Review: The Talos Principle Deluxe Edition (Nintendo Switch)

The Talos Principle is a first-person puzzle adventure game. It was released on mobile devices in 2015 and X-box one in 2018, and most recently the Nintendo Switch. The question is, is The Talos Principle any good? Continue to read and we will find out.

Players take control of a seemingly unnamed human-like artificial intelligence referred to as “The Child” by Elohim, the creator of not only the temple, but also “the Child.” Elohim speaks with friendly but stern authority, as he offers an explanation as to what has gone on throughout your adventures as well as the reason behind it. He continues to offer his support and guidance throughout. He explains that the Temple he built contains the history of humanity’s ruins. Players must solve the puzzles of the temple to solve the mystery of what happened to humans as well as discover who Elohim truly is while also discovering information about themselves. 

Like most puzzle games, the puzzles became slightly more difficult as you go on, each one building on the last. Making progress when solving them felt very rewarding and encourages you to go on. During the process of solving puzzles, it also reveals more of the mysterious story. In each stage you are collecting pieces of keys that are best described as Tetrominos from Tetris and aligning the pieces correctly. Part of the puzzle is getting around drones, as getting caught in their sensor will cause them to self-destruct, killing you in the process. An interesting and relieving part is if you fall victim to destruction the game’s auto rewind feature takes you back to the last checkpoint. This not only prevents loading time from the last save, but it also gives you a nice, quick redo of the puzzle. This makes the game feel less frustrating. 

With one hundred and twenty nonlinear levels to complete, there are plenty of puzzles to be solved. If that isn’t enough, The Talos Principle Deluxe Edition comes packed with the DLC adding plenty more. 

Visuals look really great and run smoothly, which is an added plus while exploring the levels’ peaceful and beautiful surrounding scenery. There is also an option to set the graphics to “performance.” I did not notice any frame rate drops, but the option to optimize is a nice feature. 

Although I can’t fully pinpoint exactly one thing that made The Talos Principle great, there was something about the game that just felt incredible while playing. It provides such an amazing puzzle-solving experience that’s backed by an overall strong story that I can’t recommend this game enough. During my time with it, I never felt bored or distracted by other things. My sense of wonder and curiosity certainly heightened my sense of enjoyment during my time playing. The asking price of $29.99 is an extremely fair cost for this game. As the game was released years ago but continues to be ported to consoles, it certainly stands the test of time.