The Talos Principle

The Talos Principle is one of the most brilliant and engaging puzzle games ever made, with a fantastic and contemplative story that isn’t afraid to ask difficult questions. It’s a masterpiece.

It’s a game that constantly entices you to see what the next puzzle or story bit has to offer. In that regard, it rarely disappoints, and the experience stays with you long after you finish it.

As an indie game by a team known for the wild first-person shooter Serious Sam, not much was expected, and yet what we got was a fantastic puzzle game blended with a story and world surpassing that of most video games by being thought-provoking, well-crafted, and actually having something to say.

There’s enough to satisfy those looking for either puzzles or an interesting story, but if you’re searching for both, then The Talos Principle is going to be something very, very special for you.

Games that are this thought provoking and enjoyable are rare. Rarer still are those that imbue this level of pride and honor upon completion.

The Talos Principle is a masterfully executed first person puzzler, with a thought provoking narrative that delves with class into profound philosophical questions. Once you start playing and you figure out what's going on, it's hard to put the game down, even thought it's very demanding and intense.

Satisfying puzzles, philosophically engaging storyline and exquisite presentation combine to make The Talos Principle one of the best of its genre. [Feb 2015]

They’ve done it again, and created something that is truly impressive. If you enjoy puzzle games, pick this up. If you want a deep and meaningful story, you can also get that here as you can plod along at your own pace, stopping at all of the terminals. If you just want something pretty to look at, boot up The Talos Principle and see how high you can crank the visual settings.

The world, puzzles, narrative and music are all served to the player in small helpings, never overwhelming and allowing you to soak in and become one with the world. By the end of the game, it has challenged your mind in multiple ways.

The Talos Principle can easily be called the next big puzzle game in the same vein as Portal.

The Talos Principle offers a great story that demands a reaction from the player, but first and foremost it's a great puzzle game - based on simple rules and extremely satisfying. It's definitely one of the most interesting games of 2014. A big surprise and a FPS puzzle game that's really worth your attention (especially if you're looking for something more than just puzzles).

One of the best puzzle adventures of the past few years, that can be enjoyed on different levels: excellent puzzles with a great use of physics, non-linear storytelling juggling between sci-fi and philosophy, and some touches of sheer genius.

Fantastic game with a mature storyline and one of the biggest surprises of 2014.

The Talos Principle will make you feel confounded but in that wonderful way that precludes an epiphany. You’ll leave each session feeling genuinely smarter – and perhaps a little rebellious to boot.

The crazy awesome puzzles would have been a game in itself, but the philosophical layer on top of it makes The Talos Principle an experience to never ever forget. A very original game, but we would have like the difficulty to go up a bit quicker.

The Talos Principle is a captivating journey into the world of philosophy, religion and human curiosity. One couldn’t believe such ideas grew on the concept of an "ordinary" logical game.

The Talos Principle is a delightful puzzle experience that spurs the curiosity of players both in terms of solutions to the challenges and to the philosophical nature of our existence.

Is it a video game? The Talos Principle doesn't want us to kill countless enemies. The Talos Principle encourages the player to question everything with a deep philosophy. Describing the concept of human life through a sentetic body... Masterpiece.

As a straight puzzle game The Talos Principle is very solid, but the setting and narrative really elevate it into something special.

It’s an experience that truly stretched different parts of my mind in more satisfying way than Portal.

Ditch the podcasts or netflix for some games that seem to want you to enjoy in parallel to the experience. If you don't focus on The Talos Principle alone, you'll never experience that sublime moment, where some puzzles seem to solve themselves, because you instinctively get this world's inner workings and use its tools with machine-like efficiency.

With its superb philosophic narrative, and a ton of well-implemented puzzles, The Talos Principle is the real surprise of 2014. Croteam's work is simply brilliant in every single aspect.

As the game suggests, "Peril and paradise are inextricable," and without the tricky puzzles, there wouldn't be nearly as much satisfaction.

The Talos Principle is an absolute joy to play, packed to the gills with expertly designed puzzles and enough ancillary content to make any history of philosophy buff salivate. But all of that is almost beside the point in the face of the game's thematic ambitions.

The Talos Principle is a meaty puzzle experience that will take you over a dozen hours to complete and then leave you chewing on some of life’s greatest mysteries for weeks. You might not be able to solve the nature of humanity, but the rest of this game’s puzzles will leave you feeling brilliant enough to try.

This is the best puzzle game of the year. A very clever, Portal-ish experience you shouldn't miss.

It’s a game that aspires to be more than what we traditionally expect, and one that has an intangible quality that makes it more than the sum of its parts. It’ll stay with you after you’ve completed it and call you back to explore its hidden corners to see what else you’ll uncover there.

The Talos Principle is a game of challenges and conundrums and philosophical wonderings, filled with logic puzzles and cerebral mysteries.

You’ve got to be in the mood for Talos. It’s demanding of your time and attention, especially if you’re the type that wants to finish most things you start. And you’ve got to have a love affair with words...But if that describes you … this game can be magical. The result is a little melancholy, a little melodramatic, but one of the better puzzle game presentations I’ve ever played.

Come for the puzzles stay for the philosophy.

Made by the developers of Serious Sam's series, The Talos Principle is a "First Person Puzzler" deep and engaging, artistically inspired and characterized by a beautiful plot centered on philosophical themes.

This might be the surprise hit of the year. Combining intriguing puzzles and an interesting story you’ll find that your brain will be as challenged as your skills.

The Talos Principle is a puzzles sandbox that will appeal to all the lovers of the genre. In addition, the history has a profound philosophical questions.

Clever, considered, and unrelenting. A rewarding mental test for anyone up to its challenge. [Mar 2015, p.69]

Don't let the Portal similarities fool you. This is a cleverly designed puzzle game with its own identity, that will keep you hooked for hours upon hours.

It's a smart game that doesn't punish you for it, a puzzle game that allows a sense of creativity. And while it isn't the most upbeat thing out there, there's a vein of hope that runs through it — and ties it all together neatly at the end.

The Talos Principle manages to mix its philosophical groundwork with the story. It also has great and rewarding puzzles.

The Talos Principle is an awesome surprise, and not just for puzzle games fans.

An adept and satisfying puzzle game with a narrative that requires a bit of player investment to yield its biggest rewards.

I just love games like Portal that force you to really use your brain and get creative. The Talos Principle is a prime example for this kind of game. The puzzles are splendid and always manage to excite anew. I also think, the foundation for the plot to The Talos Principle is incredibly interesting, though its presentation via a slew of different texts really dulls the initial fascination. But if you’re really in to the game’s various themes, you will most likely still find yourself enjoying the story quite a bit.

Much like Portal, The Talos Principle makes you feel smart just by playing it, as the bulk of the puzzles hit that sweet spot between too easy and near-impossible.

Despite the sharp turn toward pacifism one can easily recognize Croteam style: unusual for puzzles large open locations, majestic architectural forms of ancient civilizations... It seems that you are about to hear the cries of a headless kamikazes. So when a screaming figure dashes nearby you start spinning the mouse wheel in search of shotgun on pure reflex. [Issue #195, p.68]

Skillfully designed difficulty curve and multitude of challenges make very enjoyable time spent with The Talos Principle fly by. [02/2015, p.63]

Not every layer of Talos finds its mark, but the discourse created by navigating them is a brain-taxing process to match the genre's greats. [Feb 2015, p.120]

The Talos Principle combines a sophisticated game with a deeply philosophical story that will remain in your memory for years to come. [Issue#249]

The developers behind Serious Sam have taken the step from simple action to really smart puzzling. The Talos Principle isn’t as good as Portal, but probably one of the best games of the genre in the last couple of years.

Bursting at the seams with challenging puzzles and thought-provoking science fiction, The Talos Principle is a philosophically-minded first-person puzzler that’s well worth your time.

Nearly on par with the Portal series, The Talos Principle is a refreshing title. Thanks to its many smart ideas and inspired puzzles. Game of not-so-obvious challenges, it will demand some patience for sure, but it's really worth your time.

The feeling of accomplishment from solving The Talos Principle's puzzles is almost like a high, and the game does a mostly great job of guiding you in the beginning and then letting you figure things out for yourself. Some hiccups near the end drastically change the pace of problem solving for the worse, but it's a game that will seriously challenge you to think and to reason.

The Talos Principle expects you to be smart and knows you’ve got the brain to figure it out, and the reward for it being right is the a sense of satisfaction at solving something properly tricky.

It's an intelligent and original experience. The perfect title if you're looking for something entirely different from what you're used to.

The Talos Principle has some important things to say, but more thoughtfully, it wants the player to have important things to say as well. Even those who do not bother to think about the philosophical topics can find a smart, sometimes frustratingly difficult puzzler here. It really shines for those open to both.

It’s a well-read and high-reaching story and discourse on the nature of existence, but it’s not just in the backseat to a seemingly disparate puzzle game.

The narrative endgame of The Talos Principle is a total cop-out – it eschews complex philosophical querying in favour of trite observations on the nature of gaming. Still, it’s more sophisticated than most titles on Steam, and the puzzles have been refined by a team of true craftsmen.

While Portal was just a series of connected puzzle chambers it always felt that a developer was leading you through it. The Talos Principle feels like boxes within boxes, left by the developer for you to play in.