The Talos Principle [PC Game]

What is a person?
What makes a person special?
What would an AI think about?

This is one of many examples of text in the game.
Click to see the larger image.

This is your character.

I love this game.
It is unbelievably rare that I find a game that so expertly meshes philosophy and fun.

4.5 out of 5 stars

It's all Greek to me.

The game is a lot like Portal. However unlike Portal the story is not a humourous one. It is a deep and mysterious story (so, I guess it's a like Myst in that regard). There is a lot of reading involved, hidden messages, and deep philosophical questions. Questions that have no clear cut answer, and you have to answer them. Your answers will be judged too. Oh yeah, this is yet another game I first heard of through Extra Credits Games You Might Have Tried (#7 - I own most of the games in this installment. Very good installment).

At the core this is a puzzle game.

This is the concourse that you access the various
'worlds' through.

You have to solve continually complex puzzles. Some require timing, some require spatial awareness, some require trickery. Some puzzles are easy, some are difficult. Each comes with a short hint (the title of the puzzle).

But the game requires exploration outside of the puzzles. You must wander the worlds to find terminals and data-ghosts. These help fill in the world, help you to see the mystery that lies behind the game. And there is a mystery. Something has gone terribly wrong in world. I'll not spoil what it is... but suffice to say it is fun figure out.  

I suppose I should talk about the graphics. They are very good, not The Vanishing of Ethan Carter good, but good. But they seem to stress my game system on max levels some. There is something with the rendering of the levels that seems to stay in memory, even after I return from a world. In addition, graphics are not what this game is about. Good graphics are nice, but they are not central to the games entertainment (I'd be sad if they sucked, but this game is about thought not imagery).

So far this game is one of my favorites I've picked up during the Steam Sale. Highly recommended. 
 

The robot reminds me of the robot in
Bjork's All is Full of Love video.

'Games I recently bought on a Steam Sale' review event links.

Pillars of Eternity
Satellite Reign
Endless Legend
South Park: The Stick of Truth
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion
The Stanley Parable
This War of Mine