The Talos Principle II
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- hitbyambulance
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The Talos Principle II
gameplay trailer:
- Lordnine
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Re: The Talos Principle II
Day one purchase for me. The Talos Principle was excellent!
- Blackhawk
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Re: The Talos Principle II
Egads.
I played the first one, then played it again in VR. It's hard to believe that these come from the same guys who make Serious Sam.
I played the first one, then played it again in VR. It's hard to believe that these come from the same guys who make Serious Sam.
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- coopasonic
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Re: The Talos Principle II
100% except possibly the day one part depending what I have going on.
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- hitbyambulance
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Re: The Talos Principle II
it's completely opposite in tone from their main moneymaker franchise (Serious Sam - goofy and absurd, over-the-top, hyperviolent, gory twitch shooter vs The Talos Princliple - meditative, reflective, philosophical, even literary at times leisurely-paced puzzler)
it also demonstrates aptly the devs are huge 'serious' sci-fi fans
(they did slip in a Serious Sam 4 cinematic an aside where Sam mentions Philip K. Dick is his favorite author)
both series benefit greatly from one of the star characters - the environment. Croteam does a masterful job of rendering landscapes and infusing them with real sensation and feeling. Serious Sam made me want to visit Egypt and Talos Principle, the eastern Mediterranean.
- coopasonic
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Re: The Talos Principle II
The time has arrived and it turns out it is a Day 1 purchase for me.
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- Zaxxon
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Re: The Talos Principle II
How the fuck did I miss this? I was about to say day 1 for me, and now I need to play TP1 to get ready, then I see this is an old thread and it's out!?
- Blackhawk
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Re: The Talos Principle II
Ooh, out already? On the list it goes.
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- Isgrimnur
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Re: The Talos Principle II
The first one is on Game Pass for anyone late to the party.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- Carpet_pissr
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Re: The Talos Principle II
I've owned it for years, meaning to play it, and I don't think I even got so far as to install it. I think maybe because it took me a while to realize that puzzle games are not really my thing. Especially on PC, for some reason (I really liked The Room and its sequel on iOS for instance) Hell, I never even finished the first Portal (got stuck on a later level I think, and just never went back). I WILL finish Portal, one day, though.
I'm circling Jan 2, 2030 on my calendar now!
- Zaxxon
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Re: The Talos Principle II
And of course, unlike the first one, this one isn't on MacOS or Switch (my two current systems).
- Isgrimnur
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Re: The Talos Principle II
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- Zaxxon
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Re: The Talos Principle II
In this case, agreed!
- Blackhawk
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Re: The Talos Principle II
For those thinking about the first one, unless you completely hate the style of gameplay (it's a first person puzzler - think Portal, but with a completely different type of problem solving), and it's an all-time favorite. It's an amazing game.
Hopefully the sequel lives up to it.
Hopefully the sequel lives up to it.
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- Zaxxon
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Re: The Talos Principle II
So, how is it? I can't play it yet, so I rely on yOOr AARs!
- coopasonic
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Re: The Talos Principle II
I'm a little ways into act 2 and it's a shit ton of puzzles with a lot of philosophy sprinkled throughout. A lot of the mechanics in the puzzles are borrowed from the first game. I find the story relatively uninteresting. I'm here for the puzzles but I find myself needing to take breaks as I get a sort of puzzle fatigue. 24 puzzles, story break, 3 puzzles, story break, 24 more puzzles. It just feels like an endless stream of puzzles with the complexity ramping up slowly. Solving the puzzles is satisfying and some of them can be frustrating. I guess it just feels a little repetitive.
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Re: The Talos Principle II
How are the environments compared to the first? Is it still the quasi-Greek island theme, or is it more varied?
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- Carpet_pissr
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Re: The Talos Principle II
Hmm, not thrilled to hear that. I love me some philosophy, but back to back puzzles sounds a bit much. I think I am more of an adventure game puzzle enjoyer, than a dedicated puzzler...enjoyer.coopasonic wrote: ↑Fri Nov 03, 2023 2:00 pmI'm a little ways into act 2 and it's a shit ton of puzzles with a lot of philosophy sprinkled throughout. A lot of the mechanics in the puzzles are borrowed from the first game. I find the story relatively uninteresting. I'm here for the puzzles but I find myself needing to take breaks as I get a sort of puzzle fatigue. 24 puzzles, story break, 3 puzzles, story break, 24 more puzzles. It just feels like an endless stream of puzzles with the complexity ramping up slowly. Solving the puzzles is satisfying and some of them can be frustrating. I guess it just feels a little repetitive.
Steam says that these are the top rated PUZZLE category games, and there are some weird ones included in this genre IMO (ordered by TOP RANKED)
Spoiler:
Last edited by Carpet_pissr on Fri Nov 03, 2023 5:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- Zaxxon
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Re: The Talos Principle II
My background material today...
Anyone need a recap of 1 and Gehenna?
How about a chat with the devs?
Anyone need a recap of 1 and Gehenna?
How about a chat with the devs?
- hitbyambulance
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Re: The Talos Principle II
yeah, the first Talos Principle is totaally like that. it is a pretty chill and nicely-rendered environment to play the puzzles in, however.Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Fri Nov 03, 2023 4:50 pm Hmm, not thrilled to hear that. I love me some philosophy, but back to back puzzles sounds a bit much. I think I am more of an adventure game puzzle enjoyer, than a dedicated puzzler...enjoyer.
maybe they mean the actually puzzley ones - Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and Lara Croft and the Temple of OsirisSteam says that these are the top rated PUZZLE category games, and there are some weird ones included in this genre IMO (ordered by TOP RANKED)
Tomb Raider ?!??!?
this is really good but can get very very tricky/tough - you will get a challenge from this one with the extra hard optional rooms. (Talos Principle also has 'star' challenges that tend to not be obvious or easy as well)Baba is You
- Blackhawk
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Re: The Talos Principle II
If they're going by tags for their categories, then it's all player-submitted. This is same system that defines Counter Strike as a strategy game, survival game, and sandbox game, Serious Sam as an adventure game, and every game where you can choose your weapon as an RPG.hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Fri Nov 03, 2023 7:44 pm Steam says that these are the top rated PUZZLE category games, and there are some weird ones included in this genre IMO (ordered by TOP RANKED)
maybe they mean the actually puzzley ones - Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and Lara Croft and the Temple of OsirisTomb Raider ?!??!?
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- Carpet_pissr
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Re: The Talos Principle II
OK, that explains everything, sheesh. I will definitely be paying less attention to genre tags in the future, then, gah.
- Blackhawk
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Re: The Talos Principle II
My son tells that that, for a while, Dark Souls was listed as an anime dating sim. And I recall that there was a Barbie Game that was listed as psychological horror (which may have been accurate...)Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sat Nov 04, 2023 10:34 am OK, that explains everything, sheesh. I will definitely be paying less attention to genre tags in the future, then, gah.
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- Zaxxon
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Re: The Talos Principle II
Fired up TP1 this morning on the Switch. Still awesome.
- Blackhawk
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Re: The Talos Principle II
I replayed it a year or two ago in VR (the VR port is very, very well done - Croteam is a big supporter of the medium.)
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- coopasonic
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Re: The Talos Principle II
I'm going to revise my impression here a little. I think the puzzle fatigue came from the early puzzles being too easy so just felt like a grind. The second half of the game gets progressively more challenging and it didn't feel so grindy. I'm not quite done yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting close. The new stuff is starting to burn my brain more and more. Story-wise things have improved as well.coopasonic wrote: ↑Fri Nov 03, 2023 2:00 pmI'm a little ways into act 2 and it's a shit ton of puzzles with a lot of philosophy sprinkled throughout. A lot of the mechanics in the puzzles are borrowed from the first game. I find the story relatively uninteresting. I'm here for the puzzles but I find myself needing to take breaks as I get a sort of puzzle fatigue. 24 puzzles, story break, 3 puzzles, story break, 24 more puzzles. It just feels like an endless stream of puzzles with the complexity ramping up slowly. Solving the puzzles is satisfying and some of them can be frustrating. I guess it just feels a little repetitive.
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Re: The Talos Principle II
...and done. The final area was the most interesting. It's been a while since I play the first game, but the later puzzles in this one seemed more complex than I remember. I did manage to make it through without searching up any solutions, however the game does give you some flexibility. In each area you need to complete 8 puzzles, but each area has 10 puzzles (technically 11 but the last one doesn't count for the 8). There are also items you can find that let you mark a puzzle as solved without solving it, though they are pretty rare. I only found 2 (and used 1). There are also mandatory puzzles like the final area and a central area in the main progression of the game.
At the end, you are given an opportunity to go finish all the extra puzzles, if you skip it and finish the game, when you reload you are taken back to that last chance so you can still finish those other puzzles you skipped or missed.
At the end, you are given an opportunity to go finish all the extra puzzles, if you skip it and finish the game, when you reload you are taken back to that last chance so you can still finish those other puzzles you skipped or missed.
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- Lordnine
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Re: The Talos Principle II
I love that the "are frogs people?" discussion is now banned. Great call back to the first game.
So many great little references and hidden things to find. I loved the "Stanley Parable" style upgrade you can buy early on.
So many great little references and hidden things to find. I loved the "Stanley Parable" style upgrade you can buy early on.
- Lordnine
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Re: The Talos Principle II
How in the world did you finish this in 2 days? Hah. Maybe I am just an idiot and slow or reading a lot more of the text but I am 14 hours in and only about to enter the Borg Pyramid for the 2nd time. It looks like there are 3 more areas to go?
I am really enjoying it though. I think the puzzles might actually be a little easier than the first game, but they are also a lot more varied with more mechanics.
My only real complaint is that I miss Alexandra's diaries. She gave a lot of heart to the original game and while the new characters are good, they don’t quite measure up to the emotion of her original story.
- Isgrimnur
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Re: The Talos Principle II
Artist's rendition:
Spoiler:
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- coopasonic
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Re: The Talos Principle II
Perhaps 2-3 times a year do I give up sleep for gaming.
The actual answer is:
1) I am a bit obsessive when its comes to gaming
2) I didn't find the story/lore in the game very interesting so skipped/sped through most of it
3) My kids are both teens that have little need for Dad so there are few distractions
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- Carpet_pissr
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Re: The Talos Principle II
3) is a veneer/screen IMO, and perfectly normal of course. Teens very much need Dad.
Will they act like and maybe even say they don’t need Dad (and Mom)?
‘Course they will! They’re teens! It’s what they do.
I personally have/had to fight my initial instincts of withdrawal when my kids hit that teen phase…it was pretty jarring to have the little kids that doted on you and depended on you for so much, turn into seeming sociopaths overnight.
Will they act like and maybe even say they don’t need Dad (and Mom)?
‘Course they will! They’re teens! It’s what they do.
I personally have/had to fight my initial instincts of withdrawal when my kids hit that teen phase…it was pretty jarring to have the little kids that doted on you and depended on you for so much, turn into seeming sociopaths overnight.
- Blackhawk
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Re: The Talos Principle II
True, and even young adults need their parents, but the degree shifts dramatically from pre-teens. They need advice, availability, and some degree of oversight. But they no longer require the same kind of constant awareness and hands-on management that they did just a few years before - and that's what interferes with gaming.Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sat Nov 11, 2023 11:12 am 3) is a veneer/screen IMO, and perfectly normal of course. Teens very much need Dad.
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- Blackhawk
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Re: The Talos Principle II
Neophyte. Any experienced gamer knows that food and gaming can overlap by about 90% (the remaining 10% is prep - and it can be reduced to 5% or less with proper food choices.) The true masters can make the overlap almost seamless.
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