Thought-provoking philosophical story
Mentioned in ~2 in 5 positive reviews
“This is a game with deep ideas that can change how you view the world”
Steam review · 16.9 h played ↗
The Talos Principle
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Overwhelmingly PositiveOverwhelmingly Positive · 95%Croteam2014Mystery · Puzzle · Adventure
$29.99
Open on Steam ↗US Steam price, checked 6 h ago
The verdict
A Portal-like first-person puzzler wrapped in philosophy, with superb music and atmosphere. Skip it if you dislike repetitive puzzles, preachy dialogue, or are prone to motion sickness.
Great for
Portal fans who enjoy clever puzzles and slow, reflective philosophical storytelling
Main risk
Puzzles turn repetitive and tedious, and the preachy philosophy may grate on you
What players love
Clever, satisfying puzzles
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 positive reviews
“Really well designed puzzles that make you feel smart when you figure them out.”
Steam review · 33.9 h played ↗
Great for Portal fans
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 positive reviews
“Playing The Talos Principle as an adult gave me the same feeling that Portal 1 + 2 gave me as a kid.”
Steam review · 27.6 h played ↗
Beautiful, calming music and atmosphere
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 positive reviews
“a background soundtrack that reduced my heart rate by at least 20 beats”
Steam review · 21.7 h played ↗
Gorgeous visuals that have aged well
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews
“this game is visually beautiful, just challenging enough and is filled with bits to make you think.”
Steam review · 15.3 h played ↗
Lots of content, secrets and replay value
Mentioned in ~1 in 17 positive reviews
“There's A LOT of content here.”
Steam review · 39.3 h played ↗
What players complain about
Repetitive, tedious puzzles
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 negative reviews
“This game really loves wasting your time. Every puzzle is almost the same.”
Steam review · 17.1 h played ↗
Pretentious philosophy and railroaded dialogue
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“Whoever thinks this game's is profound, deep, smart, or mind-blowing has obviously never taken Philosophy 101.”
Steam review · 22 h played ↗
Many puzzles are too easy
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“Puzzles are way too easy, like mind-numblingly easy.”
Steam review · 3.8 h played ↗
Fetching items, backtracking and slow timing
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“The fact that every puzzle starts with a fetch quest for the required items to solve it doesn't help either”
Steam review · 7.6 h played ↗
Motion sickness
Mentioned in ~1 in 13 negative reviews
“I never get motion sickness when playing games, ever—until this game.”
Steam review · 4.8 h played ↗
Obscure star hunts and QR code puzzles
Mentioned in ~1 in 13 negative reviews
“Why do you have to add this QR codes to the game?”
Steam review · 5.5 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: PlayableController support5 GB
Minimum
OSWindows 7
ProcessorDual-core 2.0 GHz
Memory2 GB RAM
GraphicsDirectX 11 class GPU with 1GB VRAM (nVidia GeForce 480 GTX, AMD Radeon HD 5870)
Storage5 GB available space
Recommended
OSWindows 7 64-bit
ProcessorQuad-core 3.0 GHz
Memory4 GB RAM
GraphicsAMD RX 480 or NVIDIA GTX 970
Storage8 GB available space
OSWindows 7
ProcessorDual-core 2.0 GHz
Memory2 GB RAM
GraphicsDirectX 11 class GPU with 1GB VRAM (nVidia GeForce 480 GTX, AMD Radeon HD 5870)
Storage5 GB available space
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