The Talos Principle 1 is my favourite game ever. Topping that with a sequel is a very tall order, but I believe Croteam has delivered!

The Talos Principle 2 is a fantastic game! It manages to look even better than the already good looking first game, it has an captivating story and the puzzles are arguably even better, or at least more evolved, than in TTP1. I'd highly recommend playing it, even at full price. However, I do think it's important to mention that the game has a very different feeling from the first game. Let's dive in!


So a big difference between this and the first game, and one that for me defines a lot of the core feeling of the game, is the fact that you're not alone in this game. The first game had you traveling these dreamlike landscapes alone, with the only other voices being Elohim, and the occasional voice recording. I personally really like feeling alone in a game like this and I think it really helped the quiet contemplation the first game was known for. In this game you go out on an expedition with a group of other people. You're mostly on your own when puzzling your way through the levels, but you'll see your crew walking around and you talk to them periodically. Some people may really like the company, but I personally felt it decreased my sense of exploration. It makes sense though, not to be alone in this game, given that a lot of the theme of this game revolves around society, our interactions with others and the world. Definitely not a dealbreaker with such a fantastic game, but something to consider if you're like me.

This game is really ambitious with it's story. Following it will take you all throughout the expansive world the devs created. A world far more varied and detailed than the first game could ever dream of. The story is compelling and is told well! What I loved about the first game was the way it makes you think about philosophical topics and makes you consider new points of view. It was a relief to see that this game definitely does this as well, and almost even more so than in the first game because there are now actual game characters that voice different opinions and views on the situation. I liked that the game doesn't necessarily steer you into a certain direction, but lets you make up your own mind about the subjects discussed. I also liked that there is a lot of hidden story content that you can discover by reading the terminals, exploring the nooks and crannies of the world and by talking to people.

I think the first game did a great job with it's puzzles. It created basic tools and utilized them well. The second game is definitely more of an iteration on the mechanics of the first one. Some of the puzzle mechanics are still there, but there are also a lot of new ones, and some that were (very wisely) left out as they were unpopular in the first game (looking at you time-recording-mechanic!) I love how the solutions to many puzzles are super creative, requiring extensive lateral thinking and brain-scratching. I think I enjoyed ever new game mechanic, except for maybe the swapper station, but even that has it's time and place. The difficulty curve is different from the first game. Puzzles no longer get linearly harder throughout the game, but it has more of an eb-and-flow to it, while slowly rising. In my opinion the puzzles in this game were generally a bit easier than those in the first, but it's said that the DLC will add more difficult puzzles so that's good to hear! I'd highly recommend this game just for the puzzling alone.

The game looks pretty but you pay a decent price for that in terms of performance hit. I run on pretty good hardware, but had to play most of the game on low settings. This is all fine and good, maybe I should upgrade, however... there were 1 or 2 worlds that specifially stood out as being MUCH more performance intensive than the rest, without really looking it. I have no idea why this is, but it can be frustrating. Maybe the devs will continue to optimize and iron out these worlds, but until then expect to have some worlds with worse FPS than others.

I loved playing this game and finished it in just shy of 50 hours (100%ted it). It's clearly a labor of love and the devs did almost everything right with this sequel. It's has a different feeling to the first game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and the puzzling is as good, if not better than in the first. I'd highly recommend buying this game, it'll be a steal, even af full price!

The Talos Principle 1 is my favourite game ever. Topping that with a sequel is a very tall order, but I believe Croteam has delivered! The Talos Principle 2 is a fantastic game! It manages to look even better than the already good looking first game, it has an captivating story and the puzzles are arguably even better, or at least more evolved, than in TTP1. I'd highly recommend playing it, even at full price. However, I do think it's important to mention that the game has a very different feeling from the first game. Let's dive in! [h3] Company! [/h3] So a big difference between this and the first game, and one that for me defines a lot of the core feeling of the game, is the fact that you're not alone in this game. The first game had you traveling these dreamlike landscapes alone, with the only other voices being Elohim, and the occasional voice recording. I personally really like feeling alone in a game like this and I think it really helped the quiet contemplation the first game was known for. In this game you go out on an expedition with a group of other people. You're mostly on your own when puzzling your way through the levels, but you'll see your crew walking around and you talk to them periodically. Some people may really like the company, but I personally felt it decreased my sense of exploration. It makes sense though, not to be alone in this game, given that a lot of the theme of this game revolves around society, our interactions with others and the world. Definitely not a dealbreaker with such a fantastic game, but something to consider if you're like me. [h3] Story [/h3] This game is really ambitious with it's story. Following it will take you all throughout the expansive world the devs created. A world far more varied and detailed than the first game could ever dream of. The story is compelling and is told well! What I loved about the first game was the way it makes you think about philosophical topics and makes you consider new points of view. It was a relief to see that this game definitely does this as well, and almost even more so than in the first game because there are now actual game characters that voice different opinions and views on the situation. I liked that the game doesn't necessarily steer you into a certain direction, but lets you make up your own mind about the subjects discussed. I also liked that there is a lot of hidden story content that you can discover by reading the terminals, exploring the nooks and crannies of the world and by talking to people. [h3] Puzzles [/h3] I think the first game did a great job with it's puzzles. It created basic tools and utilized them well. The second game is definitely more of an iteration on the mechanics of the first one. Some of the puzzle mechanics are still there, but there are also a lot of new ones, and some that were (very wisely) left out as they were unpopular in the first game (looking at you time-recording-mechanic!) I love how the solutions to many puzzles are super creative, requiring extensive lateral thinking and brain-scratching. I think I enjoyed ever new game mechanic, except for maybe the swapper station, but even that has it's time and place. The difficulty curve is different from the first game. Puzzles no longer get linearly harder throughout the game, but it has more of an eb-and-flow to it, while slowly rising. In my opinion the puzzles in this game were generally a bit easier than those in the first, but it's said that the DLC will add more difficult puzzles so that's good to hear! I'd highly recommend this game just for the puzzling alone. [h3] Performance [/h3] The game looks pretty but you pay a decent price for that in terms of performance hit. I run on pretty good hardware, but had to play most of the game on low settings. This is all fine and good, maybe I should upgrade, however... there were 1 or 2 worlds that specifially stood out as being MUCH more performance intensive than the rest, without really looking it. I have no idea why this is, but it can be frustrating. Maybe the devs will continue to optimize and iron out these worlds, but until then expect to have some worlds with worse FPS than others. [h3] Summary [/h3] I loved playing this game and finished it in just shy of 50 hours (100%ted it). It's clearly a labor of love and the devs did almost everything right with this sequel. It's has a different feeling to the first game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and the puzzling is as good, if not better than in the first. I'd highly recommend buying this game, it'll be a steal, even af full price!