The Talos Principle: Reawakened
Last updated: 2025-04-12
- Enhanced graphics and quality of life improvements.
- Excellent puzzle gameplay from the original is retained.
- Strong atmosphere and immersive sound design.
- New chapter expands the game's story.
- Includes original game and all DLC content.
- Poor performance and optimization issues reported.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 85% · Negative 15%. Score: 15 / 100
Positives:
- The remaster boasts significantly improved graphics using Unreal Engine 5, enhanced by quality of life improvements that make the gameplay experience smoother and more enjoyable. These enhancements modernize the game while retaining its original charm.
- The game is praised as a well-made and enjoyable puzzle game that successfully captures the essence of the original while providing a refreshing experience. Reviewers highlight the engaging puzzles, beautiful environments, and overall high quality of the game.
- The game features a top-notch atmosphere, immersive soundtrack, and gorgeous visuals that enhance the overall experience. The textures look very good, and the graphics and their integrity are top-notch.
- A new chapter, "In the Beginning," has been added, featuring challenging puzzles and expanding on the game's underlying story. This new content provides additional gameplay and lore for fans of the series.
- The re-release includes the original game and its DLC content, offering a complete package for both new and returning players. The core content of the original game remains unchanged in the remake.
Negatives:
- The game suffers from significant performance issues, including stuttering, frame rate drops, and long loading times, even on high-end hardware. Many reviewers report that the game runs worse than its predecessor, with some describing it as unoptimized and potentially unplayable on older systems. This is a recurring concern that impacts the overall experience.
- Several reviewers have pointed out issues with localization, including inconsistencies in translation, lack of voice acting in certain languages (like Ukrainian and Russian), and machine-translated text that doesn't match subtitles. These issues detract from the immersion and accessibility of the game for non-English speakers.
- The new DLC and puzzles are considered excessively difficult by some players. Some puzzles require unintended solutions, and the new chapter lacks interconnected puzzles, which was a disappointing change for some.
- Some reviewers found the DLC's narrative uninteresting and repetitive, with dialogue that rehashes themes from the first game. Additionally, conversations with MLA don't seem to meaningfully change the outcome, reducing their impact.
- Some reviewers report a lack of immersion and loss of atmosphere compared to the original game. Motion sickness due to camera movement is also a concern for some players.
Gameplay:
- The core gameplay revolves around solving intricate puzzles by manipulating objects and collecting puzzle pieces to unlock new areas and tools. While some puzzles are remastered from the original game, the game introduces new components and level designs, enhancing the three-dimensional puzzle-solving experience.
- The game employs a semi-fragmented narrative style, revealing the story through scattered fragments and messages, encouraging players to question the plot. The game also features multiple endings, adding depth and replayability to the narrative experience.
- The game includes a new chapter called 'In the Beginning,' which explores Alexandra Drennan's story and features community-designed levels. This expansion focuses on dialogues and bug reports, offering a different narrative approach compared to the base game's philosophical terminals.
- The game is structured with a six-level tower featuring increasingly complex challenges, set across three main hangars divided into themed zones. This provides a structured progression of difficulty and varied environments for puzzle-solving.
- The game enhances light synthesis mechanics by giving them physical presence, requiring players to manipulate prisms and use gravity inversion. Rules application becomes more flexible, with mobile mines and rays offering new strategic possibilities.
Performance:
- The game attempts to automatically adjust settings for optimal performance. While some users find the game runs smoothly on older hardware, others report that performance varies significantly based on hardware capabilities.
Recommendations:
- The game is highly recommended for both new and returning players, especially those who enjoy puzzle games. Reviewers praise its engaging gameplay, philosophical themes, and the enhanced experience offered by the remake, making it a worthwhile purchase.
- The remake's value depends on individual preferences and hardware capabilities. Some reviewers suggest sticking with the original if you have a lower-end PC or are not interested in the enhanced graphics and new content, while others recommend the remake only for specific features like UE5 workshop levels.
- Purchasing the franchise bundle is the most cost-effective option. The bundle's discounted price makes it an attractive deal, even with the release of new content.
- This point contains hyperbolic claims without evidence. It expresses strong positive sentiment but lacks specific details or constructive feedback, and is therefore not useful.
Miscellaneous:
- The Talos Principle: Reawakened is a remastered version of the original game, released on April 10, 2025. Owners of the original game and its sequel receive a discount.
- The game explores philosophical questions about humanity, morality, and consciousness through AI testing. Players engage in discussions with AI, reflecting on what it means to be human.
- The game features hidden collectibles in the form of stars and Croteam logos. These provide an additional layer of exploration and discovery for players.
- The developers' commentary is disabled by default. Players need to manually enable it to hear insights and anecdotes from the development team.
- One reviewer found a specific HD visual element, a mine charging towards them, to be unexpectedly disturbing. This highlights the game's ability to create unsettling moments.
