The Talos Principle

'SUP, NERDS?!

I've been a bit busy lately being sick with mono, going to the hospital n' stuff, fixing the entire plumbing system in my house and now figuring out drywall and paint... meaning that I've been hardly seeing people or doing anything of personal significance. However, there is one video game that has consumed me on days I just don't feel like doing anything: The Talos Principle

The Talos Principle combines two things I love: puzzles and myth. I've always been kind of obsessed with puzzles games, having the hugest crush on Prof. Layton and enjoying the puzzles more than the action of the Resident Evil series. A friend insisted I try TTP when it came out, so I've finally slow-poked myself into playing years later. And goodness. I'm kicking myself for not playing it sooner.

 Big Questions, Few Answers

TTP is first a literal puzzle game that turns everything you witness and experience into a huge philosophical question. You play a robot in a virtual world, void of other beings. The other major beings(?) are Elohim, a disembodied voice who is presumably God, and a computer program, the Milton Library Interface.

MLA is hands down the best character.

Elohim says this universe was created just for the player, but he heeds you to not climb this glaring tower between the worlds. Within each world there are multiple levels with a handful of puzzles and tricky stars to find. These worlds are themed after ancient philosophers as well as Greek, Egyptian, and Christian  mythology.

I totally dweebed out over every bit of detail in the game. As I grew up, I spent a lot of time buried in my father's books about ancient history and mythology, reveling in diagrams of pyramids and learning of different rituals and stories. When I was little I even tried writing hieroglyphics and studied the Greek alphabet.

Rage-inducing levels. A bird's eye view of how this can be a
real cluster for your brain.

There are two major stories I see play out in The Talos Principle. Plot A is the goal to conquer these puzzles, finding your purpose and reason in the virtual reality. However, I would consider Plot B to be the entries you read in the MLI catalogue. Not only does this computer contain stories interpreting mythology, you slowly unearth what has happened in the real world, revealing harrowing truths about humanity.

It's Funny How We Speak of Reality...

I feel like sometimes a puzzle game is just a puzzle game... but I like to think of The Talos Principle as an experience. It may have taken me some six months to play and finish, but I had to be a particular mood to play. Often I'd play for hours on nights that I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts.

And if you turn around you'll see a statue of a woman on a floating isle...

There is very little dialogue and each level has a certain ambience, leaving a lot of character to be found in the environment. I loved finding small stories that are told in the world. Some of it I made up in my head, pretending people once lived in the old ruins that you explore. Other stories are direct and symbolic, bringing me to tears.

A puzzle game this serene, this beautiful can't go without me rage-quitting sometimes. For most of the final world, my friend Dan held my hand and did most of it for me. Puzzle games are meant to be chill for me, but when it becomes frustrating to a point it stops being fun, I need another brain to reel me back in. Working on it together was a much greater experience than sitting alone and getting worked up about a silly puzzle.

CONCLUSION

I've gone through a couple of emotional lows this year and TTP carried me through some of it when I needed to be removed from my own reality. While helping me, Dan made a point that we see through to every ending. They're all very interesting and I felt starkly different emotions given the scenario.

The completionist ending is quite a delight and I would definitely make sure you have you friends play after you fully beat the game. It's such a rewarding ending that bleeds into other people's games!! I didn't have any friends who played on PS4, so I'm really hoping some of you will pick it up and see my mark in The Talos Principle.

I'll try to catch up with some extra blogs this month, but considering my illness and the state of my home, I can't make any promises. I'll do my best!

LATER, DWEEBS!

Loverly Liz