| The Talos Principle | |
|---|---|
| |
| Developer(s) | Croteam |
| Publisher(s) | Devolver Digital |
| Writer(s) | Tom Jubert Jonas Kryatzes |
| Platform(s) | Win,OS X,Linux (PS4, Android Q1 2015) |
| Release date(s) | Dec 11, 2014 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
The Talos Principle is a philosophical first-person puzzle game from Croteam, the creators of the legendary Serious Sam series, written by Tom Jubert (FTL, The Swapper) and Jonas Kyratzes (The Sea Will Claim Everything).
As if awakening from a deep sleep, you find yourself in a strange, contradictory world of ancient ruins and advanced technology. Tasked by your creator with solving a series of increasingly complex puzzles, you must decide whether to have faith, or to ask the difficult questions: Who are you, What is your purpose, and What are you going to do with your predicament?
The game would later get a VR port when The Talos Principle VR released on October 17th, 2017. The sequel The Talos Principle 2 would release on November 3, 2023.[1] The game would also get a remaster, The Talos Principle: Reawakened, which released on April 10, 2025.
Features[]
- Overcome more than 120 immersive puzzles in a stunning world.
- Divert drones, disable turrets, and even replicate time to prove your worth – or to find a way out.
- Explore a story about humanity, technology, and civilization. Uncover clues, devise theories, and make up your own mind.
- Choose your own path through the game’s linear world, solving puzzles your way.
But remember: choices have consequences, and somebody’s always watching you.
Premise[]
The game begins when the character (soon to discover is a robotic android) awakens to find themselves in a new world. It is the player's job to figure out why there are there, what the world around them is about and who or what they have become. The player is introduced to Elohim, who calls himself "The Maker" and the player will learn more about who he is through this puzzle adventure. Elohim encourages the player to explore this new world but forbids them to climb the tower in front of them and states that it contains knowledge from the world beyond. Think of it as the forbidden apple tree in the garden of Eden because there is also another influence in the game. There is the Milton Library Assistant that the player will encounter inside scattered terminals throughout the game. The Assistant encourages the player to ascend the tower anyway and asks the player a series of questions to prove that he or she is, in fact, a conscious being, among other questions later in the game. In some ways similar to a reverse Turing test. The game attempts to keep you deep in philosophical thought while offering you brain teasers and logic puzzles. The more puzzles you solve, the more complex they become.
Story[]
The story revolves around an android (initially unnamed but who would later be known as Athena in the second game) who is within a simulation in order to test and prove their sentience after humanity went extinct due to a deadly virus. Elohim urges them to follow his path while Milton makes the android doubt themselves. Ultimately in order to escape the android defies Elohim's warnings and ascends a tower in order to pass the test and wake up in a robotic body in the physical world.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay revolves around puzzles using a variety of objects to collect sigils which are used on their own puzzles. At the start of certain worlds conversations and interactions with Milton are done to mix up gameplay. Various secrets can also be found along with multiple endings.
Reception[]
The Talos Principle received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic, scoring the game 85/100 for PC[2] and 88/100 for PS4 versions.[3] Reviewers broadly praised both the challenge of the puzzles and the elements of philosophy built into the game's narrative, [4] while the community on Slant agreed that the game offered thought-provoking storyline and puzzles difficult enough to keep everyone interested.[5]
Downloadable Content[]
The game would receive one piece of downloadable content, known as Road to Gehenna, initially it was a separate purchase but in later versions it was bundled with the game.
Trivia[]
- Elohim is also the first name given to God in the Hebrew Bible.
- The Talos Principle was influenced by "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Blade Runner" and the writings of Philip K. Dick [1]
- In Greek Mythology, Talos was a sentient, emotional bronze giant made by Hephaestus.
- Sigils of Elohim was a free mini-game released on Steam[2] as a prelude to the release of The Talos Principle to give players a taste of things to come.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- The Talos Principle - Steam
- The Talos Principle - Xbox
- The Talos Principle - Playstation
- The Talos Principle - Playstation Store
- The Talos Principle - Devolver Digital Website
- The Talos Principle - CroTeam Website
Videos[]
References[]
| Media | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | The Talos Principle ( VR • Reawakened ) • The Talos Principle 2 | |||
| Downloadable Content | The Talos Principle: Road to Gehenna Reawakened: "In the Beginning" The Talos Principle 2: Road to Elysium ( Orpheus Ascending • Into the Abyss • Isle of the Blessed ) | |||
| Music | The Talos Principle Soundtrack • The Talos Principle 2 Soundtrack • The Talos Principle: Tales Beyond Horizons | |||
| Mods | ||||