The Talos Principle 2

The Talos Principle 2 was provided by Devolver Digital for review. Thank you!

Do you know that feeling and sense of accomplishment you get when you complete a Rubix cube? Or when you figure out the solution to a math problem you have been stuck on for hours? There's this incredible wave of relief and triumph as it's completed. Now, imagine that, right after, you get to have a minor existential crisis where you question not only your existence but the reality of more advanced individuals who lived before you. This may not seem like a great time, but The Talos Principle 2 makes it one worth living through.

The sequel to The Talos Principle picks up where the prequel ended but kicks things up to an eleven with its new themes, world, and puzzles. Unlike the first game, where we explored the individual, we are now diving into the philosophical ideologies of the collective and civilization. At the beginning of the game, you embark on a mysterious island that is filled with technology and architecture that hasn't been seen before. Who built it, why, and how? That is something you will have a damn good time discovering as you question your existence and if your community is making the right calls.

The Talos Principle 2 is made up of multiple open segments where you can complete the puzzles you need to, compete in other unique challenge puzzles, or walk around and enjoy the scenery. The world is gorgeous, and I often found myself running through sunset-lit levels or the forests just to take everything in.

Then we have the puzzles, oh the puzzles. That feeling of satisfaction when completing is unlike any other. I don't think I have ever felt as smart as I did when figuring out which holes to drill through and how the color beams can connect. The mechanics in The Talos Principle 2 are still as crazy as the prequel, but takes it up a step. There were a couple of them that really got me frustrated, and I had to take a step back, but that sense of accomplishment afterwards was worth it.

And with all of this, it can play on the Steam Deck too, but it is a compromise.

The Talos Principle 2 - Steam Deck Performance

The Talos Principle 2 is a gorgeous game, but the trade-off is it takes a lot to run. The Steam Deck is up to the task, but it has its compromises and some drops here and there. On the lowest settings, with the built-in FSR 2, I got fluctuations depending on which open areas we are in. Some have a ton of trouble and can dip to 25 when turning around fast, while others can go up to 40. For a balance, I went for a 30 FPS lock for stability with FSR 2 on Balanced. It does show some pixelation when moving around fast, but with how slow you will take it when completing puzzles, it isn't that noticeable and still looks great on the smaller screen.

Accessibility

As for options for accessibility, we do have a solid amount to go through. We can change subtitles, crosshair, toggling parts of the interface, and changing sound sliders. There is also a whole section for motion sickness controls, where you can change field of view, toggle bobbing, and set a preferred view type, and color blind settings. You can also edit keybindings, sensitivities, and toggle inverted access.

The game does support 16:10 resolutions, so we won't need to worry about any black bars, and it supports controllers and cloud saves.

Conclusion

The Talos Principle 2 is an incredible follow-up filled with invigorating puzzles and beautiful sites. The challenges are great here and did cause some aggravation, but that feeling of victory and solace after completing them makes it all worthwhile. The story is also fantastic and I love the shift from the individual to the collective. And even though I had a couple of existential moments, the pay off was even more valuable. I do wish it ran a bit better on the Steam Deck, but even with its dips, it is playable thanks to the pacing of this type of game.

Our review is based on the PC version of this game.

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