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Any seasoned player of video games will agree that new experiences just keep getting harder to find and developers understand this. This game, released in 2014, is a breath of fresh air in an era where developers often tap into our constant need for stimulation. While some games keep players hooked with battle passes and quick 20 min XP boosts, “The Talos Principle” dangles a different carrot: our innate curiosity and the human drive to make sense of the unknown.

If this sounds somewhat esoteric, don’t be worried. “The Talos Principle” is a straightforward first-person puzzle-adventure akin to 2007’s “Portal”. You play as an android entering the “Garden” of a god-like voice, handed a few tools and a series of puzzles to solve for the ultimate prize—eternal life. The
structure is simple; enter puzzle rooms, unlock the coveted “sigil” prize, repeat.

The game skillfully introduces its puzzle-solving tools and methodology, preventing prolonged frustration for players of all skill levels. Think of the initial stages, World A, as an easy New York Times “Monday” crossword, progressing to the later stages, World C, with a moderate “Wednesday” challenge where each challenge builds upon established foundations. Despite its accessibility, the exceptional puzzle design consistently leaves players feeling one step short, like they are missing one item, creating immense satisfaction when conquering challenges without that elusive item.

For those unfamiliar, let’s delve into a simple example. Each puzzle has a title, often self-referential or hinting. Take “Don’t Cross The Streams,” for instance. Armed with two lasers (think of keys, red and blue) and two receptacles (think of keyholes, red and blue), you quickly learn you can’t cross the (laser) streams. Move them around so the lasers don’t cross—solved! In mere seconds, you gain knowledge to carry with you throughout
the game.

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“Every human society in recorded history has had games! We don’t just solve problems out of necessity; we do it for fun, even as adults! Leave a human being alone with a knotted rope, and they will unravel it. Leave a human being alone with blocks, and they will build something. Games are part of what makes us human. We see the world as a mystery, a puzzle. We’ve always been a species of problem solvers.”

- Alexandra Drennan, The Talos Principle

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HUMAN CURIOSITY

As you navigate through worlds, solving fun puzzles and collecting sigils, you might be wondering how this mechanic of human curiosity and our attraction to the unknown fits into everything. Amid three hub worlds also stands a giant monstrosity of a tower, tempting you with its open door and hazy apex. The god-like voice warns against ascending it, claiming it’ll kill you. Meanwhile, a rogue AI pops up, challenging your beliefs and making that tower suddenly the most enticing place to be.

The game thrives on our skepticism and our inclination to question orders. Despite the god-like voice’s guidance, we have the free will to bend rules and indulge our curiosity. It’s this rule-bending that propels both the story and gameplay forward.

At some point, you’ll sport a self-satisfied grin, having discovered how to bend the rules, sneak objects out of puzzle rooms, or send lasers unbelievable distances you didn’t think were possible. Did you just break the game’s boundaries? Absolutely! Did other players discover this? The game drip-feeds new twists, making each discovery feel special.

You’re not just a lab rat solving puzzles; you’re an android with human sensibilities realizing anything goes in this world. If routing a laser from one puzzle room to another eases your journey, go for it! Bend the rules whenever you can! Perhaps other players weren’t as inquisitive but this game makes it important to feel special with everything you do.

As the game unfolds, you’ll find yourself questioning whether your discoveries were serendipitous or carefully planned by the developers. Your encounters with various audio logs, where a scientist contemplates the essence of humanity, adds an extra layer to the narrative making you question the God-voice’s motives. Why would a God allow this android to digest both broad philosophical ponderings and his own strict creationist guidelines within the same world of his creation? “The Talos Principle” excels in nudging you to formulate your own perspective on these profound matters. This harmonious flow between philosophical ponderings and tranquil puzzle gameplay (helped by a fantastic musical composition) deepens the immersive experience, leaving you pondering not just the puzzles but the very fabric of the game’s reality.

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PLAYFUL

While the structure of this story is a clear and overt nod to the Garden of Eden, “The Talos Principle” acknowledges our awareness and constantly challenges us to form our own perspective on the truth of our creation
and purpose. Your answers to questions and the order in which you complete the game influence the endings. There may be concerns about an ambiguous finale in such a theological and philosophical game, but rest
assured; the main ending is definitive, clear, and extremely satisfying.


Although “The Talos Principle” could stand on its own with fun and challenging puzzles, it’s the classic story and the pursuit of truth that keeps you engaged in the long run. On a personal level, it has left me with a really warm and calming feeling on the inside. As corny as it sounds to say, this game made me proud to be a human with all of our complications, contradictions, playfulness and stubbornness. It’s a unique and fascinating gameplay experience that will change your perspective on games while touching you on a human level and it deserves to be acknowledged among the greats.

OVERVIEW

In the year 2004, Trokia Games, a studio comprised of lead designers of Fallout fame, released Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. A classic RPG unlike anything before it and still unlike anything that has come after it. Like the Masquerade itself, VtM:B is a beautiful game hidden in plain sight.

2004 might have been the year of Half Life 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3, but VtM:B was and still is being slowly discovered by ravenous fans such as myself who never miss an opportunity to let people know that this game has aged like fine blood red wine. This is wrongly considered a cult classic. It is an outright innovative masterpiece and its time we treat it like so. It's legend has grown over the years and it's novelty as a one-of-a-kind video game gets stronger with every year a sequel (or even a similar game) ceases to exist. Like a vampire, born of Cain, I am here to draw you in, suck your blood, and Sire you into the undead world of darkness — the Masquerade!

VtM:B is the kind of video game where there is a world before you played it, and a world after you played it. This masterpiece ticks so many boxes that you want more more meat on the bone in every subsequent game you play afterwards. It has the vibes of a classic Hollywood Noir — it is confidently sexy, dramatic, and alluring while simultaniously cool like a Tarantino film. The character dialogue is smooth, natural, and cool like a Reservoir Dogs anecdote about Madonna's Like A Virgin or something out of the mid-90s indie film renaissance. The world is completely novel in it's night time portrayal of modern Los Angeles, full of (hidden) vampires, criminals, mob syndicates, and average joes just milling about at clubs or diners. The plot rivals the best crime stories and mysteries while simultaniously being dynamic and adaptive. The vampires themselves have incredibly distinct clans, philosophical viewpoints, styles, dialect, appearance, and of course, skills and abilities. As an Immersive Sim, the gameplay differentiation between the clan you choose can substantially change how the game plays and functions wholesale. In VtM:B, your freedom to play how you want is in the league of other sim classics like Deus Ex or big RPGs like Divinity Original Sin.

This game is firing on so many cylinders that I wish every other game was on it's level. I wish the clubs in Mass Effect had thumping rave parties with Industrial Metal and New Wave music by Marilyn Manson and Ministry blasting so loud that the characters at the bar have to raise their voice to be heard. I wish Fallout 3 and 4 have meaningful choices in story outcomes. I wish Cyberpunk 2077 actually gave me the freedom to approach quests and combat however I want or react to who I am, how I look, and what I am doing.


CHARACTERS

Hidden in plain sight are the vampires of the masquerade. Depending on which clan you ask, the vampires of VtM:B are descendants of the biblical Cain, the first muderer. Although the vampires share a common ancestor, they draw distinctions of lineage in their clans (classes). Each clan has a distinct culture, sense of ethics, and appearance. These clans are unlike other common classes in RPGs.

Mirroring real life, VtM:B's characters thrive because they celebrate our differences, not our similarities. Each individual has their own fashion sense, way of speaking, and motivations. Above all, they are really really cool. They dress cool, they look cool, they talk cool. I've tried to show examples of this in these Polaroids[flic.kr] I've made. Even background NPCs have a lot of style and personality.

One of the best examples of this individualism is the extremely well written Malkavian character, Therese Voerman. Without spoiling anything, her madness plays a role in one of the most interesting quests in modern gaming. Like most characters in VtM:B, Therese is three dimensional with a sort of film-like star power that oozes through the screen. Her office looks like she means business. She acts like she's the boss in town, and she dresses with this sexy yet powerful stature. The characters in VtM:B are lifted further by excellent voice acting from some top tier voice talent such as: Phil Lamarr, Steve Blum, John Dimaggio. It is worth noting that the animation, especially the facial animation, was mind blowing in 2004 and still better than some RPG games today.

The world building of the vampire clans feeds into the individual character writing, appearances, and aesthetics which creates such strong characters who feel so original not only towards one another, but original when compared to other more generic fantasy characters in other games. Some people look like trench coat assassins out of The Matrix while others have this 2000s punk rock raver vibe. Some people like Fat Larry are just cool dudes from the streets. In the end, these characters aren't defined by their clan, but by their backstories and motivations. One motivation in particular is central to everything in VtM:B's plot — the Ankaran Sarcophagus!

STORY, QUESTS AND GAMEPLAY

The Ankaran Sarcophagus is a film-style priceless "MacGuffin" that the player and almost every vampire kindred NPC is after. Think about the money (or rug) in The Big Lebowski, the diamonds in Pulp Fiction, or the Ark in Indiana Jones. Everyone wants it and it's up to you about how you get it. Which leads to one of the best qualities of VtM:B — the freedom of choice in gameplay.

Having the MacGuffin through line with everyone's twists, turns, betrayals and motivations is really fun and cinematic, but in the end, it is a good plot-based storytelling device. Where VtM:B shines is in it's RPG-Immersive Sim gameplay and quest design. The game pulls it's stat sheet directly from the TTRPG the series is based upon. In the stat sheet alone, you have an immense amount of choice in your build. But like any good TTRPG, everything in this game is simulated around your choices: your clan, your discipline, your skills talents, etc. Without getting into the nitty gritty, the gameplay is dynamic and deep without bogging you down staring at a stat sheet for hours on end.

Quests are the meat and potatoes of any great RPG game. VtM:B has the best combination of main and side quests in any RPG I've ever played. The main quests follow everyone's pursuit of the priceless Ankaran Sarcophagus taking you through haunted hotels that reveal intimate life events of characters in your travels, nights at spooky musems, or Scarface-like mafia strongholds. The side quests are really something different. This is where the game gets to shine in its modern setting. These quests have the player character rubbing elbows with Hollywood producers trying to recover a snuff film, convincing hobos they didn't see a gruesome vampire murder, or clearing out business loans from predatory sharks. Every side quest is etched in the dark nasty realities that is the underbelly of LA crime.

9.5/10

[Note - v1.5 - July 2022] Cyberpunk 2077 tries to envelop players with its rebellious punk attitude towards a distant future dystopia known as Night City. The game has the unfortunate task of adapting an entire genre as well as a pre-existing table top franchise into a massive game world. As a result, Cyberpunk 2077’s tone is an unnatural macrocosm of various genre tropes and cliches that lack any sort of nuance or subtlety. Night City, bombards you with overt themes of unfettered capitalism and corporate militarism by peppering the city with cartoonish overly sexualized ads for products ranging from soda cans to cologne. Meanwhile, paramilitaristic organizations have an overbearing presence that is so immediately normalized to the point where it wouldn't be uncommon for an average denizen to discuss Mili-Tech or Arisaka in the same way they might talk about sports. While exploring the open world, you will be forced to listen to radio hosts who present news about violent atrocities with the same energy and enthusiasm as a game show host surprising the winning contestant with a brand new car. The aggressively satirical energy CD Projekt RED injects into Cyberpunk 2077 makes Grand Theft Auto’s brand of satire seem deeply serious and thematically rich. Between the way the world of Cyberpunk 2077 is presented, coupled with its embarrassingly rushed launch, one begins to question whether the developers truly understand the themes it’s trying to present or if they perhaps ran out of time to finesse the tone into something more sophisticated.

Yet—way beneath the surface, Cyberpunk 2077 is not really about anything it pretends to actually be. If CDPR’s depiction of Night City makes you thematically jaded; one can take solace in the fact that the plot is deeply touching on a human level and is empathetic towards those who have to actually have to live within and navigate this dystopia. At its core, Cyberpunk 2077 actually does have something meaningful to say, but it’s hidden among so many terrible fetch quests, open world checklist distractions, and far too many pointless characters that distract from the greatness of its charming characters and narrative highs.

Cyberpunk presents a certain futility to the idea of living a meaningful life when the world itself is designed to strip you of your personality or the free will to live as you please. In the case of the main character V’s narrative, V cannot even die without the meddling of vengeful corporations. The now undead V is accompanied by Johnny Silverhand, played by Keanu Reeves, for the entirety of the game. Silverhand is a virtual consciousness, also deprived of the right to die, with a soul that lives on through the construct of V’s mind. This scenario leans into typical genre themes of transhumanism but it works extremely well from a narrative perspective as Silverhand, along with V, grow together and apart throughout the main narrative. His presence has both V and the player questioning whether life in a capitalist dystopia is truly fruitless or if there is always something to live for. Their all-embracing connection leans into the greatest strength of Cyberpunk 2077—the intimacy of its characters.

Despite being advertised as a role-playing game, Cyberpunk 2077 is essentially an open world action-adventure with RPG elements. The story of Cyberpunk is entirely plot driven from top to bottom. The plot builds up to something truly interesting, but this means the player lacks the ability to make choices that diverge the story and questing in meaningful ways. It is difficult to evaluate the benefits of this kind of storytelling because while it is extremely limited in player choice, especially compared to marketplace competition, it ultimately results in some of the best character relationships in recent memory. These characters are the lifeline that Cyberpunk 2077 desperately needs to keep the game engaging. Especially against the backdrop of an over simplistic dystopia.

Most of the relationships V has are introduced organically via the narrative. Many smaller characters such as quest-giving "Fixers" are only there to use V for capital before moving on and away from the central plot. Where the game lacks subtlety in its thematic presentation, it actually does a great job not overburdening the player with unnecessary characterization for minor characters. As a result, the world feels more believable. V is a mercenary afterall, so she isn’t remotely concerned with mundane conversation from, say, a job-fixer who sends you on a quest or two.

The major characters however, are always three-dimensional and work fantastically in the context of Night City. You can easily juxtapose a loyal industrialist character, such as Takemura, against Silverhand’s one-note anti-establishment attitude. What makes such extreme opposite characters immediately interesting is how they struggle with being dehumanized by the same corporate system that these individuals both seem to love or hate with equal passion. Every major character has their own unique perspective on morality, life, and the constructs of society in Night City, but none of them truly have anything figured out and they all suffer their own brand of consequences of the establishment—no matter how right or wrong they think they are.

This deeply personal connection to the characters continues into Cyberpunk 2077’s fantastic side quest writing. The main narrative begins to introduce you to a healthy handful of side characters while the side quests really develop these character relationships into something great. There is a lot of bespoke content in the side quests with everything from capers against military corporations to sleuthing around town solving murders or playing concerts at a seedy dive bar.

There is a certain confidence to the presentation of the quests in Cyberpunk that sets a high bar for role-playing games to come. In the same way an editor naturally hides cuts in a film, CDPR commonly puts the character into a vibrant location such as Lizzie’s Bar where the player instinctively approaches the bartender and without realizing it, has spontaneously started the dialogue for a quest. You will take a seat and start a conversation with the barkeep which then leads to another character approaching the bar and joining in on the conversation. You agree to talk somewhere more private where, again, you naturally continue the conversation as you walk and talk through the environment as any ordinary bar patron would. Most of the denizens in Night City, including V, come from a peculiar culture and speak in an austere coded manner so having immersive moments such as this provide enough context to understand the setting without every proper noun and colloquialism being explained. The player just picks up on things as they immerse themselves in the world and the game is better for it. No part of the presentation of quests feels static so you can easily get immersed in a lot of these bespoke locations. This is especially emphasized by the constant motion of a scene throughout any conversation.

This leads to both a strength and major criticism of Cyberpunk 2077. While many of the bespoke locations have such a distinct style and attention to detail, so much of Night City is drowned out by an immense amount of unnecessary noise and a complete lack of detail. While there are many great character and plot focused side quests, there is absolutely no distinction between these quests and the endless amount of distracting fetch quests throughout the city. It cannot be overstated how awful this side content is. Most of it has you running around clearing out faceless criminals for the Night City Police Department or killing boring repetitive “cyber psycho's” across the map. It’s not uncommon for open world games to have mindless tasks that amount to nothing more than dots on a map, but Cyberpunk presents these tasks in the worst possible way via an onslaught of phone calls and with cheesy attempts at edgy dialogue that tries to contextualize and justify this complete dribble. This unnecessary need to adhere to open world norms directly hinders the actual strengths of Cyberpunk’s most immersive environments, storylines, and character relationships. While it’s a shame to imagine, it is not unreasonable to think somebody could theoretically complete the entire game without actually playing one of the good side quests because it is hidden among mountains of absolutely effortless time filler side content.

This unnecessary attention towards the mundane parts of Cyberpunk has residual effects throughout the entire experience. The Prologue and Act I stand on its own from a narrative perspective, but being engrossed in a plethora of fetch quests results in dozens of hours void of any meaningful side content. This will likely lead to players either abandoning the game altogether or plowing directly through the main story. Most of the great side content reveals itself near the end of Act II. Considering Act III is an on-the-rails end game point of no return, the pace of the main narrative grinds to a halt while a lot of the Johnny Silverhand subplots begin to open up. These side quests flesh out Johnny Silverhand’s past while introducing some really fun escapades for V and Johnny to get into, but these plots feel so backloaded toward the end of the game that they’re a distraction from V’s race against the clock in context of the main plot.

That disconnection between the needs of the plot against the needs of an open world game results in an unbalanced role playing experience overall. While the player can create a unique character build via attribute categories and perk points for specific skills, there is a lack of synergy between the build choices you are given and its actual usefulness in gameplay. This is easily exemplified in dialogue trees which use optional attribute skill checks as a Trojan Horse for V to add a line or two about the topic at hand, so long as she has a high enough attribute level. However, these so-called skill checks never diverge the outcome of any conversation or quest.

In combat, player choice takes a backseat to the linear level design that the developers outline for you. While a character built around Netrunning is capable of frying enemies with Quick Hacks from a distance, or turning off enemy turrets and cameras, the game struggles to keep up with the different play styles it allegedly offers up. In the Netrunner example, the game presents an interesting approach to combat by allowing a player to hack through an entire level by taking control of the camera system and quick hacking enemies without ever stepping foot into the base. However, the allure of this build falls apart when the enemy NPCs deeper into the level fail to load. This begs the question—why even have cameras throughout a level if you cannot use them for any advantage? It goes without say, that enemies who only spawn in when you are close enough for them to load is extremely immersion breaking.

Almost every major quest with bespoke level design has this issue where a savvy Netrunner is kneecapped by the limitations of the game design not expecting you to play outside of its intended structure.

This is somewhat tolerable as the gunplay and core mechanics of infiltration are relatively fun, but it begins to wear very thin very fast after you’ve snuck around the same types of boring bases with the same mindless AI countless times. Over time, the mechanics of Cyberpunk’s combat become indistinguishable from other generic shooters of the past and present. Likewise, the level design is mundane, pretending to have divergent paths based on character attributes. Yet, for every door that is closed because your Reflex stat is too low, another door—looking the exact same as the first one—opens up because your Tech stat is high enough. Players are never cut out of things for their choice of build nor do they have options in how to tackle any given level. In the end, the player is probably going to just shoot everybody to speed everything along.

Regarding the pace of combat, there is a small gripe worth leaning into because of how much it affects the lack of ease in some encounters. Again, a Netrunner is capable of wiping out an entire enemy base with the right Cyberdeck, RAM regeneration, and powerful Quick Hacks. Yet, the game cannot physically keep up with itself where the hacking UI often fails to load quickly or at all when you are snapping between enemies frying them one by one. A lot of time is spent fighting against the game rather than fighting the AI which gets more and more frustrating as time goes on. This would be akin to a rifle refusing to aim-down-sights every third attempt. Sure, you can get by, but why would somebody want to have this much friction trying to play?

These types of small but frustrating gripes really mount over time as you progress through the game. There are many cases where you begin to question your own sanity; whether you keep experiencing the same minor bugs or if the game is just meant to be that way. Are the objects constantly fading into sight a technical issue or does the game use a strange rendering technique to load assets in? Why are the highways completely empty where the occasional city road is full of cars? While some of this may be intentional, there are just too many minor bugs or weird quirks to the technology under-the-hood. The result of this is a persistent disappointment with Cyberpunk where it’s impossible to single out any one issue as the game never feels like it’s truly functioning to its full technical potential. Most of the game breaking issues have been patched out, but it still has this awkwardness where the bugs and the technology merge into a stilted overall presentation.

Although the saturation of colour comes down to a matter of personal taste, the game conversely, has a distinct visual style with vivid colours oozing through every frame of the city. As mentioned before, many of the environments have an immense attention to detail which can be enhanced and amplified by a sizable amount of graphical options. The sheer amount of graphical tuning is both a gift and a curse as none of the out-of-the-box base settings feel quite right, while fine tuning to get that balance of visual fidelity and performance can be a long winded balancing act. This is because not all areas of Night City are visually or artistically equal while the under-the-hood technical issues make your visual experience different on a moment to moment basis. When you do settle on settings that work for you, the game can be breathtaking.

In the end, Cyberpunk 2077 is an extremely uneven experience where its glimmers of greatness present itself at awkward times while the most ordinary and mundane gameplay systems are suddenly forgotten as you immerse yourself in the lives of V and her loved ones. There are incredibly interesting locations that use impressive graphical capabilities to tell the story of Night City without explaining every minute detail. Outside of these areas, however, are boring, empty, and repetitive streets that are littered with ridiculous ads that handle Cyberpunk’s thematic elements with a juvenile sense of humour. Getting to the core of what makes Cyberpunk 2077 great is a bumpy road that will test the patience of anyone willing to jump into Night City. At its best, Cyberpunk 2077 has you passionately invested in the inner feelings of its fantastic three-dimensional characters; motivating the player to dignify them with the best outcome. At its worst, you fail to care about anything you are doing as you fumble through game design that is really only half baked.

The question remains—is it worth jousting with a game so unsteady? Despite its rough edges, Cyberpunk 2077 is an unpredictable narrative with something to say. Getting through it all has highs and lows but the emotional highs make it worthwhile in the end.

7/10