The Talos Principle 2 Reviews

Steam does not allow for a nuanced review system, so there’s no other way to point out the flaws in the game that could be dealbreakers for some. Overall, it is enjoyable. It greatly expands on the last game, but that is exactly where its glaring weakness lies. Most of this games budget was clearly spent on the environment, not on puzzles or other interactive elements. The amount of running around you have to do to get from one thing to the next gets old….really, really fast. I’m talking at least 1/4 of gameplay is just spent on searching for the next puzzle or other game element. The HUD is not exactly the most helpful for navigation either. The dialogue also sometimes feels rather canned and doesn’t add much to the plot line. Get it on sale. It’s fun, but not nearly as engaging as Talos I.

At first I was pretty positive about this sequel, but now I'm in doubt. Honestly, I think it is still a 7 out of 10, but with the way the Steam review system works, giving it a thumbs down is the only way to communicate issues with a title that is rated overwhelmingly positive. The first game had a lot more focus. You get puzzles, with a philosophical storyline sprinkled in. This title tries to do too much at once. It is more like if Mass Effect wasn't about the action, but pretty simple puzzles instead. It has too many systems that don't add anything (social media simulator) or does things half-hearted. There are now all kind of characters to talk to, but their personality boils down to 'the cautious one', 'the devious one', 'the tech-absolutist', etc. A lot of its philosophical content is now explicitly concerned with transhumanism vs environmentalism but does it in a rather shallow way. There is a lot of (spoken) dialogue that is just not that engaging. Where the first game was subtile about its moral dilemma's, here it is all in your face. Whats worse is that a lot of the writing and worldbuilding is in conflict with itself. At the start of the game you are told they need to be very careful not to consume too much energy as a society but somehow were able to build a grand city. You are told it is very difficult to create new 'humans/androids' yet are doing puzzles with body-doubles that somehow just exist. I'd still recommend this game in a sale. It looks great but its puzzles are just less engaging than the first game and is too unfocussed to really make you think.

What if Talos Principle 1 was better in literally every way (except performance f*ck UE5). Incredible sequel, though with a very different vibe to it than the original, and with easier puzzles (imo). I cant write much about the game without spoiling it so just go play this if you loved Talos 1

Great game, as good as the first, very imaginative story, great puzzles and graphics. The additional content in the city was, avoiding spoilers, awesome.

Talos Principle 1 was one of the best puzzle games I had played. Talos Principle 2 is one of the best games I have played, and one of the most interesting and thought provoking pieces of entertainment across all media (books, series, manga, whatever). Truly an masterpiece.

The Talos Principle I is one of my favorite games of all time, so I was trying to manage my expectations about II because I didn't think it could possibly live up to the first game. It does. It REALLY does. It's beautiful, the puzzles are engaging, and they meaningfully engage with and extend the questions from the first game. If the question at the heart of the first game is "what makes a person a person," the second is all about how people relate to each other, what people owe their community, and what a community owes the world. It's an absolute masterpiece.

(Only ~3/4 through the main story at the time of leaving this review) The marketing team is slacking. I did't know the game existed until a few weeks ago right before its' discount. Whoever model the megastructure is either extremely talented or very hardworking. The puzzles difficulty are little bit easier than TP1's DLC but this introduce a lot of new fun tools to expend the puzzles. I like how the events and story evolve around and well reflected by Greek mythology but the central theme seems a little bit repetitive. It's just technologies with societies and humanity on repeat. Compare to TP1 seeking and thinking about the meaning as a human and oneself, TP2 is less interesting. But it's still interesting and well worth its price.

to me this game surpasses portal. i know, i know that's sacrilege. it works my brain hard on some puzzles and forces me to work back logically from the goal. i love that. sometimes stumped but never overly frustrated. where portal has quirky humour, tp2 has philosophy which personally appeals to me more. i found portal puzzles too easy. i was rarely stumped. it erred on the easy side which i understand for a game with mass appeal but tp2 treats you more intelligently without causing you to throw your steam deck across the room. regardless great work by the team and a must if you have even a passing interest in puzzle games.

Its great game for contemplation. after a long day of mindless work...contemplation is good

I played the first one years ago and wondered what they could do with it when they announced the second game. They visited all important philosophies in the first game, so what could the story be about? I would say, like today, it is about putting these theories into practice. I quite liked it, though it is a bit different to Talos Principle 1. 3/4 of the puzzles felt easier than the average ones of the first. Interestingly that is mentioned by ingame characters twice or so, meaning the devs are aware but did not manage to keep the level. Still, the other quarter managed to make me walk up and down the levels for some time and I really enjoyed them. I am glad I refused reading any guides, made it feel rewarding to solve all of them. Although some were a bit too convoluted. I like it when I can see the task right away but spend the time solving it. Puzzles are not side-by-side like they used to, there are some walking distances in between of varying sizes. But as you are not traveling through different epochs of human history but a physical place, the variety in the game had to be crafted like this. Personally, as someone who is a bit into architecture, I liked the maps, though sometimes when I knew I had to walk to a far end I wished we had golf carts. The story is well made and ambitious, though there is more or less only one big decision like in the first game. I liked how the DLCs had a lighter tone after the ending of the main game. It felt like long-needed holidays, especially with the tropical island theme in one of them. And with the extra lore in them I ended up liking every character on their own. The game wrapped itself up nicely. So tl;dr, if you liked the first and don't mind walking a bit more and having some easier puzzles for a larger chunk of the game, go for it!