Talos Principle deserves credit for compelling puzzles and a narrative that discusses religion and determinism without the arrogant snickering of The Stanley Parable.

Nevertheless, Talos' insistent Gnosticism (the view that reality is always obscured by capricious power-brokers), while sincere, is rendered tiresome by the larger entertainment industry's obsession with this one esoteric strand of Christianity. The game's weakest parts involve conversations with a Milton-esque Satan figure, in which the player is forced to choose various dumb, canned responses. That Talos is one of the better games about faith and metaphysics is a little disheartening.