|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
It happens every year. I'm starting to put together my list of top games released in the last twelve months, only to have to amend the list for a game that I never saw coming. Last year it was Starbound and this year it's The Talos Principle. The smart, quirky and interesting puzzler from the developers of the Serious Sam series (off all studios!) delivers challenging yet accessible and fun gameplay and an interesting and well thought out story about freewill, technology and your role in the universe. It's easily one of the best games of the year, and you deserve to top off your gaming year with this novel puzzler. "...a story that I couldn't wait to find out more about." The world of The Talos Principle is a strange and mysterious one. The game begins with you waking up to a strange disembodied voice who is issuing you commands. He tells you about his challenges and promises eternal life if you're able to complete them. The world begins filled with Grecian ruins and other man made structures but it becomes pretty clear pretty early that this world is not natural as you start to see areas of the environment glitch out and become filled with static. As you explore more you'll find databases filled with old websites, emails and other information and you're left with a story that I couldn't wait to find out more about. When you start to unravel all of the layers that The Talos Principle puts before you, you start to realize that it's an interesting tale of freewill and freedom set after the fall of humanity. I applauded how the developers allowed the story to unfold more based on how much I explored the world in the game. Each puzzle has a different level of challenge and different objectives to collect, and doing so would reveal more about the game's story and as a fan of narrative experiences, I was driven to finish each puzzle the best I could. Of course, it didn't hurt that The Talos Principle's core puzzle gameplay was so fun and challenging that even when I failed I couldn't wait to try again. "Puzzles can become incredibly hectic and challenging..." The Talos Principle's puzzles start off easy enough, using simple stealth and action gameplay you've used in plenty of games before. I felt confident, a bit cocky even when I was able to get through the first few puzzles without much challenge but the game racks up the challenge by constantly throwing new ingredients into its stew. Puzzles can become incredibly hectic and challenging before long and you're bound to lose more than you'll succeed. I'm not ashamed to admit that with some of the game's later puzzle's I went old school and brought out a notebook to take notes and draw out possible solutions. Looking back at the notes they're heavy on the chicken scratch and I crossed a lot of things out - that's how you know it was a challenging experience. Each of The Talos Principle's puzzles have you collecting Stigil's to open new doors to new experiences but they also feature stars to collect, some of which are pretty well hidden. Collecting stars and Stigils also leads to different endings, two of which I've seen, but there are surely more, I just have to find out how to unlock them. Save for a few areas that had me backtracking through some troubling puzzles and maze sections to track stars down, each section was interesting and somehow managed to make me feel both smart and dumb at the same time. It's smart, it's challenging and surprising and The Talos Principle is more than a worthy purchase for just about everyone. Puzzle fans will love the challenging yet accessible difficulty level and those looking for a solid narrative will love not only the story told here, but how it's told as well. I'll admit to not knowing much about The Talos Principle before it launched, but now that it's out it's easily one of the most interesting puzzle games since Valve's Portal series. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||