The Talos Principle was one hell of a puzzle game. It brought some new life to the genre when it launched back in 2014, with its intriguing storyline underpinning the extinction of humanity and how the legacy of mankind was able to be carried on by robotic creations. You solved many complex puzzles all whilst Elohim makes you question what makes a human, a real human.
Now in The Talos Principle 2, developed by Croteam, you start off by completing a series of puzzles in a really cool ancient Egyptian setting. You’ll learn all the tips and tricks as you figure out how to complete these puzzles while being encouraged by Elohim.
Once you’ve completed all the puzzles you’ll be able to leave the “dream” and will awaken to the sound of you having just completed a calibration test. Congratulations you’re the one thousandth robot to be awakened to help with rebuild the city they call New Jerusalem. After getting up I was told by a robot named Neith that I could now view their version of the internet by checking my data tablet. I now have many questions about why these robots were debating whether frogs should be considered people or not and why it became a banned topic on their version of Reddit. Maybe those Disney tropes were on to something.
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After meeting up with the rest of the robot folk to listen to a speech, the giant form of Prometheus appears and tells the robots that there is far more to learned about the world for those who are brave enough. He’s forced away but not before making an impression and getting you and the robots thinking as you head on over into the city. It was a very cool shake up and showed off that there is a lot more to the story of The Talos Principle 2 than meets the eye.
From here you’ll find yourself heading out on an expedition with a group to a mysterious island. After the appearance of Prometheus the robots want to explore more of what’s out there rather than sitting in their bubble of a city. So you board a craft and head to the island. This is where you’ll really start to get in to the meat of the game. It’s quite a huge island with lots of exploring to be done and of course plenty of puzzles.
I won’t go in to detail on any of the puzzles so that I don’t spoil anything, but they are challenging, well designed, and you feel a sense of accomplishment when you figure them out. There are a variety of puzzle types in the game. One of them being about directing light off of various surfaces to open up doors or drop down barriers. Others having you making use of pressure pads, blocks to climb on and fans to help you reach spots higher up.
One of my favorites was using receptors to direct different colored beams of light to unlock doors. On the island this gets a level up and you start dealing with RGB conversion as well as positioning and direction. Suddenly you not only have to figure out the positioning and target of the beams, but now also the correct colors to use. It added some interesting layering to the mechanic.
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Compared to the first Talos Principle, I found the difficulty and puzzle sets to be far more balanced. In each area you’ll encounter a series of around eight puzzles to solve. They aren’t too difficult early on but certainly seem to ramp up in difficulty the further in you get. As you solve the puzzles you’ll uncover Prometheus Sparks that can be used as a free pass to solve any puzzle you’re just banging your head against and can’t get through. This is a nice option to have just in case, getting completely stuck is never fun and this mechanic gives you a nice out and gets you moving again.
Overall, The Talos Principle 2 brings a beautiful and mysterious world to life. The graphics and detail in the environments are exception. The gameplay felt smooth and fluid and the puzzles were engaging and well designed. I was certainly stumped several times, but after taking a moment to inspect all parts of the puzzle area, I was able to solve what I was doing without any frustration creeping in. The game also had some interesting characters and storyline that is compelling enough you want to find out more.
The Talos Principle 2 releases on all platforms on the 2 of November 2023 and I would encourage anyone enjoys some good visuals and top notch puzzles to check it out!
