Yes, it is cool that the Serious Sam devs created a contemplative philosophical puzzle game. No that does not mean that The Talos Principle is some genre defining proclamation of metaphysical heft. What it is, most certainly, is a nifty puzzle sandbox that just slightly wears out its welcome, with a spottily compelling deific narrative clumsily shoved in the open cracks.
The design fundamentals are solid. There are player-controlled objects that create and react to the level in specific ways, and levels with varying obstacles for you to apply these objects to. Some are thought-provoking brainteasers where the player has to concoct a specific sequence of events to complete. Others, however, are little more than technical rube goldbergs, placing laser refractors in just the right way as to be tedious rather than enlightening. The frustration of not knowing which kind of level you are going to get stays in the forefront of the player's mind throughout The Talos Principle - and is why the lore terminals dotted around the ancient landscapes should provide a welcome respite.
But the framework for why you are doing these puzzles is eye-rollingly cliche. During the first 15 minute tutorial it’s quite obvious what is happening, and the mystery of the world falls away. The music queues and almost Myst-like design of the ethereal puzzle gardens do provide some desperate ambience, but computer terminal after computer terminal confirming your prior assumptions does little to ameliorate the fact that there should be something more going on beyond the simple narrative chassis. Admittingly, a few of the terminal entries and dialogue options are compelling and thoughtful, and are well written enough to exceed most AA video game writing.
Despite all of this, I like a lot of what’s presented here, even if it's a tad overstuffed. The gameplay mechanics are solid, if uninspired, and lead me to a satisfying amount of “aha” moments. The story is… fine, but isn’t creatively interesting enough to hang the rest of the game on. By the time I was able to climb the final tower and truly complete the game, I was wholly ready to leave the garden.
The design fundamentals are solid. There are player-controlled objects that create and react to the level in specific ways, and levels with varying obstacles for you to apply these objects to. Some are thought-provoking brainteasers where the player has to concoct a specific sequence of events to complete. Others, however, are little more than technical rube goldbergs, placing laser refractors in just the right way as to be tedious rather than enlightening. The frustration of not knowing which kind of level you are going to get stays in the forefront of the player's mind throughout The Talos Principle - and is why the lore terminals dotted around the ancient landscapes should provide a welcome respite.
But the framework for why you are doing these puzzles is eye-rollingly cliche. During the first 15 minute tutorial it’s quite obvious what is happening, and the mystery of the world falls away. The music queues and almost Myst-like design of the ethereal puzzle gardens do provide some desperate ambience, but computer terminal after computer terminal confirming your prior assumptions does little to ameliorate the fact that there should be something more going on beyond the simple narrative chassis. Admittingly, a few of the terminal entries and dialogue options are compelling and thoughtful, and are well written enough to exceed most AA video game writing.
Despite all of this, I like a lot of what’s presented here, even if it's a tad overstuffed. The gameplay mechanics are solid, if uninspired, and lead me to a satisfying amount of “aha” moments. The story is… fine, but isn’t creatively interesting enough to hang the rest of the game on. By the time I was able to climb the final tower and truly complete the game, I was wholly ready to leave the garden.