzzles can get a little repetitive, though. Multiple solutions encourages some creativity. New mechanics are introduced every Chapter which keeps it fresh and encourages the player to continue progressing to unravel the mystery.
Ending felt a little rushed, but overall a great game.
Steam User 2
A really interesting game. I enjoyed the story and the puzzles, some of them where too easy but they are used to introduce new puzzle elements to the player. If you like Portal then you'll probably enjoy this.
Works perfectly on the Steam Deck, runs at a solid 60fps without issues.
Steam User 5
Pretty solid, polished first person puzzle game that lasts a couple hours. Clearly inspired by Portal, not that that's a bad thing, as there is an AI overseeing and narrating while you solve puzzles in chambers. The puzzles don't ever get too difficult but are thought provoking enough. New mechanics are very quickly introduced throughout the chapters which keeps it fresh.
There are also 7 optional puzzles in between each chapter that offer a bit more challenge. The reward for completing them is a hit or miss, with some having interesting lore at the end and others being quite a let down for the effort required.
The narration is high quality and the story was decently interesting albeit fairly shallow. More definitely could've been done with it but it holds up well enough. The narrator only speaks when you first enter a chamber, unlike for instance Portal where GLaDOS yaps throughout playing. It would've been nice for the narrator to yap more so we could understand the story and character better.
My interest waned towards the last couple chapters. The chambers increased in size but not necessarily difficulty - they were just tedious, not engaging. The fact that all the chambers look the same didn't help with that. This was further compounded by the ending that was a bit... goofy and disappointing.
Overall, it's not exceptional but a decently fun time. I'd recommend it on sale.
Steam User 1
I went into this game not entirely knowing what to expect. But once I'd finished the game, I was thoroughly impressed. The developers did a fantastic job of creating a complex AI system. Think HAL from 2001, Ash or David from the Alien franchise, or AIDAN from Illuminae Files (for those who have read it). The dialogue was also fantastic and there is on audio file close to the end that gave me literal chills.
I would highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys sci-fi or just some good story telling. And please, please, please read all the documents you can find throughout the game. They really make the game ten times better and show the care and attention these devs put in.
Steam User 1
Good puzzles if a little easy. Nice visuals, well paced and snappy puzzle solving. Despite this the plot is depressing and the characters are all childish except the A.I, and the music is repetitive towards the end. I had to take multiple breaks because it's such a downer, but at least I got a refresher course on the difference between syntax and semantics.