The Talos Principle

Do you need a test of your mental fitness? Play this game once a year, and you'll soon notice how smoothly you get through it this year.

I enjoy the fact that it doesn't require much social interaction, allowing you to focus on the puzzles instead. Although the background story is quite creepy.

It's a comfy puzzle game and I like how it gives stuff to read in between puzzles as it makes it a little easier, also nice to go away from one puzzle to another.

The one thing I have to gripe is that puzzles with the record function do not respect your time. At the same time they are interesting as a mechanic so I can live with it.

The bonus stars are nearly impossible for some levels, and I can easily see myself doubling play time just from how obscure they are. I do not think they are necessary so I won't end up going for them.

Overall, very pleasant experience and I feel like a hole in myself has been filled by this game.

This game is, and I don't use this word lightly, a masterpiece. The core gameplay is excellent, the puzzles are interesting and provide a challenge (but none proved unsolvable), the visuals and sound design are top notch, and the story is legitimately extremely interesting. This is an absolute must play for anyone who likes puzzle games, and I wish I had picked it up sooner.

An amazing game that combines enjoyable puzzles with thought-provoking philosophical ideas and questions.

If you consider yourself human, then you simply must try The Talos Principle.

I enjoyed the puzzles, but it was everything else on top of it that made this game one of my favourites. Behind it all, I found a genuinely moving story and an affirmative humanist meaning. Well done.

This game is so good! The puzzles make you think hard but the philosophical questions make you think harder. Also there are bonus stars hidden very well and many proved to be a real challenge to figure out.

For over half a decade The Talos Principle sat in my library unplayed.
A cult classic I knew I should play but never did, until recently.
I won't dive deep into spoilers because it's best played blindly.

It is a puzzle game with a thought provoking story and world to back it up.
Puzzles are in theory simple but in practice complex, the game has a strict toolbox of items yet constantly pushes you to creatively break the rules.
While most puzzles are excellent it is the incredible story and world that will stick with you after you finish this game.

The Talos Principle is gaming’s best kept secret and this is your sign to finally play it!

The Talos Principle és una meravella per als qui gaudeixen de trencaclosques intel·ligents i reflexió filosòfica. El seu univers et captiva des del primer moment, combinant enigmes enginyosos amb una narrativa profunda. La sensació de satisfacció en resoldre cada repte és incomparable, i la història et fa qüestionar la teva pròpia existència (sense necessitat de cafè extra). És un viatge mental que val molt la pena, tant per a la ment com per a l’esperit.

The Talos Principle is a delight for anyone who loves clever puzzles and philosophical reflection. Its world draws you in from the start, blending inventive challenges with a thoughtful narrative. Solving each puzzle brings a unique sense of accomplishment, and the story might even make you question your own existence (no extra coffee required). It’s a mental journey well worth taking, rewarding both your mind and your curiosity.

Awesome puzzle platformer. Engaging, not boring, with tons of twisted secrets to reveal.

A few puzzles close to the end are really tough! Good luck anyone in solving them. And even more luck and cleverness if you're going to collect all the stars.

There is a story as well. It's fine and 100% optional. I came here for puzzles and I got them with almost 0 distraction.

I love the puzzles in this game, the multiple endings, the minor variations possible based on choices you made along the way, and the myriad Easter eggs waiting to be found.
But the jumping mechanics (only really required to find some secrets) are diabolical. Whoever designed the mechanics deserves to be inflicted with paper cuts for every jump anyone has ever missed in this game.

The environment is visually repetitive, and the problems strangely boring even though not always easy to solve. Unfortunately, this game isn't for me. I thoroughly enjoyed The House of Da Vinci and The Room.

I could achieve so much greatness here if I didn't have motion sickness 10 minutes in the game

nice story with very challenging puzzles. the puzzles are unique and really thought out. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good challenge. CHUG THAT CHOCO MILK!

In some ways flawed; in many ways phenomenal. It can be exhausting yet rewarding. You will spend plenty of time solving puzzles, but you have played a majority of what the game is pretty early on. You might like this game if you liked portal. Then again, you might not.

it's a puzzle game with cool mechanics, and the graphics is pretty neat, but after some repetition your head may hurt so be aware of that. the soundtracks are great, and the narration and storyline are alright. the game also has lots of secrets, and an entire ending is achieved by hunting some of the secrets, so get ready for that. also, it comes with a DLC and some extra modes for even more content. overall great game.

Great playthrough, its a must play if you like the portal series. Wish there was some co-op. On to Talos 2!

I bought this came in 2018. Played it for about 20 minutes back then and it didn’t really stick with me. I gave it another go a few weeks ago and Oh…My…God!…did I have a good time. I loved the puzzles and I got immense satisfaction when solving them. The whole philosophical question about what it means to be a human, the music, the chatting and the voice-overs, all gave it a nice atmosphere. I am really glad I gave it another change. Maybe it is not for everyone, you really need to like some logical thinking puzzle solving. But for me it was perfect.

This game is challenging to say the least. Some puzzles are easy to figure out and with some... I had to seek help on the internet with. But I love this game. Graphics are nice and the story easy to follow. Gameplay is just click and play and running around the area's figuring stuff out.
The story from what I gather is a "maker like" voice speaking to you about the creations, there is a "voice" on the computers , and a woman telling you about her experiences as you encounter random objects.
Meanwhile you are just running through the puzzles and basically ignore your "maker" by doing what he doesn't want you to do.

Yeah I love this game. Wonder how it ends. I'm on level 4 of the tower as of the writing of this review. I will not let know how it ends though... Because "spoiler alert" and such ;)

I have not yet finished the game (about 17 hours in) and I do not know how much is still ahead of me. I can say that this game is one of those hidden gems in your collection. I tend to compare it to Portal games, most likely because both games present themselves - at first glance - as escape-the-mad-scientist's-room concept. The Talos Principle makes you collect "tetromino-shapes," here called sigils, You don't know yet why you do it, but a strange voice of unknown origin tells you to do so. As you discover more sigils, you can unlock farther parts of the world you're in and explore more not just about yourself, but also about the world around you. I don't want to spoil too much as this is the kind of logic games where the best experience is figuring everything out by yourself. And it is definitely doable, although it hurts sometimes! The story slowly unravels to you and it makes you to solve more and more puzzles, using more and more advanced techniques you unlock (various gadgets or electronic devices) so you would know why you are there, and what happened.
There is also a strong philosophical narrative in the game - about consciousness, self-awareness, what does it mean to be alive and awake, comparing robots to human beings and more. Such lore you can find in the various terminals scattered across the world, but if you don't care about the story, it is also possible just to completely submerge yourself in the puzzles and finish them all without knowing the background.

Fans of logic/puzzle games, if you have this and haven't yet tried this, please do.

Fun fact: Some of the QR codes on the walls may come from your Steam friends, who also played the game, and at some point in the game you can even summon them to show a way for finishing a puzzle or two if you're stuck!

It's just awesome. You can always come back to it after some time, once you forgot the puzzles. Always fun!

Played the game a second time after its initial release back in 2014, this time with DLC Road to Gehenna.

The Brainstorm

- Lots of content and not just puzzles, but secrets, easter eggs and plenty of philosophical themes.
- A proper difficulty curve, starts off easy and ends in brainmelters in the DLC
- Game still looks good and IMO didn't really needed that "Reawakening" graphical remake.
- Runs smooth. No bugs or crashes encountered.
- Music and environment fits well and sets up a good atmosphere for brainwaves to flow.
- Multiple endings, so if you come back like me you can choose a different path.

The Brain Fart

- The questions and themes raised in the game are interesting and engaging, but the way it is presented gets a bit disjointed and sometimes you are given useless gibberish that doesn't really lead anywhere.
- Some of the "stars" (special bonus hard to get tokens) are hidden so well or so badly that you either find them by sheer luck or by consulting a guide.
- Jumping around trying to get to a tricky traversal spot can be clunky and tedious.

Consensus

Regardless of the criticism above I love Talos Principle.
It is one of my top 3 favourite puzzle games along with "Portal 2" and "The Witness"!

10/10

Generally nice puzzle game

To me “Talos Principle” is a game, which is good in all aspects, but “WoW” in none.

• Nice puzzles
  
• Nice graphics
  
• Runs well
  
• Story (although not large and not a central part of the game) is good. It is neither immediately obvious, nor incredibly obscure. Has some BS philosophy (how without it?), but also not too much.
  
[*]Everything is voiced

I don’t think I got many “Aha” moments. Puzzles generally have few options to try and some of it ends up working. That’s not to say everything is trivial though. At times I thought that “this doesn’t look possible” (it’s just not “Baba Is You”’s “This is clearly impossible” type of puzzle with lots of thought, coming back days later, lots of failed ideas and subsequent big “Aha”-moment realizations). Some puzzles require you a bit of planning/engineering to execute some solution idea. Getting “stars” is surely more challenging and puzzling.

I played ≈32.7 hours, which includes time to complete as well as to get most (but not all) stars afterwards.

9.5 to 10/10 game. Must play for puzzle-game players
Only problem - motion sickness - I had a lot of this
My solution - go slowly. Play until you fill a little bit motion sick, stop playing until normal again. Repeat. Over the days you'll eventually get used to it, and stop having any motion sickness - but takes some time. And at the start you'll feel it pretty quickly. Also, ginger helps, bite some while playing

A puzzle game that offers some challenges but the story line sucks.

It's the best puzzle game of all time, yes... Portal 2 is second place.

Really fun puzzler that reminds me of Portal, but with a lot more cyberpunk-style lore about a post-apocalyptic world? The story is a little too serious, but the omniscient Elohim provides some pretty funny moments. I mean, considering that the main character is a robot, or something...

So far i am enjoying the game even though the puzzles can be crazy sometimes. when there's no other option to solve the puzzle but, to make use of tools that are available to complete areas and locations. I am curious to know how do i restore a previous backup that has been overwrite? because i would like to return to a specific area or location where i can replay the puzzle.

Great game. Make sure to grab The Talos Principle: Reawakened which adds new content!

Just a masterpiece all around, with brilliant puzzles. A must have game.

Haven't played the remaster, but it's completely unnecessary as the visuals here are crisp and clean (way more than most games now), and the main strengths of the game are far away from visuals alone.

It's puzzling challenges, surprisingly coherent with an existentialist narrative. Highly recommended for the difficult puzzles and/or for a bit of questioning of the self and its development.

Captivating and contemplative puzzle game masterfully executed.

All the puzzles were excellent, perfectly striking the balance of being engaging and challenging without being obtuse. I absolutely loved the optional star puzzles, where you often had to 'break' the game, and steal objects from one puzzle so you had spare parts with which to 'cheat' in other puzzles. Finding ways to send a laser beam from one puzzle room to another, or trying to find a spot you could jump out of the level and bring a cube with you were some of the most fun and interesting parts of the game.

I really liked the QR code system they use in the game, where NPCs that have come before you can leave messages on the wall for you to read. It lead to this really interesting dynamic where you get to know these people, and watch them grow throughout the game, seeing how being in the world effects them over time. I was a big fan of DOG and FAITH.

The philosophical exploration of what it means to be a person was also really interesting, and I loved the dynamic between Elohim, Milton and the player as you read through philosophical texts and learn about what's happened to the world outside of where you are.

Personally, I didn't care for the tetris piece sigil puzzles, of which there are quite a lot in this game, and the solution to sooooome of the optional stars in the game are a little outside the bounds of what can be reasonably expected for players to figure out based on what the game has taught them up to that point (looking at you, hex code clock puzzle). Outside of those things though this was an absolutely stellar time, would highly recommend to anyone that enjoys a pure puzzle game or philosophy.

I played through most of it on the Steamdeck and it runs great. The only control tweaks I made was to bind 'toggle sprint' and 'fast forward time' to two of the back buttons to make re-playing level segments a bit easier. The only downside is that it does not show the correct button glyphs, but the game only uses like, 4 buttons, so it was a non-issue for me.

A gaming website I used to use is apparently shutting down so I'm going through my old posts to see if there's anything I want to archive, below is a comment I made about this game there about 7 years ago, even though when I read it now I'm pretty sure I had a more fun time with Portal 2:

Just finished Talos Principle and its Gehenna DLC and had a really joyful time. Can't remember a puzzle game being as fun as that.

This is a game that lures you into a false sense of security and smugness.

Very much the game for me. I love puzzle-solving. I love being fed mysterious tidbits of storyline as I progress. I love the peace and quiet, and the ability for you to take your time and soak in the world and its challenges.

Nice and challenging puzzles. Interesting story and art style. Philosophical and leaves you with alot to think about. Comfy ambience.

Without spoiling anything; fantastic game, will def try subsequent titles.

The story/lore of this game is fantastic, and it poses some interesting and thought provoking questions about what it means to be a person.

The game is split in 5 sections: tutorial, worlds A B C (containing the majority of the puzzles), and a large tower that leads to the end of the game. Obviously, the introduction is easy, but I am impressed how well the difficulty increases even within each world.

I admit now, some puzzles took me embarrassingly long to solve, but were all "obvious in hindsight" (AKA no obscure techniques used twice through the whole game). However, I did manage every puzzle without a walkthrough. And I really liked being able to do the puzzles in any order if I was stuck on one.

The puzzles in the tower were more difficult for me compared to the 3 "main" worlds, but are technically not required, since the game has 2 endings.

Really solid puzzle game, and fun philosophical bent to it.

Wish there'd been a checkpoint in the final level I did the first part so many times, otherwise excellent!

It's a really good game but really you should get the second game only if you're considering that, it is leagues better than this
This one is just mostly puzzles without much story, and many of them are really about dodging these annoying droids
Never liked the terminal, it's just so much to read and the face-to-face NPC chats just make it a lot better in the second game
I gotta appreciate the custom engine though, even compared to unreal 5 there's still some charm to it's visuals

Great game for thinking about how to solve a problem with what you have at hand. Really enjoyed the puzzles and finding the solutions.

I generally liked this mixture of puzzles to be solved, secrets to be discovered and a dose of philosophy a lot. Sadly the sheer mass of puzzles (120+) became too repetitive for my taste towards the end and increasingly felt like work, especially with all the extra tasks that often involved running from A to B, getting item C and doing X to get more puzzles and all endings/achievements. But overall this never spoiled the fun for me. The philosophical aspect was very interesting in most parts and well integrated into the game. If you like solving mostly complex and challenging puzzles, you should definitely give this old gem a chance.

Some puzzles in the game, especially those involving hidden stars, are extremely creatively designed and mind-twisting, though sometimes you will find their names apparently hinting the approach to take. For me, I had to resort to some walkthrough videos for solutions, to collect all sigils and stars. Out of all the tools this game provides, recorder is by far the hardest to utilize. Music and sound effect occasionally soothes my nerves while I wandering in the same puzzle for more than 10 minutes. All the texts in terminals discussing philosophical concepts and scenarios are worth reading, as well as the ones about EL, ELOHIM, Talos, MLA, Archive, which gradually unravel mysteries about the whole setting and the events happened before the game started.

About the dlc - Road to Gehenna: It even elevates the already difficult enough puzzles in the base game to a even higher level. A lot of the puzzles and most of the stars are just out of the capacity of my brain to handle. The way how beams and connectors are placed to block and collide are truly remarkable. As for the story, it somewhat talks about an event resembling the one before total annihilation of humans in the base game, only this time about robots. Everyone is struggling to preserve what they created and constructed to a later yet unknown future, no matter they are robots or humans. It is also fun to play MUD like video games in the terminals in a video game.

The recent released Reawakened version of the Talos Principle adds an "In the beginning" chapter talking about events before the human distinction. I probably will not play it, but instead watch videos to feel the prequel story. Look forward to playing the Talos Principle 2 some day.

A very introspective game that I absolutely loved 10 years ago. Looking forward to trying the remaster a decade later and seeing if it resonates in a different way with more life experience.

As a puzzle game... well, it is a puzzle game. Some of them are difficult. Some are insultingly easy. Most are fine once you work through them, but honestly, it got a little stale by the end. This is no Myst or Riven, where the puzzles are organically sprinkled through an environment. The worst part, though, is the story. It is soooo pretentious! Navel gazing at its finest.

Usually i have to force myself to play a game for a few hours until i actually start to like it. This game clicked with me instantly. I didn't want to stop playing. It has so much character. I love how it's a calm puzzle game but i can run 999mph and turn my fov so high i can see god. I went out of my way to read every piece of text i found. Text that wasn't required to beat the game. It's nearly perfect.
The only thing i didn't like in the game were the easter eggs. There's too many of them. There were times where i would be processing some philosophical text or audio log that just happened recently in the game and then some funny haha easter egg would happen and it completely ruins the mood. There were a few times when i was balls deep in my mind thinking how do i solve this puzzle and then i would accidentally come across an easter egg and it would scare the shit out of me because it's so out of place. The worst is when i'm trying to think of a solution to a puzzle and i'd find an easter egg but it's not immediately clear it's an easter egg or part of an easter egg and you get stuck thinking its part of the puzzle.
Actually the worst easter egg related thing in this game might be kind of a spoiler but i also kinda would have wanted to know this before starting the game: There is a cat in the main banner main image main everything. This games marketing is cat heavy. When you google "The Talos Principle" what do you see? You see cat cat cat maybe half of robot then cat. When this game sat in my steam backlog for years waiting to be played i always wondered how the cat would relate to the story. I thought maybe there is some evil bad guy that makes the puzzles for you and he has a cat. Well guess what. There is no cat. Not at least officially/canonically. People who have completed the game and are aware will say yes there is a cat and it's official and canon. No. There is no white kitten in the game at any point during a normal playthrough. There is no white kitten at any point if you play perfect and complete it by doing the hardest puzzles. However, there is a way to get an ending where there's a cat at the end. And guess what. It is locked behind a fucking soy gordon freeman the cake is a lie ass easter egg. Don't get me wrong i'm not like "noooo where is teh wholesome kitten i was promised" It just made me wonder like huh i never saw a cat at any point of this game. I looked up a video showing everything the game has to offer and when i saw that the cat was part of some easter egg it was like come on man. When i finished the game it felt like a 9.5/10 but when i saw the cat ending and the rest of the easter eggs it felt like a 8.9. Might have sounded a bit dramatic there + that little nitpick took up most of the review but you should play it. It rules. Can't wait to play the sequel soon

Really fun puzzle game. Curious where they're going with the lore.

The Talos Principle is a marvel of philosophical gaming. A true existential experience.

The Talos Principle breaks down and recreates anew the wonder that Portal and Portal 2 brought to the videogame world. However they bring more than just puzzles and a flippant computer to the picture. The game is completely drenched in ARG style information (utilizing outside tools to help solve puzzles) although much of it is flavor text. This information is heavily weighted by the amount of philosophical pondering the game makes you do while participating.
This is not a beginner level videogame. Unless you are using guides you need to be very skilled at puzzles and have a high spatial awareness.
I completed all of the standard puzzles without any help, fortunately. However, there were 3 special star puzzles that I needed to look up a direction to go so as to not waste too much time - Some puzzles in the Portal Reloaded game I mulled in my head for a week or two to fully understand them.

Absolutely stunning game from Crotean and with amazing secrets to boot!

Best philosophical puzzle game since PaRappa The Rapper

This is one of these rare, unique experiences in gaming that come out once in a decade. Don't read any reviews, just go ahead and buy the game right now. You'll thank me later.

I love this game! I love how I can get lost in it, it takes me away to another place with nice, tranquil music and things to do without getting an adrenaline rush and having to hurry. I like how it makes me figure things out and I love looking for Easter Eggs. I was a gamer when games first started, like as in pong, lol, but never got into x box or anything like that later. Fast forward a few decades and I got an ipad. I had been playing hidden object games and one day I decided to google for the world's best game. The Talos Principle kept coming up and so I dove in and wow, I just loved it, and I still play it every once in awhile. I never get bored with it, it has staying power and the soundtrack is soothing. I just got Road to Gehenna. With the first Talos, I needed the guides every once in awhile. Now I'm using everything I learned to get through this one without them. So far so good, but it is challenging. I'm only in level 2, let's see how far I can get without resorting to the guides, lol. If I was going to be holed up on a desert island for the rest of my life and could only take one game with me it would be the Talos Principle, hands down.