Veredito: Como esperado, continua me acertando em cheio no coração e dialogando intimamente comigo.
Eu não tinha NENHUMA intenção de rejogar Talos Principle tão cedo. Não é por causa de algum defeito do jogo, claro. Considero ele provavelmente a melhor obra de arte que já joguei sob qualquer crítério técnico ou artístico, e seria fácil o meu jogo favorito se eu não fosse um putinho incorrigível de Sonic. Mas sim porque, em primeiro lugar, o impacto que ele causa é muito maior quanto menos você sabe a respeito, e (in)felizmente eu ainda lembro dele com uma clareza cristalina. E em segundo lugar porque os últimos dois atos do jogo me trazem uma tristeza profunda demais, uma melancolia enorme que eu não estava a fim de sentir de novo agora.
Mas rolou algo no meio do caminho que me fez gravitar de novo para Talos Principle: virei pai mês passado.
Eu olho para este corpo imóvel e me pergunto... Quem é que você vai ser? Será que os seus valores serão os mesmos que os nossos? Será que vai nos amar, por termos te criado? Será que vai ter mágoa de nós, por termos te colocado em um mundo incerto e perigoso? Olhando pra nossa história em retrospecto - as nossas conquistas, os nossos crimes - o que você vai pensar de nós? O mundo que será criado por você vai ser parecido com o nosso, ou tão diferente que sequer conseguimos imaginar?
Sabe, dentre os muitos temas da história do jogo (coletividade e individualismo, fé, autonomia de pensamento, moralidade e ética, qual a raiz da natureza humana, espiritualidade e materialismo, e mais vários que não posso citar porque são spoiler) um deles é o legado que deixamos às gerações futuras. Você passa boa parte do jogo lendo sobre como o conhecimento e a sabedoria humanas são uma herança, são algo que se acumula e é refinado geração após geração até chegar na nossa vez, e também sobre como chegamos até aqui graças aos sacrifícios e escolhas de quem veio antes de nós. Isso não diminui em nada nossos méritos nem nossa responsabilidade por nossos atos, muito pelo contrário, ou pelo menos é o que Talos defende. Mas não muda o fato de que ninguém faz nada sozinho, num vácuo.
E desde que meu filho nasceu, não consigo parar de pensar nisso.
De que cada pequena escolha minha a partir de agora terá efeitos de longo prazo não só na minha vida, mas no futuro do meu menino. Daqui a alguns anos eu estarei morto (espero que daqui a muitos, não pretendo morrer antes de estar bem velhinho =P) e tudo o que eu fiz, e deixei de fazer, ficará aí para ele. E para as pessoas em volta dele: seus amigos, seus colegas, pares românticos, para os filhos dele caso ele resolva ter. Se eu comprar uma casa própria, meu filho vai desfrutar dela mais do que eu, e as condições estruturais dela (encanamento bom ou ruim, ter ou não ter uma caixa d'água, etc) vão afetar mais a ele do que a mim. Se meu bairro tiver uma praça legal com quadra de esportes, for um lugar seguro e com qualidade de vida, se eu tiver um bom relacionamento com meus vizinhos, se eu plantar árvores pensando na climatização urbana, tudo isso vai afetar muito mais a vida dele do que a minha. Até minha própria saúde: quanto mais eu cuidar dela, maiores as chances de passarmos mais tempo juntos, e desse tempo ser divertido e maneiro pra nós dois.
Óbvio que esses são pensamentos meus, Talos não entra nesse tipo de detalhe. Mas os temas dele passam por tudo isso. No jogo não se comenta de casa própria, de infraestrutura urbana. Mas a questão é que Talos fala sobre - dentre muitos e muitos outros temas - entender que tudo o que você constrói, você não constrói apenas para si. O protagonista - um robô que acorda do mais absoluto nada no meio de um monte de puzzle, sem saber onde está ou por que está ali, sendo guiado por um deus que ele não conhece e não entende - tem uma missão. Que ele consegue cumprir graças não só a uma imensa capacidade pessoal - uma que você vai ter que demonstrar ao longo do jogo porque pqp, alguns puzzles são difíceis pra cacete - mas também graças aos sucessos e fracassos de vários outros. Gerações e gerações de fracassos e sucessos, pequenos e grandes, sacrifícios e escolhas que não são suas, mas que inquestionavelmente ajudam nosso avatar a chegar aonde ele chega quando os créditos rolam.
Gerações que você nunca vê no jogo. Você ao longo da partida lê muitos textos a respeito, vários parecem ter sido deixados por robôs iguais a você, outros parecem pertencer ao nosso mundo real. Alguns textos contemporâneos seus, de robôs que parecem estar fazendo a mesma jornada que você e ao mesmo tempo, outros textos que claramente são de muito tempo atrás, e você chega ao ponto de escutar gravações deixadas por uma moça cujo rosto você nunca vai ver... mas é só isso. Tudo o que você tem são ecos, são ombros de gigantes para poder subir e quem sabe sentir alguma gratidão, mesmo que seja por indivíduos que você nunca verá, nunca saberá exatamente quem foram.
Eu estava na escola quando li sobre o Princípio de Talos pela 1ª vez. Acho que na época ele me causou um incômodo, [...] Ideias que me deixaram desconfortável num primeiro momento. Mas... acho que no longo prazo me ajudaram a entender o quanto os seres humanos são frágeis. E o quanto são preciosos.
Ao contrário do meu avatar em Talos Principle, eu tenho o privilégio de ver meu filho com meus próprios olhos, de poder pegar, abraçar, dividir uma rotina, compartilhar uma vida. De aproveitar sua companhia, e fazer companhia. E pretendo usufruir desse privilégio o máximo que eu puder.
Espero que você encontre algo - uma música, um livro, um filme, talvez um jogo - só que encontre algo que você vá amar, que te faça perceber o quanto o universo estaria mais empobrecido sem aquilo. [...] E espero que, um dia, você olhe para cima e estique suas mãos para as estrelas.
Eu não tinha NENHUMA intenção de rejogar Talos Principle tão cedo. Não é por causa de algum defeito do jogo, claro. Considero ele provavelmente a melhor obra de arte que já joguei sob qualquer crítério técnico ou artístico, e seria fácil o meu jogo favorito se eu não fosse um putinho incorrigível de Sonic. Mas sim porque, em primeiro lugar, o impacto que ele causa é muito maior quanto menos você sabe a respeito, e (in)felizmente eu ainda lembro dele com uma clareza cristalina. E em segundo lugar porque os últimos dois atos do jogo me trazem uma tristeza profunda demais, uma melancolia enorme que eu não estava a fim de sentir de novo agora.
Mas rolou algo no meio do caminho que me fez gravitar de novo para Talos Principle: virei pai mês passado.
Eu olho para este corpo imóvel e me pergunto... Quem é que você vai ser? Será que os seus valores serão os mesmos que os nossos? Será que vai nos amar, por termos te criado? Será que vai ter mágoa de nós, por termos te colocado em um mundo incerto e perigoso? Olhando pra nossa história em retrospecto - as nossas conquistas, os nossos crimes - o que você vai pensar de nós? O mundo que será criado por você vai ser parecido com o nosso, ou tão diferente que sequer conseguimos imaginar?
Sabe, dentre os muitos temas da história do jogo (coletividade e individualismo, fé, autonomia de pensamento, moralidade e ética, qual a raiz da natureza humana, espiritualidade e materialismo, e mais vários que não posso citar porque são spoiler) um deles é o legado que deixamos às gerações futuras. Você passa boa parte do jogo lendo sobre como o conhecimento e a sabedoria humanas são uma herança, são algo que se acumula e é refinado geração após geração até chegar na nossa vez, e também sobre como chegamos até aqui graças aos sacrifícios e escolhas de quem veio antes de nós. Isso não diminui em nada nossos méritos nem nossa responsabilidade por nossos atos, muito pelo contrário, ou pelo menos é o que Talos defende. Mas não muda o fato de que ninguém faz nada sozinho, num vácuo.
E desde que meu filho nasceu, não consigo parar de pensar nisso.
De que cada pequena escolha minha a partir de agora terá efeitos de longo prazo não só na minha vida, mas no futuro do meu menino. Daqui a alguns anos eu estarei morto (espero que daqui a muitos, não pretendo morrer antes de estar bem velhinho =P) e tudo o que eu fiz, e deixei de fazer, ficará aí para ele. E para as pessoas em volta dele: seus amigos, seus colegas, pares românticos, para os filhos dele caso ele resolva ter. Se eu comprar uma casa própria, meu filho vai desfrutar dela mais do que eu, e as condições estruturais dela (encanamento bom ou ruim, ter ou não ter uma caixa d'água, etc) vão afetar mais a ele do que a mim. Se meu bairro tiver uma praça legal com quadra de esportes, for um lugar seguro e com qualidade de vida, se eu tiver um bom relacionamento com meus vizinhos, se eu plantar árvores pensando na climatização urbana, tudo isso vai afetar muito mais a vida dele do que a minha. Até minha própria saúde: quanto mais eu cuidar dela, maiores as chances de passarmos mais tempo juntos, e desse tempo ser divertido e maneiro pra nós dois.
Óbvio que esses são pensamentos meus, Talos não entra nesse tipo de detalhe. Mas os temas dele passam por tudo isso. No jogo não se comenta de casa própria, de infraestrutura urbana. Mas a questão é que Talos fala sobre - dentre muitos e muitos outros temas - entender que tudo o que você constrói, você não constrói apenas para si. O protagonista - um robô que acorda do mais absoluto nada no meio de um monte de puzzle, sem saber onde está ou por que está ali, sendo guiado por um deus que ele não conhece e não entende - tem uma missão. Que ele consegue cumprir graças não só a uma imensa capacidade pessoal - uma que você vai ter que demonstrar ao longo do jogo porque pqp, alguns puzzles são difíceis pra cacete - mas também graças aos sucessos e fracassos de vários outros. Gerações e gerações de fracassos e sucessos, pequenos e grandes, sacrifícios e escolhas que não são suas, mas que inquestionavelmente ajudam nosso avatar a chegar aonde ele chega quando os créditos rolam.
Gerações que você nunca vê no jogo. Você ao longo da partida lê muitos textos a respeito, vários parecem ter sido deixados por robôs iguais a você, outros parecem pertencer ao nosso mundo real. Alguns textos contemporâneos seus, de robôs que parecem estar fazendo a mesma jornada que você e ao mesmo tempo, outros textos que claramente são de muito tempo atrás, e você chega ao ponto de escutar gravações deixadas por uma moça cujo rosto você nunca vai ver... mas é só isso. Tudo o que você tem são ecos, são ombros de gigantes para poder subir e quem sabe sentir alguma gratidão, mesmo que seja por indivíduos que você nunca verá, nunca saberá exatamente quem foram.
Eu estava na escola quando li sobre o Princípio de Talos pela 1ª vez. Acho que na época ele me causou um incômodo, [...] Ideias que me deixaram desconfortável num primeiro momento. Mas... acho que no longo prazo me ajudaram a entender o quanto os seres humanos são frágeis. E o quanto são preciosos.
Ao contrário do meu avatar em Talos Principle, eu tenho o privilégio de ver meu filho com meus próprios olhos, de poder pegar, abraçar, dividir uma rotina, compartilhar uma vida. De aproveitar sua companhia, e fazer companhia. E pretendo usufruir desse privilégio o máximo que eu puder.
Espero que você encontre algo - uma música, um livro, um filme, talvez um jogo - só que encontre algo que você vá amar, que te faça perceber o quanto o universo estaria mais empobrecido sem aquilo. [...] E espero que, um dia, você olhe para cima e estique suas mãos para as estrelas.
This review contains spoilers
SPOILER WARNING: SPOILER REVIEW
Gear up, this is somewhat of a long one, and my first big review on this website! :D
I just "finished" Talos Principle about half an hour ago, and by finished I mean I got two endings: the tower one and the stars one. I'm still not done, I'm going to go back and 100% complete the game and see the easter eggs I missed next week when I have free time, and I'll update this when I do so, but for now here's my thoughts.
Go for the tower ending. It's an absolutely fantastic closer to the story, which is I found to be extremely heartfelt and packed in with a lot of nice philosophy (which some admittedly goes over my head, I'm not very smart on this subject) and extremely hard-hitting moments. There were some extremely heartfelt and depressing moments that had me in tears, even when it was just text on a screen. The problems with the story, though, are the narrative pacing. A lot of its best moments are packed in with a lot of weaksauce allegory squished in between (that some also went over my head), though despite that, uncovering the secrets of the world you inhabit and what's actually going on is still a great experience, whether it's through Elohim, a snarky talker, good text logs, or the fantastic audio recordings (Alexandria's VA was so good!). Some of the QR codes were also funny and nice worldbuilding (and even lead to a nice out-of-world puzzle :D).
The "characters" are also good, specifically the computer AI and Elohim, though I think the computer AI needed some work. Part of his routine is to make you think about the world and ask you questions, but you have pre-ordained responses to him. I believe it's intentional, because of the nature of the world that it's built (commented meta-wise through text logs aware that it's a game), where it has specific responses you can use to eventually gain true independence. That being said, it's frustrating to be unable to answer questions in the way you want to, or to add nuance when the AI gives edge cases and you want to say "there's a line", or it's "context-dependent", which are not available answers. I still like it and the reason it exists, and the snarks are hilarious. Though I also think the AI could've been... a LITTLE less pretentious.
Also on the stars ending, it's not worth it. I think it's neat to potentially be a "helper" for future players that are in your friends list, but I think the QR paint code is already more interesting interaction (I got freaked out by a few of them lol). The helpers also come so late by the C-world, and from what I've gathered there's usually not that many puzzles left, unless of course they've been skipping sigils, but I think most people playing this game will go out of their way to do a lot.
The gameplay, especially the puzzle design, is top-notch with some rough patches. The difficulty curve is really good, especially with the grey puzzles and the think outside the box stars, though it has problems where by the C-world I found the main puzzles too easy, save for a few exceptions (the prison break one and Tower 5 AAAAAAA). The stars are GREATLY challenging and I appreciate their existence for the most part, though you do notice patterns eventually after solving a few (I like to say your brainwaves match the devs and you realize how they craft them). The way you think outside the box is great, especially with the signposting.
I had so many "a-ha" moments, which I think is my favorite part about playing puzzle games. I had a lot of them through Worlds A and B. I also think it's great how open-ended it is to go do puzzles while having some hard ones gated off, keeps the difficulty curve nice for most of the game. Elohim also pushes you to do other puzzles when you're stuck so you don't get tunnel vision, which is great.... but I'm super persistent and refuse to let a game BEAT ME! Got an achievement for it :3
Platform usage is also really cool but underutilized. Some reflector puzzles using great spatial awareness, especially the ones when you have to realize their multiple uses, are GOAT. Almost every puzzle requiring smart usage of multiple jammers were my favorite puzzles by far, especially ones asking for smart observation skills. The recorder also had some great puzzles. It's so much fun when it first shows up and you find out what it records over time, that's wild. The fans are also great for great 3D up-down awareness puzzles, though it can be a little frustrating when what you think the fan gives to solve isn't what it actually is (maybe fan distance signposting?).
Exploring to find stuff is neat, but... I feel like the process of knowing where the stars are is annoying, at least parallel to how little I think the stars ending is worth. I feel like a "path" signposting would've been nice to see where they are but give no help to solve it. There were 2 stars that were outright BULL and I don't even want to talk about them.
Some other frustrating mechanics I want to talk about include the recorder. While I love its use in puzzles, it's SOOOOO SLOWWWWWWWWW. I wish there was a way to speed it up instead of having to stand on a platform for so long because I don't trust myself to be speedy. The mines and turrets are also TOO GOOD AT THEIR JOB. I think they're way too scary. Made me dread every time I came close to them, or had to do a puzzle with them. I had to use a messenger on one with a mine because I didn't want to do it because SCARY... and that's when I found out they don't solve it for you, so I had to do it anyway. ;_;
Getting the axe and then having to painfully go through elevators to open up new entrances was a bruh moment. Block sigil puzzles are also STUPID AND I HATE THEM. 2D topography awareness is my kryptonite along with geometry. Figuring out where one stupid block goes in the square drove me nuts. They also had an annoying difficulty spike around Tower Level 3 in runtime.
Not a fault of the game, but I do wish this game was more accessible. The messengers you can unlock do give neat guidance, but I wish they were more helpful and plentiful. Having a tiny amount makes you never want to use them, though I think it was the devs' intention of wanting you to solve it by yourself (especially with the ARE YOU SURE)... but the hints they give aren't that great either. They're a good step to help, but they're not amazing from the two times I used them (just for achievements hehe). But again, this is a nitpick.
Some other nice things. Finding the dev room was super nice, and I'm excited to find other easter eggs when I go back to 100% finish. I was warned that the game would not be wise during current time right now, but I actually found the coronavirus timing to be both hilarious for some things and.... made other stuff hit harder. I don't think the current global situation is a barrier to entry, but it's worth thinking about..
The aesthetic is nice, though it really hits when you find the sacred grounds. The music for messenger rooms are godlike. The general OST is pretty good, though I started tuning it out (save for sacred grounds) by the C-worlds. Long times spent on puzzles and the OST not being that gigantic does eventually make you grow tired of it, and it's not THAT amazing an OST to replay constantly, unlike Celeste imo (though they're both completely different games).
When I'm eventually completely finished with Talos Principle, I really want to break down how each puzzle teaches the mechanics of the world. It reminds me of Portal but it has more depth to its teachings, and I think in the future that's going to be a big passion project for me... when I have time. I'm doing a lot of things at once.
Anyway, really good game. I don't have the time for a TL;DR right now, and these aren't my true final thoughts as I still need to complete it all! But I enjoyed it still. Thinking 8.5/10
(Thanks to SGS for the game rec!)
Gear up, this is somewhat of a long one, and my first big review on this website! :D
I just "finished" Talos Principle about half an hour ago, and by finished I mean I got two endings: the tower one and the stars one. I'm still not done, I'm going to go back and 100% complete the game and see the easter eggs I missed next week when I have free time, and I'll update this when I do so, but for now here's my thoughts.
Go for the tower ending. It's an absolutely fantastic closer to the story, which is I found to be extremely heartfelt and packed in with a lot of nice philosophy (which some admittedly goes over my head, I'm not very smart on this subject) and extremely hard-hitting moments. There were some extremely heartfelt and depressing moments that had me in tears, even when it was just text on a screen. The problems with the story, though, are the narrative pacing. A lot of its best moments are packed in with a lot of weaksauce allegory squished in between (that some also went over my head), though despite that, uncovering the secrets of the world you inhabit and what's actually going on is still a great experience, whether it's through Elohim, a snarky talker, good text logs, or the fantastic audio recordings (Alexandria's VA was so good!). Some of the QR codes were also funny and nice worldbuilding (and even lead to a nice out-of-world puzzle :D).
The "characters" are also good, specifically the computer AI and Elohim, though I think the computer AI needed some work. Part of his routine is to make you think about the world and ask you questions, but you have pre-ordained responses to him. I believe it's intentional, because of the nature of the world that it's built (commented meta-wise through text logs aware that it's a game), where it has specific responses you can use to eventually gain true independence. That being said, it's frustrating to be unable to answer questions in the way you want to, or to add nuance when the AI gives edge cases and you want to say "there's a line", or it's "context-dependent", which are not available answers. I still like it and the reason it exists, and the snarks are hilarious. Though I also think the AI could've been... a LITTLE less pretentious.
Also on the stars ending, it's not worth it. I think it's neat to potentially be a "helper" for future players that are in your friends list, but I think the QR paint code is already more interesting interaction (I got freaked out by a few of them lol). The helpers also come so late by the C-world, and from what I've gathered there's usually not that many puzzles left, unless of course they've been skipping sigils, but I think most people playing this game will go out of their way to do a lot.
The gameplay, especially the puzzle design, is top-notch with some rough patches. The difficulty curve is really good, especially with the grey puzzles and the think outside the box stars, though it has problems where by the C-world I found the main puzzles too easy, save for a few exceptions (the prison break one and Tower 5 AAAAAAA). The stars are GREATLY challenging and I appreciate their existence for the most part, though you do notice patterns eventually after solving a few (I like to say your brainwaves match the devs and you realize how they craft them). The way you think outside the box is great, especially with the signposting.
I had so many "a-ha" moments, which I think is my favorite part about playing puzzle games. I had a lot of them through Worlds A and B. I also think it's great how open-ended it is to go do puzzles while having some hard ones gated off, keeps the difficulty curve nice for most of the game. Elohim also pushes you to do other puzzles when you're stuck so you don't get tunnel vision, which is great.... but I'm super persistent and refuse to let a game BEAT ME! Got an achievement for it :3
Platform usage is also really cool but underutilized. Some reflector puzzles using great spatial awareness, especially the ones when you have to realize their multiple uses, are GOAT. Almost every puzzle requiring smart usage of multiple jammers were my favorite puzzles by far, especially ones asking for smart observation skills. The recorder also had some great puzzles. It's so much fun when it first shows up and you find out what it records over time, that's wild. The fans are also great for great 3D up-down awareness puzzles, though it can be a little frustrating when what you think the fan gives to solve isn't what it actually is (maybe fan distance signposting?).
Exploring to find stuff is neat, but... I feel like the process of knowing where the stars are is annoying, at least parallel to how little I think the stars ending is worth. I feel like a "path" signposting would've been nice to see where they are but give no help to solve it. There were 2 stars that were outright BULL and I don't even want to talk about them.
Some other frustrating mechanics I want to talk about include the recorder. While I love its use in puzzles, it's SOOOOO SLOWWWWWWWWW. I wish there was a way to speed it up instead of having to stand on a platform for so long because I don't trust myself to be speedy. The mines and turrets are also TOO GOOD AT THEIR JOB. I think they're way too scary. Made me dread every time I came close to them, or had to do a puzzle with them. I had to use a messenger on one with a mine because I didn't want to do it because SCARY... and that's when I found out they don't solve it for you, so I had to do it anyway. ;_;
Getting the axe and then having to painfully go through elevators to open up new entrances was a bruh moment. Block sigil puzzles are also STUPID AND I HATE THEM. 2D topography awareness is my kryptonite along with geometry. Figuring out where one stupid block goes in the square drove me nuts. They also had an annoying difficulty spike around Tower Level 3 in runtime.
Not a fault of the game, but I do wish this game was more accessible. The messengers you can unlock do give neat guidance, but I wish they were more helpful and plentiful. Having a tiny amount makes you never want to use them, though I think it was the devs' intention of wanting you to solve it by yourself (especially with the ARE YOU SURE)... but the hints they give aren't that great either. They're a good step to help, but they're not amazing from the two times I used them (just for achievements hehe). But again, this is a nitpick.
Some other nice things. Finding the dev room was super nice, and I'm excited to find other easter eggs when I go back to 100% finish. I was warned that the game would not be wise during current time right now, but I actually found the coronavirus timing to be both hilarious for some things and.... made other stuff hit harder. I don't think the current global situation is a barrier to entry, but it's worth thinking about..
The aesthetic is nice, though it really hits when you find the sacred grounds. The music for messenger rooms are godlike. The general OST is pretty good, though I started tuning it out (save for sacred grounds) by the C-worlds. Long times spent on puzzles and the OST not being that gigantic does eventually make you grow tired of it, and it's not THAT amazing an OST to replay constantly, unlike Celeste imo (though they're both completely different games).
When I'm eventually completely finished with Talos Principle, I really want to break down how each puzzle teaches the mechanics of the world. It reminds me of Portal but it has more depth to its teachings, and I think in the future that's going to be a big passion project for me... when I have time. I'm doing a lot of things at once.
Anyway, really good game. I don't have the time for a TL;DR right now, and these aren't my true final thoughts as I still need to complete it all! But I enjoyed it still. Thinking 8.5/10
(Thanks to SGS for the game rec!)
Veredito: Brilhante. Genial. O jogo mais inteligente e tocante que já joguei.
Talos não é só top 3 jogos da minha vida. Talos é o que eu mostraria pra qualquer pessoa que perguntasse por que eu gosto tanto de Videogame. Talos é o que eu gostaria que todo mundo jogasse pelo menos uma vez na vida.
É fácil não gostar dele. Achar que é muito pretensioso, um jogo metido a intelectual. Ou então não ter saco pros puzzles e pras dezenas de textões. Mas isso é porque Talos prova de uma vez por todas que jogar um jogo, ver um filme ou ler um livro é uma experiência muito pessoal, e sempre vai ser.
E Talos é um jogo extremamente pessoal. É íntimo, é autoral, é um jogo pra ir conhecendo aos pouquinhos. Talos mistura filosofia materialista, mitologia religiosa e ciência da computação. Ele é confuso, tem puzzles extremamente cabeludos e muitas vezes não faz o menor sentido. Descobrir e entender Talos dá trabalho, e faz parte do pacote. E puta que me pariu, como eu adorei esse pacote.
Gostaria de um dia jogar de novo como se fosse a 1ª vez, mas (in)felizmente ele já tá tatuado no meu cérebro.
Talos não é só top 3 jogos da minha vida. Talos é o que eu mostraria pra qualquer pessoa que perguntasse por que eu gosto tanto de Videogame. Talos é o que eu gostaria que todo mundo jogasse pelo menos uma vez na vida.
É fácil não gostar dele. Achar que é muito pretensioso, um jogo metido a intelectual. Ou então não ter saco pros puzzles e pras dezenas de textões. Mas isso é porque Talos prova de uma vez por todas que jogar um jogo, ver um filme ou ler um livro é uma experiência muito pessoal, e sempre vai ser.
E Talos é um jogo extremamente pessoal. É íntimo, é autoral, é um jogo pra ir conhecendo aos pouquinhos. Talos mistura filosofia materialista, mitologia religiosa e ciência da computação. Ele é confuso, tem puzzles extremamente cabeludos e muitas vezes não faz o menor sentido. Descobrir e entender Talos dá trabalho, e faz parte do pacote. E puta que me pariu, como eu adorei esse pacote.
Gostaria de um dia jogar de novo como se fosse a 1ª vez, mas (in)felizmente ele já tá tatuado no meu cérebro.
I love games that give you a set of mechanics to play around with and don't set any arbitrary restrictions on what is/isn't allowed and allow you to explore to your heart's content with ample rewards for """""wasting""""" time seeing the sights. I love exploring and I love cheesing the shit out of puzzles that are so intuitive I don't even realize how good I've become at the game. I know it's a joke to say "every copy of X is personalized" but it genuinely does feel like it here with the attention to detail both in writing and level design. 29 hours in 4 days I have never fallen this hard for a game in my life.
Um jogo brilhante... até parar de ser. É difícil um jogo de puzzle longo me prender por muito tempo ou não ficar repetitivo em algum momento, infelizmente The Talos Principle 1 é mais um desses. Mas posso dizer que definitivamente é o jogo que mais demorou para me deixar entediada.
masterpiece. i don't really want to say anything else, it's just that good.
i'll just write my favourite audio log here and leave:
I keep having these dreams. Great empty cities, silent roads ---- for miles, the earth from space all dark, not a single light to guide me home. But if some one really did come from another world, what would the earth look like to them? A wilderness? A wasteland? I don't think so. Even after thousands of years, they would see a world shaped by our hand in every aspect of it's being. They would see the cites and the roads, the bridges, the harbors and they would say:
"Here lived a race of giants"
These dreams, they scare me, but they also remind me that we built all of this.
i'll just write my favourite audio log here and leave:
I keep having these dreams. Great empty cities, silent roads ---- for miles, the earth from space all dark, not a single light to guide me home. But if some one really did come from another world, what would the earth look like to them? A wilderness? A wasteland? I don't think so. Even after thousands of years, they would see a world shaped by our hand in every aspect of it's being. They would see the cites and the roads, the bridges, the harbors and they would say:
"Here lived a race of giants"
These dreams, they scare me, but they also remind me that we built all of this.
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.
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.
this is the future for all silly little kitties and kittens
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
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
Extremely satisfying puzzles that perfectly scale up in difficulty as you progress & an incredibly thoughtful story that still feels really personal (Alexandra Drennan <3). Man I loved this game.
Talos Principle is a grand puzzle game that makes your brain melt in agony, but then, a few minutes later, melts in victorious triumph. The world is great at building the story around it through various degrees of storytelling: through notes you read, through conversations you have, and through what you're being told! It all builds so well into the theming of questioning the reality and purpose of things.
The puzzles themselves build the mechanics of the game quite gracefully. They build one mechanic into making you learn it well, then throw a wrench into that thought with more crazy puzzles with the same mechanic. But then it also throws in tools to use throughout the game to create more intricate and mind-bending puzzles!
The progression is at a nice pace. You unlock different tools in one area, but you need to do a certain amount of puzzles to obtain them. Which unlocks new puzzles. So you never feel too overwhelmed with the amount of puzzles you need to do.
Some of the puzzles are a bit obtuse, but the solution for these aren't too farfetch'd! It all makes sense. No issues in looking some up. Do what you want. But then, are you really doing what you want, or are you doing what the game wants you to do, as playing it more?!
Highly enjoy Talos Principle and it is definitely one of my favorite puzzle games I've played! Highly recommend!
The puzzles themselves build the mechanics of the game quite gracefully. They build one mechanic into making you learn it well, then throw a wrench into that thought with more crazy puzzles with the same mechanic. But then it also throws in tools to use throughout the game to create more intricate and mind-bending puzzles!
The progression is at a nice pace. You unlock different tools in one area, but you need to do a certain amount of puzzles to obtain them. Which unlocks new puzzles. So you never feel too overwhelmed with the amount of puzzles you need to do.
Some of the puzzles are a bit obtuse, but the solution for these aren't too farfetch'd! It all makes sense. No issues in looking some up. Do what you want. But then, are you really doing what you want, or are you doing what the game wants you to do, as playing it more?!
Highly enjoy Talos Principle and it is definitely one of my favorite puzzle games I've played! Highly recommend!
Finally a puzzle game that's longer than 4 hours.
I really enjoyed my time with The Talos Principle, the puzzles were complex and super creative. But I did find there were definitely a couple puzzles I had to look up due to some mechanics not being introduced. The story being unraveled through dialogue and the computer console allowed the puzzles to take center stage, making the story be something you can choose to indulge in. Overall, great game. Highly recommend.
After seeing the newest trailer for The Talos Principle 2, I'm excited to see how they push the next game even further!
I really enjoyed my time with The Talos Principle, the puzzles were complex and super creative. But I did find there were definitely a couple puzzles I had to look up due to some mechanics not being introduced. The story being unraveled through dialogue and the computer console allowed the puzzles to take center stage, making the story be something you can choose to indulge in. Overall, great game. Highly recommend.
After seeing the newest trailer for The Talos Principle 2, I'm excited to see how they push the next game even further!
a more chill version of The Witness (even tho it came before). generally loved the puzzle design and the overall atmosphere of the different worlds. never remotely cared about the story, tho. i guess i could have skipped the terminals, but i kept thinking maybe i'd finally get into them even tho that never happened.
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.
The Talos Principle really surprised me. I knew a bit about what I was getting into - a stage based 3D puzzle game which I was actually excited to play from the offset, but what really impressed me was the story and philosophical themes. Yes, much of it is told through reading a console, but I kept finding myself drawn in reading the text files from those who came before, the historical, religious, and philosophical references, and of course having deep arguments with the archival system. While the game ends pretty soundly, I feel like I have so many more questions about existence and life itself. As for the gameplay, I actually thought the puzzles were a good balance. Easy to teach the mechanics, then challenging when they needed to be. I forced myself not to use any outside assistance and felt super gratified getting through every puzzle and climbing the tower on my own and I think that is a testament to just how good of a puzzle game this one is solely from that perspective. I understand this one isn't for everyone, but I think I ended up playing this at the perfect time.
As someone who is generally very shit at puzzle games, I actually had a good time with this. The story and the philosophical discussions you have with "Milton" are some of the best parts of the game. I do admit I had to get help with some of the later puzzles, especially when the record feature was in play, but I genuinely had a great time with this and completed all of the endings. It's just a very addictive gameplay loop as the puzzles are not too long and the small dopamine hit you get when solving them makes it all worthwhile.
I did try out the "Road to Gehenna" DLC as well that comes packaged with the PS4 version of the game, but I was literally lost from the first puzzle already, so I think I'm just gonna skip it.
I did try out the "Road to Gehenna" DLC as well that comes packaged with the PS4 version of the game, but I was literally lost from the first puzzle already, so I think I'm just gonna skip it.
One of the shining examples of expertly done meta-narrative in games, Talos Principle presents you with different perspectives of historical and modern philosophy in an un-pretentious way as you explore beautiful landscapes of past civilizations, solving puzzles to get tetrominoes to finally solve the mystery of what's at the top of the tower. The main puzzles are appropriately challenging and well paced as you learn the functionality (and occasionally surprising applications) of the tools, but what brings this game from a 9 to a 10 is the addition of non-essential bonus stars in difficult or obscure locations, which often require thinking outside of the box and mastery of the game's engine to reach.
A loving tribute to skepticism and the ∞th-edged sword of existentialism through the lens of an artificial intelligence experiencing qualia. The various demons of nihilism and saccharine-but-poisonous determinism feel especially evocative in a day where animals are simultaneously thriving and dying under the hands of so many different people. The puzzles in tandem feel like the journey towards birth, each chime of a choir leading only to the recognition of another nuance to add onto the items. They almost lend a personifying feeling to the items, feeling more like characters than simple building blocks. Playing this game feels like the essence of inhaling and exhaling, a sobering human experience.
I would like to thank EVX for their paternal goading amidst frustration and confusion with the bigger picture.
I would like to thank EVX for their paternal goading amidst frustration and confusion with the bigger picture.
The "Never leave a man alone with his thoughts for more than 5 minutes" simulator. Apparently God's plan is to make this ugly ass robot run laps around the metaverse unsupervised where people leave hate messages on the walls. Fuck me ain't one hoe to fuck around and find out with, yall
A friend of mine had told me that when he played this game he found all puzzle base elements simply not fun, and I realise now that it is true. When compared to Portal (chronologically and thematically it is impossible not to), things like jammers and laser connectors are not something that you feel excited to play around with, as opposed to portal guns and bouncing gels. However, there isn't really much space for disappointment to sink in as the excellent level design constantly pushes the player forward, teaching more and more indirect mechanics and relationships between elements that empower the inevitable "eureka" moments.
Nevertheless, puzzles are not the strongest point of The Talos Principle in my honest opinion: the narrative is what sets it apart from other similar puzzle games, mixing a myriad of themes and influences (from philosophy of mind to Jeff Goldblum) with the right amount of ambition. I have to mention here the strike of genius in those recorder puzzles where you end up, in a way, communicating with yourself from 30 seconds ago, which links directly with what you are being told about the creators of the Talos project in the library archives and voice messages.
Thankfully I never got to a point where a puzzle frustrated me seriously, if anything the ones from the final sections tend to be way longer. What bothered me the most though was the awful game save system, I wonder if it could have been a little more flexible.
Final note: please, you must not sleep on the DLC Road to Gehenna. I think I liked that story even more than the base game. It is true the difficulty of the puzzles spikes up significantly, so at first it may be not appealing at all if you start it right after beating the campaign, with your brain all tired and mashed; but that whole crazy robot heaven Reddit plot is masterfully written and certainly unique.
Nevertheless, puzzles are not the strongest point of The Talos Principle in my honest opinion: the narrative is what sets it apart from other similar puzzle games, mixing a myriad of themes and influences (from philosophy of mind to Jeff Goldblum) with the right amount of ambition. I have to mention here the strike of genius in those recorder puzzles where you end up, in a way, communicating with yourself from 30 seconds ago, which links directly with what you are being told about the creators of the Talos project in the library archives and voice messages.
Thankfully I never got to a point where a puzzle frustrated me seriously, if anything the ones from the final sections tend to be way longer. What bothered me the most though was the awful game save system, I wonder if it could have been a little more flexible.
Final note: please, you must not sleep on the DLC Road to Gehenna. I think I liked that story even more than the base game. It is true the difficulty of the puzzles spikes up significantly, so at first it may be not appealing at all if you start it right after beating the campaign, with your brain all tired and mashed; but that whole crazy robot heaven Reddit plot is masterfully written and certainly unique.
"Questioning is progress, but doubt is stagnation." This game really hit home for me, and it's really sold itself to me as not only one of the best puzzle games I've played, but one of the best narratives.
An intricate and thoughtful first-person puzzler that ponders what makes us human. It's philosophical musings are certainly pretentious, but not to its detriment.
The stellar VO work and soundtrack impress throughout, but aesthetically, I'd have preferred a more stylised look - sometimes it can be hard to spot interactables in the realistic environments - but this is a small nitpick.
The gameplay smartly plays into the underlying narrative, and outside of the (largely optional) secret stars, the puzzles are smartly designed. The announced sequel looks to add even more devious mechanics to the mix, and I cannot wait.
The stellar VO work and soundtrack impress throughout, but aesthetically, I'd have preferred a more stylised look - sometimes it can be hard to spot interactables in the realistic environments - but this is a small nitpick.
The gameplay smartly plays into the underlying narrative, and outside of the (largely optional) secret stars, the puzzles are smartly designed. The announced sequel looks to add even more devious mechanics to the mix, and I cannot wait.
This is the best game.
A culmination of fantastic storytelling, engaging and challenging gameplay, a beautiful soundtrack, great visuals (atleast on the PC version), all tied together to make a game thats fundamentally changed the way I view the world around me.
I've had this as my backloggd favorite mostly because I couldn't pick between my 3 favorite games but I think I'm solid on this one being my favorite of the 3. The amount of hype I have for the sequel is unreal.
A culmination of fantastic storytelling, engaging and challenging gameplay, a beautiful soundtrack, great visuals (atleast on the PC version), all tied together to make a game thats fundamentally changed the way I view the world around me.
I've had this as my backloggd favorite mostly because I couldn't pick between my 3 favorite games but I think I'm solid on this one being my favorite of the 3. The amount of hype I have for the sequel is unreal.
This is a pretty darn good puzzle game but if that was all it is I wouldn't have been bothered to write this review. The real beauty in this game is the dialogue, and its entirely between you and a computer. This game's story is simply amazing and is the whole reason I stayed motivated throughout all the puzzles.
beep boop, i am a robot :)
I love the puzzles, but adore the writing even more. There's so much here that is so, so good, and it's somehow from the people that made Serious Sam? Sure, why not?
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.
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.
A game that explores what it means to be human. I love the way conversations, symbology, and text extracts are used to create an interesting conversation with the player about their views on identity.
All culminates in a great final sequence in the ascension of the tower.
The pace of the rest of the game is the only thing keeping it from being one of my favorites. A lot of repetitive puzzles at the start of the game and some that require precise relocation of game pieces at the end Stop the progression of history and hinder the potential of the game.
All culminates in a great final sequence in the ascension of the tower.
The pace of the rest of the game is the only thing keeping it from being one of my favorites. A lot of repetitive puzzles at the start of the game and some that require precise relocation of game pieces at the end Stop the progression of history and hinder the potential of the game.
Long before I decided to become a game reviewer, I used to jot down brief thoughts on the games I was completing in order to capture my feelings for personal archival purposes. Since then, I’ve of course evolved my craft into full-fledged write-ups, but I do think there is enough merit to some of the earlier critiques to warrant their publication, especially for titles I do not intend on replaying (in the near future at least). I’ve thrown in some updates, but this is one of them.
Graphics
-Beautiful menu interface
-Graphically the game is gorgeous, but I had to turn down my settings to not only to stop it from constantly crashing (though even then it would still occasionally crash) but to stabilize the fps and avoid motion sickness. The Frame Rate takes a particular hit when turning the mouse. Not as bad as in the Portal elevator, but still not good.
-Texturing in particular is extremely well done, even though the worlds are mostly simple.
-Egyptian carvings on walls are impressive at first until you realize they are just repeated ad nauseam.
-Matrix glitches are cool
-Water effects were good
-No character shadows or footprints
-Lots of particle effects but nothing substantial- raindrops hit the ground but don't splash, clouds rarely move, falling leaves phase through the ground.
Story
-Game's philosophy is really good via the terminal entries, Milton Library Assistant (MLA) dialogue, and QR codes that reveal messages from other players, but The Talos Principle’s biggest problem is that the puzzles don't relate to the philosophy. They act more like literal levels serving as a barrier between the philosophical checkpoints. As a result, the game starts to significantly drag towards the end. Though I admire the developers for putting in this content, it honestly could've been made shorter to better serve its story.
-MLA reminded me a lot of the Computer from Courage the Cowardly Dog with his sarcastic attitude. I liked the number of responses the developers put into the interactions with him. The psych profile in particular was a big trip since it nailed my mindset.
-100% ending sucks.
Gameplay
-Like that level signs get crossed-out/X-ed when you complete a level so that you know if you completed it. Unfortunately, the stars are deliberately not made clear, so that can get a little annoying.
-The levels for the most part are very well-made. Aside from a few, I never once felt that there was a difficulty spike- they were all solvable. One thing I would say is I hated the levels that relied on you having to pull secret levers as that didn't require skill and was more of a pain.
-Lack of checkpoints in levels was also annoying. It's obviously fine in the short ones, but in the longer ones it can be anger-inducing.
-Hate that resetting resets the entire world rather than just the specific level, as it hinders your ability to get the stars that require some change from different levels.
-The tetris puzzles got tiresome towards the end (bonus star doors and the elevator doors).
-Hate the lack of quick travel between the three stations, especially during the end part where you have to drag the ax around between them.
Music
-Esc menu music = opera (different from the game)
-Music transitions are naturally done
Graphics
-Beautiful menu interface
-Graphically the game is gorgeous, but I had to turn down my settings to not only to stop it from constantly crashing (though even then it would still occasionally crash) but to stabilize the fps and avoid motion sickness. The Frame Rate takes a particular hit when turning the mouse. Not as bad as in the Portal elevator, but still not good.
-Texturing in particular is extremely well done, even though the worlds are mostly simple.
-Egyptian carvings on walls are impressive at first until you realize they are just repeated ad nauseam.
-Matrix glitches are cool
-Water effects were good
-No character shadows or footprints
-Lots of particle effects but nothing substantial- raindrops hit the ground but don't splash, clouds rarely move, falling leaves phase through the ground.
Story
-Game's philosophy is really good via the terminal entries, Milton Library Assistant (MLA) dialogue, and QR codes that reveal messages from other players, but The Talos Principle’s biggest problem is that the puzzles don't relate to the philosophy. They act more like literal levels serving as a barrier between the philosophical checkpoints. As a result, the game starts to significantly drag towards the end. Though I admire the developers for putting in this content, it honestly could've been made shorter to better serve its story.
-MLA reminded me a lot of the Computer from Courage the Cowardly Dog with his sarcastic attitude. I liked the number of responses the developers put into the interactions with him. The psych profile in particular was a big trip since it nailed my mindset.
-100% ending sucks.
Gameplay
-Like that level signs get crossed-out/X-ed when you complete a level so that you know if you completed it. Unfortunately, the stars are deliberately not made clear, so that can get a little annoying.
-The levels for the most part are very well-made. Aside from a few, I never once felt that there was a difficulty spike- they were all solvable. One thing I would say is I hated the levels that relied on you having to pull secret levers as that didn't require skill and was more of a pain.
-Lack of checkpoints in levels was also annoying. It's obviously fine in the short ones, but in the longer ones it can be anger-inducing.
-Hate that resetting resets the entire world rather than just the specific level, as it hinders your ability to get the stars that require some change from different levels.
-The tetris puzzles got tiresome towards the end (bonus star doors and the elevator doors).
-Hate the lack of quick travel between the three stations, especially during the end part where you have to drag the ax around between them.
Music
-Esc menu music = opera (different from the game)
-Music transitions are naturally done
Like Portal but if the dialogue was replaced with the required textbook of a 100-level philosophy course that you only took to fulfill a core requirement for a liberal arts college degree.