The Talos Principle: Deluxe Edition

Genre: First-Person Puzzle

Players: 1

.

Review:

The Talos Principle is a First-Person Puzzle game originally released on multiple platforms in 2014 and ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2019, with this version including the Road to Gehenna expansion as well. In The Talos Principle, the player takes the role of a robot working through a series of mazelike puzzles to collect “sigils” (floating Tetris pieces) at the direction of a godlike voice. Meanwhile, the player communicates with others via computer terminals, while looking through archival information to fill in the game’s backstory.

While this was never a game that pushed graphics too heavily, it nevertheless looks very good on the Switch, with good framerates and resolution, as well as an option to play in a performance mode as well as a graphics mode. Given that all you’ll be looking at in the game is architecture (in various ancient cultures’ styles – Greek, British, Egyptian, etc.), a few basic machines, and occasionally another robot like yourself, there’s nothing here to truly test the Nintendo Switch hardware, but it’s nice that what is here looks very good regardless, and the game’s lonely aesthetic works well to reinforce the game’s overall themes, with this aesthetic backed up beautifully by quiet, peaceful music.

Where Portal became iconic not only for its puzzles but also its hilarious wit, The Talos Principle prefers instead to be contemplative. While players aren’t really required to spend too much time with the game’s text-only computer systems, those who do will find the game to have an engrossing story about AI, logic, consciousness, reality, trust, gods, and a mysterious disaster that took place before the events of the game. It’s a shame that some of the references here are a bit esoteric, and some of the philosophy discussed is a bit dry and high-minded, because it may well fly over the heads of some players, but those who can enjoy it will find it to be extremely engrossing, and those who don’t are free to just skip it and move on to the puzzles.

While the game’s serene presentation and thoughtful story are superb, it’s really the puzzles that are the star of the show here. The basics of how puzzles work here are extraordinarily simple – the game’s various mazes, which can generally be tackled in the order of the player’s choosing, all contain various devices arranged in a way to keep the player from reaching the sigil, and players must use these devices to clear the path to reach it. Mainly, players will be working with tripods that hold jamming devices to deactivate the various machines, from electronic gates to explosive drones and mounted turrets, although later on there are new devices such as fans, buttons, and colored lasers.

Each of these is fairly simple and straightforward in and of itself, but the puzzles created using them are absolutely ingenious without being overly complicated. Players will have to think about line-of-sight, managing the tools they have at their disposal, the order that they do things as well as where they do them. If you’re looking for a Puzzle game to give you that “Eureka!” moment, I can honestly say that this is a game that gave me that feeling time and time again, and it is so very satisfying.

The other wonderful thing about this game is that it works at the player’s pace on multiple levels. Puzzles don’t really require fast reflexes or timed actions – everything comes down to thoughtful and deliberate choices made by the player. What’s more, players getting stumped on any one puzzle can always go to a different puzzle and come back. Honestly, I feel like this style of gameplay is perfectly-suited to the Switch, giving players the opportunity to work on one or two puzzles at a time while sitting on a bus or in a doctor’s office.

The Talos Principle is a solid port of a great Puzzle game, and it’s a game that works very well on the Switch. While not everyone will appreciate its dry and contemplative story, many will absolutely love it. And I think that just about anyone who enjoys a good puzzle will find this game’s clever puzzles to be some of the best ever to be found in this sort of game.

tl;dr – The Talos Principle is a First-Person Puzzle that has players pointing jamming devices at electronic gates and gun turrets while contemplating the meaning of existence. While the quiet, contemplative, philosophical plot may not appeal to quite as many players as Portal’s humor and wit, those who can appreciate it will find this game’s story to be highly engrossing. And pretty much anyone who can enjoy a really good puzzle will find this game’s puzzles to be some of the best to be found in this sort of game. What’s more, this is a solid port to the Switch, and a game perfectly-suited to the platform. If you’re a fan of Puzzle games who doesn’t already own this game on another platform, consider this a must-have.

Grade: A

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}