Review of The Talos Principle 2 – a philosophical approach to robots

Humanity has already had its chance. Over thousands of years, it acquired colossal knowledge, came up with inventions that simplified and significantly improved the world, cured diseases, and created amazing works of art. But in the end it didn’t save him. The planet still exists and seems to be thriving, but not a single person lives on it. Now is the time for robots.

Platform: PC, PlayStation 5 (review version), Xbox Series X/S.
Publication date: 02/11/2023
Developer: We are gentle
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Genre: puzzle game
Czech localization: No
Multiplayer: No
Download data: 70.52 GB (PlayStation version)
Game time: 30 hours
Price: 699 CZK

Almost nine years have passed since the release of the first part of The Talos Principle, and in the sequel the game has changed significantly, although the essence remains the same. It’s still a mind-bending blend of puzzles and philosophy, but it’s bigger—literally in terms of story, characters, and lore. It’s probably worth mentioning that it’s definitely not necessary to play the previous part, because you’ll gradually remember everything in the notes or interviews. But it’s impossible to avoid a lot of spoilers, because where the first Talos Principle left off, its little brother begins.

Your hero wakes up from the complex simulation he had to go through in the last game. But it’s nice to wake up, because he’s greeted by robots just like him. Their futuristic city of New Jerusalem is located in an unnamed place in the distant future, where there are no more people, the surrounding nature has taken away what was always rightfully hers, and once domesticated dogs have turned into wolves. Due to the warming of the planet and the melting of permafrost, a virus emerged from the ancient ice, which humanity, despite all its progress, could not face and thus gradually died out. But even before that, a group of scientists decided to put all the knowledge and culture that we had managed to create into humanoid robots. In the form of simulated puzzles, they awakened their consciousness and ensured that something would remain after “us.”

The result is a city that is anxiously trying to avoid the mistakes of its predecessors and creators. It has a limited population, does not strive for too much progress, and does not want to explore other parts of the world. It has reached satisfaction, but also a certain stagnation, where its robotic inhabitants no longer need anything. At least that’s how some of them see it. And there are rebels, spiritual adventurers, for whom stopping the development of society simultaneously means stunting the growth of the individual. You will join them as the thousandth and last inhabitant of the city when you travel to a mysterious island, where you have been invited by an unknown entity calling itself Prometheus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vatJM-9oA

The ancient myth of Prometheus and its various interpretations are the focus of the entire play. According to her, Prometheus created man, and the goddess Athena breathed his soul into him. However, when he stole fire from the gods to give it to people, he received a severe punishment – he was chained to a rock, where an eagle pecked out his liver every day. People who gained knowledge and created art thanks to fire were not saved either. Pandora, sent by the gods, opened her box and released disease, evil or poverty into the world. Below there was only hope.

I understand that this explanation may seem very long-winded to some of you, but it is important for the parallels in The Talos Principle 2. The title constantly refers to various philosophical works, from recent ones, including the German Hegel, to ancient Greek ones. legends. After all, in the game there are creatures calling themselves not only Prometheus, but also Pandora or the Sphinx, a winged monster who in Greek fables always asked the unfortunate ones one riddle. Whoever didn’t guess it died. Fortunately, this won’t happen to you in the game.

Thinking “differently”

The puzzle is truly blessed here. They are divided into twelve zones, one of which is a beautiful coniferous forest, and the other is a snow-covered island surrounded by melting glaciers. Each area has eight “main” puzzles hidden in clearly defined buildings, and a few bonus ones, and you don’t have to solve them all to progress through the story, and you can adjust the order. In addition, he is helped by one new thing, a kind of Prometheus token. If you find one in the open world, you can “pay” them to solve the puzzle that, for heaven’s sake (hehe), you couldn’t solve.

Thus, the second part is in many ways more accessible than its predecessor: it has a fairly detailed plot, you no longer travel the world alone but with a group of four other (and very good) robots, and it offers more free-form puzzle solutions . They vary in difficulty as each area uses a different system. And its specific complexity is individual for everyone. In one biome, for example, you split the light into a red, blue and green beam, in another you “reincarnate” into another robot or create portals. Other times you put everything together… and continually improve and evolve.

Do people have a right to information or will they have to “earn” it?

You may have already wondered if The Talos Principle is similar to another famous puzzle game, Witness. Mixing puzzles and deeper ideas certainly helps, although the philosophy here is used in more detail and permeates the game much more strongly. But “Witness” was also about puzzles that sometimes resembled math problems. They played with your ability to analyze and think logically. The Talos Principle 2 generally requires a greater willingness to experiment and think creatively and “differently.”

Ideas, personality development, knowledge acquisition – all this manifests itself in both puzzle solving and the plot. Several times you’ll find yourself debating with robots about topics that a human wouldn’t normally bring up in a pub. Did Prometheus deserve punishment for imparting knowledge to people? Do people have a right to information or will they have to “earn” it? Or is the general dissemination of knowledge even dangerous?

In addition to very well-narrated interviews, you will also come across various written messages or diary entries. Some contain excerpts from existing books, others are completely new ideas for characters in the game. Then each player decides for himself which text he likes. For example, thoughts about the extinction of a species. When people cause the disappearance of a dolphin, it is seen as a tragedy. But what if, as a result of his intervention, the bacteria that cause a dangerous disease disappear? And why, if nature is entirely to blame for extinction, does the very idea that a species no longer exist seem so bad to us? Don’t we object to human responsibility and failure more than we object to extinction?

No relaxation, no stress

Most of these notes are scattered across the landscape, but they are so well written that they encourage you to explore. However, sometimes this is unreasonably long. As I mentioned, the game is literally bigger. I thought about my card. There are quite long paths between individual puzzles, which do not always hide text or other secrets.

The intention of the developers is clear: Talos Principal 2 is not a relaxing game, but it is not stressful either. There is no time puzzle here, everything can be approached slowly. And so, after successfully solving the puzzle, you should go and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Which by the way turned out to be really successful and I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen such a beautiful puzzle with a realistic environment. Sometimes the reflections in the water are annoying and the world isn’t very responsive, but in this genre that’s not a big deal. You didn’t come here to leave footprints in a puddle, but to solve puzzles. And they at least make me want to quickly find another one and break it too. Sometimes I found myself addicted to ignoring the monumental building next to the road and blindly (and enthusiastically!) running towards the next puzzle. And so on and so forth, like Prometheus on the rock whose liver grows back overnight and is torn out again by the eagle during the day.

It is not surprising that the developers themselves from the Croatian studio Croteam (which is also behind the completely different Serious Sam series) describe the game as philosophical fiction. It’s a clever combination of logic problems, familiar ideas and ideas about possible futures. Robots here behave like people – and even call themselves real people. Because what makes us human? Is this our pink soft box? Or is it more self-awareness?