The Talos Principle

Overall: SS

This game has constantly impressed me over the past 10 years I've been playing it. Call it a social experiment or a love letter to people who care to think - whatever you can call it, this game stands in the top tier of gaming, period.

While this IS a puzzle game, and a great one at that, this is not just another portal clone; it's not just another puzzle game.

However, due to the nature of life and death and the ability to think for yourself, all I can do is give it a high praise and recommendation - you'll have to play it for yourself - live your own life, your own way. Many won't, and that's okay. But, it's their loss.

The graphics are fantastic for 2014. This game still runs on their proprietary, in-house engine (the Serious Sam engine), and looks just as good as it should. No ray-tracing, but this game absolutely doesn't need it: when your game is hand made by extremely passionate people, no amount of automatic light will surpass the creativity of artists will full control.

The audio is very good, but not without very minor flaws (I'm really picky). The soundtrack isn't as good as the sequel (The Talos Principle 2 has a STELLAR soundtrack), but they're different enough games, and the soundtrack and sfx are every bit as satisfying and appropriate as needed.

The puzzles in this game get actually hard. Not impossible, but an appropriate level of challenge and satisfaction. The sequel (Talos 2) is disappointingly easy where I'm at (~30% in), and to some that's a dealbreaker, but I enjoy the thoughts and questions presented in the sequel, as well as how pretty it is (and did I mention the soundtrack??!). The puzzle difficulty ramps up appropriately, too, which is nice.

The movement engine is a little oversimplified for what's basically an FPS. There is no crouching, and the jumping and air-control (no air strafing) still moves like 2001. But, the game is designed, such that the jumping is automated in places (where you look, sometimes a jump-helper appears, and when you hit jump again, your player will jump there).

The story is what this game's best foot forward. Do not play the sequel first, play through all of this game until completion, first. Take your time, there is no rush, it'll be here. This is not a summer-hype COD8 game that if you wait you'll miss out, obviously - I am, after all, putting this recommendation out for a 10-year-old game at this point (game released December 2014, and writing this in November 2024).

The themes in the story are thought provoking and philosophical, as well as technology and blur the lines between science fiction and reality a little bit.

There are secrets in this game. Croteam, the makers of the 2001 game Serious Sam: The First Encounter (still a fantastic boomer shooter LAN/Co-Op game), are well known for doing things the old way: handmade, secrets, jokes, thoughtfulness, and integrity. These are games, meant to be played, by people. Which brings me to my next point...

There are no micro-transactions in this game. As of 2024, there is a DLC expansion that came out years later. But, this is not a way for them to get your money - this game is meant to be something for you, a living, human person, to do, to experience and to play.

And that being said:

-----------> DO NOT LOOK STUFF UP ABOUT THIS GAME!!!!

I'm serious. Go in blind, and remain that way the entire time. The game is not meant for you to cheat.

It took me ten years to finish, and was well worth it. I got stuck several times and life happens. That's okay. I was drawn back, maybe you won't be. But after ten years, I can say right now, that this game was game of that year. You know what else came out that year? Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Nighogg, Titanfall 1, Mario Kart 8, Elite: Dangerous, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Divinity: Original Sin, Dark Souls II, Transistor, MGS5, SSM WiiU, and a handful of other good and great games.

But let me tell you... If you like puzzle games at all AND can ask yourself some hard questions:

This was the game of the year, 2014.

This game is nearly a 10/10.

The only shortfalls are very, very minor. The sequel does fix them, but introduces other, bigger issues. Neither are perfect...

...but then again, what is?

Overall: SS
Video: AA
Audio: A
Story: SSS
Engine/logistics of play in 2024: A
Puzzles: AA
Secrets: S
Coherence: SS+

You should play The Talos Principle if:
- You can handle PUZZLE games at all
- You can handle FPS games/controls
- You appreciate ATTENTION TO DETAIL and HANDMADE things

I think that this game would be hard to recommend to a lot of people, because I think most people's idea of a video game is something they can sit down and learn the basic steps, and then do very little thinking outside of what the game throws at you. It might get progressively harder if its singleplayer, or your experiences may vary in mutliplayer.
But The Talos Principle is a game in which there is only the simple premise, to solve puzzles. That's the gameplay. And to a lot of people on the face, it is boring. I thought it was possibly going to be boring.
What I ended up playing was a game that I felt was doing its best to challenge my preexisting view of humanity, of the self, and of what it means to have free will. Sure, other games can do this as well but I think this game is perfect for an avenue of thought like that.
You're both thinking about the puzzles, but thinking about the information the games presents to you through dialogue at the same time. You ask yourself "Why?" over and over again, and you get the feeling if you just keep pushing, just solve another few puzzles or levels that you'll eventually figure it all out. What exactly? Well, I leave that to you to find out.
And you can be ignorant of all this the whole game, and just solve the puzzles too at the same time. It makes me realize that everyone's experience with this game will reflect their own curiosity and wonder, or it might reflect someone's more linear and goal-oriented mind with only wishing to solve the puzzles.
I don't want to presume it's super deep and puts forward new ideas never explored; a lot of this stuff could be explained to someone in a college lecture or another story of course. However, I think that The Talos Principle uniquely sets itself up to really engage the average layman with this if they only choose to at least have an open mind and try to press forward as much as they can. No one puts it better as Alexandra Drennan:
"Games are part of what makes us human, we see the world as a mystery, a puzzle, because we've always been a species of problem solvers."
I have been thoroughly enjoying the second one, and I think these games will become one burned into the far edges of my brain until the day it stops working.

"Frogs are people too."
The Talos Principle is a puzzle video game developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital.
Story
You play as an unnamed android who wakes up in a mysterious environment.
A voice calling himself Elohim instructs you to explore the worlds he created and complete puzzles inside them to gather sigils, under one condition- you cannot enter the tower in the centre of these worlds. But as you navigate through the lands, you discover your actual purpose might be way different than you originally thought.
Gameplay
As you could have guessed from genre and quick story summary, in Talos Principle you explore the worlds and solve puzzles to further progress in the game (for even more puzzles!), with a given choice of playing the game in either first or third person.
Each puzzle contains a tetromino-shaped "sigil" you have to obtain to consider a puzzle as complete.
These sigils are used to unlock new tools you need for further riddles, or to unlock new areas. You have to complete a tiling puzzle from a collected sigil set every once in a while too.
Puzzles themselfs offer a variety of challenges, depending often on what tools you can use and what stands between you and your goal. You will encounter computer controlled drones which explode if you get near them, wall mounted turrets, fans blowing you away and more! You will have to utilize everything you got at your disposal and your wits to beat these challenges. Sigils come in different colours to represent multiple difficulties. Starting green ones are simple and easy, yellow offer average challenge while red sigils are a reward for toughest puzzles and especially at the start of your journey, might be a really tough nut to crack. There are also hidden star sigils, requiring creative and sometimes crazy approach to get them, needed to unlock extra worlds.
When you are not interested in collecting sigils, you can explore a bit. Find audio logs, or use terminals to reach data texts, you might start a conversation or two too.
Discover QR messages left by other androids (including your Steam friends!), and write one yourself if you will find a bucket with paint. Plus ton upon ton of Easter Eggs, with big chunk of them focusing on other Croteam franchise, Serious Sam!
Playtime and replayability
Completing every puzzle and wrapping up the story took me very solid 20 hours.
As it tends to be with puzzles, after solving them repeating tends to be unnecessary as knowing a solution does ruin the fun and here it is the same. You might want to jump into it again if you have used a lot of guides on your playthrough or you want to repeat whole game for different ending instead of reloading older savefile, perhaps you crave a discussion about topics it covers that you might not be interested in as much previously.
Pros and cons
Without any doubt I can say: Talos Principle is absolutely wonderful. You get into it expecting well made puzzles and that is what you get right from the start. Not only it offers good difficulty curve so even newer players to the puzzle genre can slowly but surely gain confidence as you solve them, variety of challenges it provides due to mixture of tools and obstacles on your path will constantly keep your interest and desire to push forward in order to see what new riddles lie ahead.
But it quickly shows its second, more philosophical side, as the debate about machines and humans expands, sewing itself together with storyline and your ultimate goal. Each talk or audio log leaving a mark in your mind, something to think about while you hunt sigils or explore worlds to engage further in games debate. It is rather slow burn type of a story, it involves ton of reading so it won't be for everyone, but those who will dive deep and spend time on discovering it will feel satisfied. Personally, it's one of the best puzzle games I got a pleasure to play.
Final words and conclusion
I highly recommend getting Road to Gehenna DLC which brings out toughest puzzles Talos can offer, and wraps up some loose ends from main game.
Talos Principle offers both fantastic, well-crafted riddles and philosophical storyline focused on humanity that can quickly take over the spotlight if one desires so. Masterpiece of a title.
Feel free to check out my curator page for more reviews!

Let's be honest. You’re here because of the cute cat in the titlescreen.
TALOS BE PRAISED oh wait wrong game.
When I first heard the name I honestly thought The Talos Principle was another Skyrim DLC.
I loved this game unreasonably. I got it on a surprise end-of-year sale the year it came out, and went in expecting nothing. This game freaking blew me away, it's like Portal with some elements of The Stanley Parable and the atmosphere of The Beginner's Guide. I had tears in my eyes in a few spots; the voice acting was superlative. I think there are only two actors, but they are so good. It’s one of my favorite games of all time. The philosophy, the music, the story, and of course the puzzles. A game as intelligently reflective as it is philosophically educational and self aware of it's intellectual puzzles regarding the mysteries of existence, the atmosphere is amazing, like an ethereal world, especially when you think about being alone and conscious about yourself. A philosophical game indeed. I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that this is one of the greatest video games of all time; not just for its stellar graphics and appeasing soundtrack, but also for its thought-provoking story. A must play of a game, stays with you forever after you finish it.
The plot is nuanced and subtle, but never boring. Because the story is largely told through text logs, it's very easy to miss out on a lot of the game's intricacies and thematic elements. If you aren't reading its logs closely, you're really depriving yourself of some of the story's artistry. I've played through the game twice now, and throughout my second playthrough, I continued to discover new details that added depth to the world it takes place in. And it's not just about the game's plot, either… I was completely sucked in by the philosophy behind it.
There's just something so beautiful and yet melancholy about the way the story makes you think about all of human history and what we've achieved, and despite that we may ultimately fade away. All the religious and philosophical writings and questions are done very well too. Graphics and OST are beautiful as well. The way they seamlessly used texts from three different historical periods to create one story about humanity is unlike anything I've seen before. When you start to piece together what's going on and what your actual goal is, it's kinda mindblowing.
The gameplay isn't groundbreaking, but the puzzles are fun and creative and provide a nice pace to the game. As with any good puzzle game, you feel a sense of satisfaction any time you complete a trial. I really loved all the philosophical talk throughout the game too. It was nice to have something to think about while also figuring out the puzzles.
It’s become one of my favorites, and among the only first person puzzle games that can match (or rival) the Portal series, in my opinion. The Talos Principle not only captivated me, but it made me ask myself serious, introspective questions about who I am, my beliefs about free will, the personal legacy I will leave, what role I play in the greater legacy of mankind and why the f**k do I continue allowing my wife to have a boyfriend. The mood, the atmosphere, the philosophical story hidden among it all. It's all excellent. And even if you stripped all that away, it would STILL be an excellent game because the puzzles are excellent, too. It's a joy to work your way through them. The fact that the world and lore and story are so rich only enhances them.
If you enjoy movies, shows, and games that explore the concepts of AI, free will, and existentialism (e.g., Ex Machina, Westworld, BioShock, etc.), this is a can't-miss game. Even when I wasn't playing, I often found myself thinking about the themes of the game and how they applied to my life. If you're even remotely interested in puzzle games with a unique and interesting narrative, I would recommend checking it out.
10/10

bought this game because it looked like a fun puzzle game (which it is), but it left me with an existential crisis and my faith in Christianity shatter.
10/10 would recommend

In the beginning were the words and the words made the world. I am the words. The words are everything. Where the words end the world ends. You cannot go forward in the absence of space.

if you like puzzle games (like Portal) & you like a good story, this game is a must-play. it deserves every high rating it got.
only one downside; if you're like me & some games gives you motion sickness, this game is definitely going to hit you with it. luckily, it has motion sickness options in the menu. lol
these are the settings that worked for me,
mouse sensitivity: 0.21
field of view: 120.00 (max it out, basically)
view bobbing: unchecked
preferred view: behind player
player speed: slow
hope that helps. happy gaming. :)