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The Talos Principle review
by McStruthers

it's a neat puzzle game. the periodic philosophical questions are decent, but i often found myself aligned with an option that didn't match any of those presented to me. annoying, but understandably hard to avoid.

it feels a bit stiff...the game takes itself a little too seriously, and some of the puzzle rules feel like they were created for a 2.5D game instead of a 3D game. you'll have a few "wait, my character can't reach that?"-type moments.

still, it's a good collection of puzzles, and the base mechanics are neat

Other reviews7

Really enjoyed this one.
«Blew my mind»
«Can’t stop playing»
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Good Game for logic fanatics, but not philosophically interested (as the Description suggests)! First of All: I would recommend this Game, but still decided not to do it at this Time, because in my Opinion it is not worth its current Price (Compared to other Full-price titles). For 10 to 15,-EUR, however, I would find it highly recommended if you like to solve logic puzzles (both in Terms of the Game world and in terms of the history to be developed and the Purpose of the Whole). But above all I would like to Warn the Players who perhaps-like myself-expect a philosophical Examination of interesting questions of humanity and a credible Or at least comprehensibly explained backstory, as the Developers Do not want to suggest yes with their game description or with their teaser demo (called Public Test). However, this is found-benevolently-extremely rudimentary in the actual Game, since virtually exclusively materialistic Approaches are taken or touted and even the back story has so many Logic Gaps that it-even in the End; After really solving all the Puzzles, collecting all the Stars and seeing all 3 Ends-no more represented than another, not really thought out, believable or even expected Future Version. This is all the more surprising because the entire game and puzzle principle is built almost entirely on Logic, extolling the Capabilities of the human Brain as the most outstanding Trait. But it is precisely with such a thing that it is easy to see that the core message of history, namely that the successful Completion Of a Project (I do not want to reveal more precisely here, so as not to spoil too much) the Examination of philosophical, Ethical and even religious Questions requires – no Correspondence in the actual Story of the Game and thus in turn – find in the said project, but all Ends are made possible (playfully) by solving all logic puzzles. – In Other words, In order to reach the End of the Game – and thus also to the Dissolution of its narrative Secrets-you can also simply omit all pseudo-philosophical Texts and "Conversations" with the Terminals and solve only the Puzzles. Pseudo-philosophically, I call it the Whole thing, because, starting with The Selection of Philosophical Topics – which are to be "discussed" on the basis of text fragments and predetermined Question-and-answer games-the predetermined – often far too little differentiated – Answer options up to the (also pseudo-) religious Intimations and their Equivalents in the Playing Field, all extremely fragmented and exemplary is tackled. In Addition, the desired "Confrontation" in The philosophical sphere remains purely limited to scientific and materialistic Ways of thinking, and in Relation to Religion the Cliché Of a Personalised conception of God and Faith in Heaven and Hell – including golden Sky gates above the Clouds (almost, as is celebrated at Disney!). Only dealing with artificial Intelligences – or better: Their appreciation – is dealt with in a reasonably extensive way, but this Topic also loses any – probably hoped for – claim by the logic error described above in its playful Implementation. In my Opinion, the whole Thing has nothing to do with Wisdom, in the Actually literal sense of philosophy. Since a great Deal has already been said by others (or can be read in countless reviews etc.) about the Other game mechanics and the puzzle or world design, it is only worth mentioning here that I am aware of all the positive Statements on this Point. Want to join others; But with one Exception: The Variety – in the optical sense As well as in Terms of Puzzle design and Diversity of Objects – is, in my Opinion, much too short in the Design Concept, culminating in the Boring and always equally running Mini-games With The so-called "Seals." Conclusion: Summarizing, I would say that this is a very interesting and Almost perfectly successful Game In Terms of scope, visual design and puzzle design for People who have an intellectually demanding, but not with too much narrative Depth Seek Entertainment in the Realm of Logic and materialistic Thinking. But anyone else who can hope for more of it and understand my criticism above should think carefully about whether such a superficial pseudo-philosophical Game concept is worth this Prize-and the Time invested in it.
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Translated by
Microsoft from Danish
If you're fresh on the day, The Talos Principle is just for you. There are just as many layers as you put into it; philosophy, religion / mythism, psychology, technology, mysticism and lots of gutter in the beautiful environments for the gloomy, quiet soundtrack. If you think it sounds a bit heavy, the simple version is that you are a pallet-only-in-the-world android that gathers tetris pieces and breaks things in the air, while a deep male voice occasionally comments on it. As Queen asked is this real life // just a fantasy ?, The Talos Principle asks questions of life, person and reality. Super cool game with casual gameplay and really beautifully made!
Translated by
Microsoft from Dutch
The game is beautiful to look at and rendering of the world around you is smooth, as is gameplay. Swiping from the left of your screen reveals the menu. That shouldnt have been an endless search. A small addition to the tutorial steps would have sufficed. Big downer is the savegame system: it works with the notorious checkpoints. Normally this should be a deal breaker. A game should pick up where you left it. As people dont have the freedom to spend time at will on a game, you will end up with repeating a lot of annoying stuff due to this design decision. A big no for every developer. Nevertheless, for me it only costs this game one star, given the beauty of the Talos world and the low price. Wasnt it 40 bucks on Steam? A giveaway.
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
The game has a very successful atmosphere, great graphics, wonderful environments and tricky, ingenious puzzles. On the whole an absolute recommendation! Unfortunately, with the update to 1.4, playing with the virtual gamepad was very cumbersome for players holding the big iPad Pro in their hands. On the one hand, because the virtual gamepad can no longer be positioned freely (by touching the display) and, on the other hand, because there is no longer a use key for the right thumb. The player must now take the right hand of the device to interact with an object. According to support, this has happened after suggestions from users. But what represents a step backwards under the circumstances mentioned (12.5 inch iPad Pro and holding the iPad with both hands). Too bad I have not played since the update.
The Talos Principle has a story that, for once in a videogame, managed to say something really meaningful. It tackles themes of human and artificial cognition, the perception of reality, notions of free will and independence, and even coping with grief, somehow — and all that without unreasonable technophilia (or -phobia for that matter) which often plagues its genre. Come to think of it, that is quite ironic how a game about android can rekindle the long-lost love and appreciation for humanity without demonising its technology and innovation, as it did for me.

TTP is not perfect, of course: the puzzle design might be a little jarring at times, as well as the game’s pacing slightly off, yet for aforementioned reason alone, I applaud Croteam, and firmly recommend this game.

If the world came to an end, I would put Talos Principle in my time capsule. 

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Reason for edit: RAWG’s editor-in-chief asked some leading questions!