Disclaimer! This blog post contains spoilers - like a lot of them. So if you haven't played the game yet here's the short version: It's awesome!!! Play it! Now!
The puzzles
Honestly, I’m a big fan of puzzle games as long as they don’t
get too complicated, so I found the Talos Principle to be the right amount of
complicated for me. The puzzle transition was intuitive and well thought of,
introducing new elements gradually. My only frustration regarding puzzles was
that I wasn’t presented with all the ways you can use the objects from the
beginning. For instance, how was I supposed to know that I can store a box on
top of the balls of death? Like those things kill you if you come too close to
them, why would I think of putting a box on top of that and repurpose it as a
tray? That and the stars – I wish I knew from the beginning that there were
stars so I could start looking for them earlier in the game….
The tower
I knew I was going to go inside the tower the very first time
I saw it…and as soon as El0him said I am forbidden to go there. Throughout the
game, the question of whether I will still ascend the tower or not did trouble
me at times, but in the end I chose to ascend the tower, and I believe it was the
right thing to do.
Here are my arguments: 1. I got pissed of solving the puzzles
to prove my worth to El0him and I felt as though the tower had more information
than he wanted to share – and I am a
strong believer in the freedom of information. Plus why wouldn’t he want me to
ascend the tower? What was the worst that could happen if I were to ascend the
tower? If there was something there that would destroy everything, it probably
would have been either hidden or well-guarded than with the same kind of puzzles
like the ones I’ve been solving for quite a while now. That was a bit of a
disappointment honestly, I was expecting the tower to have something way cooler
than… oh great! More puzzles! But in the end the tower did deliver so can’t
complain all that much…
2. I found out about El0him’s secret room and it seemed to me
like he wasn’t thinking clearly anymore and he became corrupted with power
which he desperately clang to, therefore he shouldn't have still been in charge of anything
3. The tower was too cool not to ascend
4. The information from the terminals, QR's and time capsules
made me realize what the project was all about and it was within my human
nature to be curious and explore, think for myself and question rather than
obey like a robot. By reading that, I realized that Alexandra would have wanted us
to be as human as possible and not be held back by the rules and limitations of
another AI.
The annoying voice in
the sky a.k.a daddy
Urgh! I hated Elohim from the very first time I heard his
voice. I’m a kind person and I bend over backwards for people if they ask, but
I react badly to being given orders, so El0him’s every word (which was
basically an order) made nothing more than provoke me to do the opposite of
what he was telling me to do – and even though at times (most of the times) I
had to do what he asked me to, don’t think for a second that I didn’t mumble
under my breath or mocked him. In my opinion, El0him is a hypocrite! He was
using kind words such as his trademark line: my child – but showed no emotion
whatsoever – and I know you would say that he is an AI and has no emotions but
then again – remember how when you ascend the tower he goes through all the
five stages of grief? How then you can hear him getting angry, frightened,
bargain. That was also the only one time when I heard him use a gentle, caring
voice as he plead to return because he didn’t tell me not to ascend the tower
out of malice or deceit – which almost made me change my mind. But then I heard
him say that “The tower leads to freedom and truth but also to the end of us” and
to me: freedom and truth sound pretty damn good so I took my chances. After all, what’s better? A life of lies and constant trials to
prove my worth to a sick voice in the sky, or a moment of freedom and truth
then death? I choose the latter…Another reason that stood behind my decision was the fact that El0him lied about some things, so how could I trust him and know for sure that immortality was waiting behind the gates as he promised and it wasn’t in fact still death?
Upon choosing the gates ending (yeah, I tried all endings) I realized how bad of a decision that was...and it also made me realize the high hopes I have on immortality...I mean, behind that door was waiting exactly what I was promised but it was wrong and tiresome...for me at least.
Milton
I loved Milton half the times for the information he was giving me and the other half I was pissed at him for his smugness and questions that made me turn my own words against me. But then again, throughout our many
conversations, I must admit: he had his stuff together way better than I did, so
in the end I respect that “guy”. However, I really loved toying with him when I had the
chance, and I got the special achievement “Press the serpent” :) but I must say: the real achievement
was seeing Milton lose it and knowing that I was the one who did that to him. It was the perfect payback for everything he put me through.
Alexandra
What a beautiful human Alexandra must’ve been, for she was
kind and hopeful, and she had good intentions, lots of hope and a motherly
tone. All I can say is that I’m sorry she didn’t get to see that she made it!
And that from the very first time capsule I listened to, I was hooked on that!
Her vision and thoughts were not only nicely narrated, interestingly put but
also incredibly deep and full of emotion. After listening to the first time
capsule, I became desperate to find the next one, and they never ceased to
disappoint me.
The Messengers
The messenger islands were breathtakingly beautiful and the
idea of a messenger helping you out seemed great only that the logic behind it
was a bit flawed…like, I did require the help of a messenger when I got stuck
at a certain puzzle only to discover that he wasn’t that much of a helper after
all… his cryptic messages and hints made me think: “Well I know that I’m
supposed to use that to make it… but how do I use it?!!!” so the real messenger
turned out to be the YouTube walkthrough which showed me the way. I’m not
saying the messenger should’ve completely show me what to do or solve it for me
(as I thought he would initially – silly me) but maybe try to be a little more
obvious and helpful…
Conclusions
Even though I heard debates on the tower ending of the Talos
Principle, I’m pretty sure that by ascending the tower we achieved what
Alexandra was hoping for – becoming the first human like AI. Proof of this
would be that after the golden disk was inserted, the game said that the
purpose has been fulfilled and then it deleted the simulation…no more
simulations, we are ready for real life…so yes! We’ve made it!
The game was seriously awesome…it had the right amount of
puzzles to keep your brain working on the logical part, and plenty interesting
debates with the computer terminals to make you question your nature, the world
you were in and basically everything, from the choice of pressing a or b on a
keyboard, to the meaning of life. The music was complimentary while the surroundings were breathtakingly beautiful. I can't remember the last time I've enjoyed a game this much therefore a well deserved 10 goes to this game and Croteam! This game is truly a MUST HAVE!
Wishing you the best,
Rachel
