The Talos Principle 2

in library

4.6/5

( 70 Reviews )

4.6

70 Reviews

English & 11 more

Posted on: December 24, 2024

animeguy

Verified owner

Games: 224 Reviews: 5

Bigger isn't always better.

I am struggling to come up with how I feel about this game. I struggle because, ultimately, the first Talos Principle is one of my all time favorite games. I had never experienced anything quite like it, and I was eagerly anticipating this sequel. I do not think it is a bad game, but I'm wondering why all of the reviews are so overwhelmingly positive as well. The game world is simply too large and devoid of any real value other than pretty vistas. You have to run large distances to complete the game, and it gets old really quick. The puzzles are... fine. Some are really difficult, but the main issue I had was that each area introduces a new puzzle mechanic. A lot of really cool new puzzle "toys" were given to the player to play with, but they never really explore the large swath of capabilities that they could be used for. Now, onto the story. I obviously cannot get too in depth without spoiling, so I will be as vague as I can. What I liked were the various characters and their various quirks. I genuinely liked exploring the hub world and seeing this posthuman society. But... as the larger narrative plays out, this is where I started to get frustrated. TTP1 was brilliant because I loved being challenged on every point of every argument I posed via dialogue with Milton. In this game, however, discussions are not nearly as thought-provoking. Often times I felt like the writers were creating an illusion of choice with their flimsy logic. The story as a whole is set up this way. There are choices, but it is clear which ones the writers want you to pick, oftentimes portraying other views as a straw man. This is a fundamental failure, and makes it hard to look at this game with the same deep love that I had for the first. Croteam created a masterpiece with reused assets in 1, but when given a proper budget, they fumbled the bag. This game is high on style, but lower on substance. I don't hate it, but don't love it either. Consider on sale, and taper expectations.

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Posted on: February 16, 2025

nelson4354

Verified owner

Games: 45 Reviews: 10

Not as good as the first

I am going to be succinct and say that its not as good as the first in my opinion. Its beautiful no doubt, the vistas and building architectures are breathtaking but its really superfical. The puzzles are not as creative as the first, some are challenging as you have to change your perspective like all puzzle games but overall a step down. Since the animations are rudamenatry and simple, its easy to naviagate the maps with speed (you're not a human, no stamina). However, the large maps pretty as they are, wore out their welcome for me. I am not going to ding them on the voice acting (some are wooden and just reading from the pages). Not to disparage Crotean, its not a triple AAA game with a compelling story that needs top grade acting talent and mo-cap. I don't regret playing but its one of those, play it once. I played the first one a few times.

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Posted on: May 22, 2025

EpicSquirrelz

Verified owner

Games: 38 Reviews: 5

Frustratingly middling

This game for me is like TTP 1 but more. The same strengths with more, the same problems but more. Overall this is a good and unique game and that people should play it. It's gorgeous, thoughtful, mysterious, and fun. The things I don't like are numerous but don't outweigh the games good points. The problems: 1. Performance: Really poorly optimised. Compared to TTP1, effort was put into making stunning environments, but its really hard to be wowed by flowers if they don't pop into existence until you are on top of them. The final section was particularly slow to load and really took the wind out of the climactic feeling that bit should elicit. 2. Some puzzles suck: Most puzzles in this game are fun with elegant solutions, but there are many that aren't. Like TTP1, some puzzles require you to place things in pixel-perfect areas that make it seem like you aren't doing it correctly until it ends up working. Some puzzles break rules (Gravity devices being pulled by their own field, or the puzzle where you solve it by having a driller go through its own hole despite being explicitly told that they can't). The star puzzles require you to see items that are so far away that you barely can. Not a clever heat puzzle, just tedious pixel hunting. 3. Design: TTP1 is a simulation, but this one isn't. The same limitations shouldn't apply. Why can't I jump and grab? Or climb? Or any of the ways anyone would solve these puzzles? The fast-travel system is pointless. 4. Writing: The philisophical side of TTP1 served a better purpose. It was about the actualisation of the humanity. In this game it seems pointless because there is a concrete story with concrete answers. There is a moral dilemma at the heart of this game that seems pointless to me (can humans handle absolute power) because the characters presented are all broadly good people. None of the characters in this game demonstrate any intentional cruelty or greed, so there's no real question to ponder for me.

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Posted on: February 1, 2025

RasperHelpdesk

Verified owner

Games: 141 Reviews: 3

Vastly inferior to the original

The original Talos was a brilliant little game. Over 100 puzzles, some truly clever hidden stars which required moving parts in multiple areas, and a decent story which didn't get in the way. The sequel... is not. I'm around 3/4 of the way through. Of the 80 'base' puzzles I've done only 2 or 3 required any significant thought. 1 or 2 felt "cheap", doing things that don't work elsewhere but magically do there. The stars have been pitiful ("go find X and follow it" is not a puzzle). The puzzles in the Megastructure are extremely basic. The Tetromino placement to build bridges is less of a puzzle and more of simple trial and error with horrible controls. The lack of controller support is infuriating and reinforces the clunky controls throughout the game. And then there is the absolute slog from the NPCs. 90% of the time I have no interest in what they are saying, I'm playing a puzzle game for the puzzles and to get away from reality, not to have NPCs give a constant reminder that humans destroyed the world and to play political simulator. Once my fiancee and I finish, I don't see us returning to 100% the achievements. It simply isn't worth the hours of clicking through dialog and redoing trivial puzzles.

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Posted on: July 12, 2025

DeusXIncognita

Verified owner

Games: 365 Reviews: 11

Nice, but inferior to the First one

The Talos Principle 2 has an interesting Premise, and stunning visuals. Sadly, you can't get close to many of the most beautiful buildings and places, they are jus a backdrop with little meaning to the player (though more to the story). It starts a bit slow with confronting you with puzzles, and you can't really break away from the first part without skipping story. The puzzles itself are my biggest gripe with the Talos Principle 2. The developers found quite a few new mechanics to use in puzzles, but then did not progress like the Talos Principle 1, where they got them more and more interwoven, but instead each little Island has a kind of "new mechanic" that you learn from the ground up, and before it gets too difficult, you go off to another island and start anew with a new mechanic. Very few of the base puzzles stopped me very long, most of them I could run through on the first trial, without much thinking. Only the later special puzzles stopped me for longer. Sadly, there also wasn't much of a, for me beloved part, of the Talos Principle 1 - puzzles outside the puzzle, thinking truly outside of the box, connecting different puzzles, bringing parts out, etc. You could sometimes, but it wasn't really necessary except for some of the stars, where you would for others sometimes scour the world for one hidden flame. I still enjoyed it, but the first one burns definitely brighter and stronger.

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