Puzzle games are all about problem-solving. You hit a new obstacle, get lost at first, go through an individually unique process, and then come up with the right solution for the problem. The real trick is to make me work on the actual dilemma in the background, using the earthbound trials as puzzle pieces, going out of bounds of those simple steps (which is true for the gameplay as well!), and building up to the bigger picture.
I simply adore the way The Talos Principle directed my attention to the grand philosophical theme of humanity and its nature, started an infernal, internal struggle within me, and later on, made me accept it instead of solving it. It might sound corny, but it's just what happened because of the excellently thought-out message.
I felt like I was opening my eyes for once, finally seeing the new possibilities, which is exactly what I'm looking for in such a game. It's a literal room to think that everyone needs.

It’s so satisfying to be put in a room where there’s seemingly no visible way to progress or even start the puzzle, for things to suddenly click after rounds of experimenting. There’s some parts that felt a bit too much trial and error with the mechanics, where you know what they want you to do, but not how to do it. This could lead to just wanting get through certain parts so you could get back to the good stuff. This feeling was all too common when exploding droids make an appearance.. Some of the philosophical elements were entertaining, although it initially could get annoying when you feel the game is pushing back on an idea you were forced to pick because there was no option that matched your line of thinking (the reason for this becomes apparent however). Story tied the themes and gameplay together nice and its impact was dependent on how much you chose to engage with the narrative elements. The game overall does start outstaying its welcome slightly which meant fully completing this is something I’ll need to return to without risking burning out on the iterative puzzle design.

I did everything there is to do in this game, and the puzzles are incredibly fun to discover. The ideas and solutions build on themselves in super creative ways throughout the whole game, and solving everything feels incredibly satisfying, even the incredibly convoluted stars. Admittedly, this game likes to wax philosophical a lot in its texts, and most of the analogies went straight over my head. I was able to follow the base story easily enough though, so that felt straightforward. Overall, fantastic puzzle game with a neat story on top that ponders the several questions of life.

A thoughtful puzzle game with an interesting story. At a glance, the Talos Principle might seem a little basic. There aren't really any unique mechanics--you just pick things up and move them, and the method to solving the puzzles is relatively straightforward--get the correct beam to the correct receiver. But, even in that simplicity, something engaging comes out of it all. There's even a plot buried underneath, and a frighteningly familiar backstory! The puzzles are satisfying and many of the solutions surprising, and the meditative soundtrack makes for a soothing, cerebral experience if that's what you're looking for.

Never has a game held me by the throat and called me a dumb b'tch quite as much as The Talos Principle did.

So many times did I end up starting a new puzzle, staring at it for 3 hours and still come away with absolutely no clue how to solve it - only for the solution to just be right there, sat in front of me almost with an arrow saying "do it like this you absolute dumb'ss".

What makes that more frustrating is that it strokes your ego with plenty of simpler puzzles then it'll just smack you with a "tough" one.

The overall "story" touching philosophical themes of humanity was enjoyable, being able to actually choose responses to these questions posed to you and them affecting the response you get / game itself (ending wise, I think?) is a nice touch.

*potential ending spoiler ***

The final part being an unexpected timed section that I had to restart a few times before I realised was annoying as hell. It took me genuinely 4 attempts before it became obvious to me that I had to do it all fast otherwise I'd end up dying and having to do it all over again.

Unique story which I enjoyed. Very heavy on the philosophy and mystery of the world. The gameplay was physics puzzles... more variables that something like Portal but kind of the same general principal. I couldn't really wrap my head around a few of them and had to use a couple guides. Usually revolving around the record/play mime function. I stumbled upon a few of the Stars but getting them all felt like a bit too much to ask. Graphics and Sound we just satisfactory... I'll try the sequel though so not bad.

Fantastic puzzle game that shoots itself in the foot by being too long. If this game was 5 hours shorter, it would have been one of the best games I have ever played, and I would have easily given it 10/10. But it isn't, it is a 14-hour game that runs out of new mechanics to give to you in the middle of the playthrough. Yes, the challenge increases and the narrative is really interesting but If I start to struggle and the game doesn't offer me anything, the whole experience will obviously start to sour pretty rapidly. I’m giving it 9/10, this game has fantastic presentation, incredible narrative, and insanely smart puzzles but it was just too long for me.

You awaken as a robot in a garden of puzzles, as a God tries to lead you to eternal life, while you think about some philospohical shit.
This is probably one of my favourite games with a puzzle tag but as a puzzle game it leaves some to be desired.

So like 2/3s of the puzzles are great, some even phenomenal. But the other 1/3, just, jesus. They struggle a lot with a good balance of noise(noise as in the puzzle, not audio). Sometimes there's so little noise I accidentally solve it, other times I'm having a meltdown just trying to work out what is going on. Some puzzles are just not sightreadable at all, you have no idea what you are supposed to do just placing shit and hoping it works. Some puzzles were more like Where's Waldo Puzzles, where instead of trying to figure out what to do with your items, you have to look into every nook and cranny just to find a connector behind some random ass wall(and thus waste a bunch of time, trying to solve the puzzle without one of the components), and just generally fucking with the environment just to line something up.
But keep in mind this is only like 1/3s of the puzzles, the others are great.

But the story, oh man. I rarely get invested in a story so much as to actually read every piece of text I come across, and collect everything. The story focuses a lot on identity, understanding of the world, free will, all of the good philosophy shit while you solve puzzles and learn the story of a scientist doing sciency stuff and changing the world.
The music and voice acting complemented everything perfectly imo.

Imagine the second game doesn't exist, and stop once you finish this game.

Overall: 7.8/10 (8)

Gameplay: 8/10
Story/Narrative: 8/10
Graphics/Visuals: 7/10
Audio/Soundtrack: 8/10

This might be my favorite puzzle game of all time. The puzzles get super hard (especially if you go for the optional ones) and you just get so many of them. The mechanics are all novel but it doesn't overwhelm you with too many of them, and the interactions between them keep you surprised until the end.

I'm also a big fan of the plot and atmosphere. The mystery slowly unravels at a pleasant pace and it never gets in the way of the gameplay. When I first played it years ago it gave me my second major existential crisis that lasted like a month so it must have been doing something right