The Talos Principle VR

The Talos Principle VR
N/A
Metacritic
83
Steam
77.189
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$13.99
Release date
17 October 2017
Developers
Steam reviews score
Total
83 (754 votes)
Recent
100 (10 votes)

The Talos Principle VR is a virtual reality version of Croteam's critically acclaimed first-person puzzle game in the tradition of philosophical science fiction.

Show detailed description

The Talos Principle VR system requirements

Minimum:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 7 64bit
  • Processor: Intel Core i5 - 4590 equivalent
  • Memory: 6 GB RAM
  • Graphics: AMD R9 290 or NVIDIA GTX 970
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 6 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: HTC Vive or Oculus Rift VR headset plus hand controllers. Internet connection required for product activation for the first time. After that, a persistent connection is not required to play the game.
Similar games
SOMA
SOMA

Action, Adventure, Indie

$5.99 xDr: 91.22
BONEWORKS
BONEWORKS

Action, Adventure, Indie, Simulation

$29.99 xDr: 84.92
Popularity
Reviews
Write a new review
Dial-up King
Dial-up King

It appears to be Talos Principle, but with VR controls dragged and dropped over the base game. Kind of annoyed I basically bought the base game again. Other than that, it's cool.

Bucktown
Bucktown

I played the Talos Principle first on flatscreen, but had to play through again as soon as I saw it out for VR. I really loved this game, and making it VR just added to the experiences I already loved.

The Game's puzzle platforming works well in VR. The focus on puzzles allows most people not to become motionsick, and the teleport movement didn't take away from the puzzling at all. The environments are still gorgeous, and I love just being present in the space.

If you have VR, and like puzzle adventures, this is a must play!

Systemnik
Systemnik

Awful graphics and controls, don't bother, play original version instead (it's one of the best puzzle games)

Merceal
Merceal

I've been meaning this replay this masterpiece, and the VR version gave me a perfect excuse to do it.
Works pretty well on Quest 2

Azi
Azi

The game translates well to VR for the most part, and it helps to give you a better perspective on things like the Lasers and where they can and can't go. It is of course more immersive as VR always will be, but there are some trade-offs as things can be a bit more clunky to interact with such as placing things on top of moving objects. It's also a bit less enjoyable reading off the computer screens but that's more a fault of current VR tech than anything else.

I would say if you enjoy puzzle games in VR this is an easy purchase, but regardless if you haven't played this or the original, I would recommend the original to anybody who even slightly enjoys puzzles. The story is great, the puzzles are amazing, the world is interesting and atmospheric, the secrets are very sneaky and difficult. There's pretty much nothing I can fault about the game - absolutely amazing.

Below is my review for the original:

Easily the best puzzle game I have ever played, and it even has a fantastic story to go along with it. Numerous diverse and interesting puzzle mechanics that are used in creative and unique ways, alongside very interesting and difficult secrets that can have you searching for ages. Puzzles often require thinking multiple steps ahead to prepare things in advance to complete later sections, and rarely (if ever) is a solution immediately apparent without some thinking involved after the first few levels.

If you even SLIGHTLY enjoy puzzles then I couldn't recommend this game enough. A bargain at any price. Can't wait for the 2nd one!

Fartington
Fartington

This is my favorite VR game so far. Though this is a port of a regular flatscreen game, the VR version is nearly perfect. You wouldn't assume it's any different from the regular version, but VR adds depth to small things that you wouldn't normally think about. You really feel like you're inside a virtual garden of Eden - visual glitches in the simulation happen to your entire field of vision, the different instruments have a "physical feel" to them because you handle them precisely using motion controllers, Elohim's voice really is coming from all around you.

It may not have the gigabytes of detailed assets of HL: Alyx, but it makes up for it with pure gameplay - there are more than 100 puzzles to figure out, and they are structured in a way where the difficulty scales very linearly. Certain concepts and tricks are introduced on earlier levels, which are then expanded upon for later levels. The environments are beautiful and pleasant to spend time in, the game doesn't rush you for anything and you are free to explore. There are plenty of hidden secrets and puzzles to discover. The soundtrack is excellent. If you are sick of cheap Quest2 Beat Saber clones definitely give this a try.

ʟǟֆȶʟɨʋɨռɢքօɛȶ
ʟǟֆȶʟɨʋɨռɢքօɛȶ

I just finally finished the base game after months of playing and to sum it up succinctly I strongly recommend this. The controls are a little wonky with the Valve Index but it's not a big deal. Just use your left hand to pick up the sigils and you'll be fine.

I didn't know what to expect when I bought it. I kept seeing the title pop up in old threads where people recommended their favorite VR games. I had it on my wishlist and picked it up when it was on sale. Long story short I fell in love with this game and it is one of my all time favorites now.

I loved the combination of the puzzle complexity within the 3 ancient worlds; Roman, Egyptian, and medieval. Despite being hard at times the atmosphere was always super chill until you got to the very last level before you beat the game. The only level that required a time limit was the very last one. The music is great and appropriately themed for each of the three worlds. There are easter eggs everywhere if you look for them. The puzzles range from being pretty easy and able to be done in a few minutes to extremely difficult that may stump you for over an hour or longer.

Solving these puzzles using moveable components in a life-sized setting is something that in my opinion should only be experienced in VR and it works so well. You won't be able to get that same effect of feeling like you are there within the massive and complicated puzzle unless you're playing it in VR.

The lore is deep enough to be interesting but not overly complicated and it's certainly not half-assed like most games. It delves into AI, the past, and the future. It doesn't get as deep as SOMA but it's interesting enough. It's all a nice medley of concepts that merge together wonderfully and make for a game that I always looked forward to playing and I'd want to read everything I came across.

It's funny that the puzzles can seem so daunting at first but then when you solve them they seem easy in retrospect. I recommend not looking at any guides, videos, or walkthroughs and trying to solve the puzzles completely on your own. If you're stumped by one, move onto the next one, and come back to it tomorrow.

My favorite thing about the game other than the feeling of solving a puzzle was the nostalgic library assistant '90's computer terminals that you interact with on every level.

In conclusion, it's a must-play VR game if you are into puzzles, especially if you're at all interested in the future of AI and ancient cultures. I'd love to see these developers make more games like this. I honestly can't even comprehend how a team of people can make puzzles this complicated to solve. It kind of blows my mind.

jonnypdx1
jonnypdx1

I really love this game. I like this game better in VR.

Exia
Exia

Good graphics, very nice VR experience. Many hours of gameplay (if you do everything there is to do, you'll probably be over 20h)

4RT1F1C1AL
4RT1F1C1AL

I have played the original PC version and absolutely loved it that I wanted to play it again. Being able to view the beautiful worlds in VR made it extremely worth it for me to buy again.

I do have some concerns with controls, I couldn't figure out how to pick up connectors while preserving the connections I made. I couldn't figure out how to sprint, but I did find out that holding both grip buttons on the Oculus Touch controllers sped up in-game time. It's still a good port, but some changes could be made to the controls.

As for the ending, I didn't know how Croteam would achieve third person cutscenes in VR, but they managed to rework the scenes. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't do the scene with the zoom out revealing the outside and the EL Facility. I feel like they could've made this work by keeping the player stationary outside of the EL facility as the sun goes up to slowly reveal the EL facility and the world around it. It's understandable why they didn't add moving cameras, but I feel that they could've done better to maintain the original feel of the ending on the PC version.

Avoonix
Avoonix

this game wasn't created with vr in mind

Reject polygons embrace voxels
Reject polygon…

Even after playing Half-Life: Alyx, this has been my most visually breathtaking VR experience. This was one of my favorite games of all time before the VR version, so to be there in VR is almost a dream come true. VR is the way I'd go for this game.

There are only a few drawbacks for this VR port, which are:

1. You can't carry two items at once, just like the flat version
2. Picking up the little tetris puzzle pieces used for opening doors or unlocking puzzle objects is more annoying than it needs to be
3. If your controllers go to sleep while the game is running and you wake them back up, the game menu might have trouble recognizing them
4. No ladder climbing animations

So no serious issues at all. In this game you explore various ancient ruins, including Egypt which is a place I've been to in person, and boy did Croteam do their research. It's like this game was made for VR, some of the visuals that were impressive in the flat game are just perfect in the VR version, most notably the tower.

The puzzle design of this game is some of my favorite of all time. They are as logical as it gets as every puzzle has a specific set of tools used to solve them, so you're working within confined rules making them the opposite of the abstract puzzles you see in other games like the Myst series. Every puzzle is a straightforward logical challenge so their complexity is very impressive and clever, most notably in Road to Gehenna which must have been designed by geniuses.

Everything including the puzzles, the computer terminals, the voice in the sky, it all ties back to one of the most thematically rich and emotionally powerful stories ever written for a game. The Talos Principle was always one of the least flawed masterpieces in gaming, and the VR version is the best way to experience it.

Sil3nt
Sil3nt

This game is SERIOUSLY UNDERRATED.

Pros:
-Very good VR Port (Played on Oculus Rift)
-The Graphics are quite good and it makes for a Zen like Experiance just taking in those beautiful Environments
-The Puzzels are amazing and there are just soooo many of them
-The Game starts out pretty easy but gets decently hard towards the End
-Most of the story is optional, but i really recommend it, it is one of the deepest and most philosopical storys i have ever encountered in a Video Game
-It doesn't get repetitive as new Puzzle elements are unlocked at every stage

Cons:
-Multiple Savegames would have been nice
-The game lacks a clear indication when it saves your Progress (but tells you "Last Saved X Minutes ago" so i haven't lost any Progress to it)

Overall the game is amazing and completly UNDERRATED as in my Opinion it is as good if not even better than the Portal Series. All the Cons are fairly small and nothing that would be a deal breaker for me.
If you enjoyed Portal (who hasn't) you will probably like this game too.
I recommend you buying this right now, it is totally worth the price.
If you are unsure, the game is also often on sale for 5 bucks and thats a STEAL.

Ion Roux ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
Ion Roux ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

This is now my favorite VR game. It's like portal but WAY better and much more fun. I'm sad I finished it. I looked forward to coming home from work and knocking out a few puzzles

grant.nelson
grant.nelson

Interesting complicated puzzle based game with an interesting dark story interwoven into it. The VR version is amazing, the visuals were beautiful, although it is a must to turn on the smooth movement setting which could cause some nausea but is required for some puzzles. The story blew me away and made me really think what it is to be human while enjoying the interplay of evolution, religion, and technology. This game is underappreciated.

Mr Mackdaddy
Mr Mackdaddy

At first I bought this for my girlfriend on her account then I almost had the game beat, I will have to start over on my account. This game is a lot of fun another reason bought it for VR.
There are many levels, and this is not just a puzzle game there is also a somewhat of a story to play in between the levels.
If you like puzzles this is a must VR makes it feel like your more there, I have had friends come over and play it in VR and they love it.
I would rate this 4/5

tvamvarg
tvamvarg

Seemingly a quite simple VR-ification of a game, but I quite enjoy running around looking at the wondrous environments and feeling immersed in the riddles. Thumbs up!
(Played on Oculus Quest via Virtual Desktop)

marx
marx

Colors are super bad when you start up the game, it would not be playable like this. I spent time searching for a fix, but none worked. I was just about to return the game when I gave it a last chance and started a real level, the issue disappears. In the forum, one can see that this bug has been there for months. The game studio seems to be indifferent, thus I expect this to be a low-quality game.

I wish VR games would be more polished, however VR immersion makes up for a lot and I actually got quite a lot of enjoyable playtime out of it.

Birdmin
Birdmin

Excellent sci-fi philosophy story that stimulates your mind as much as the puzzles do. Really fun problem solving. VR doesn't really add to the gameplay but it adds to the story in a meta way. Really excellent puzzle game.

euqil
euqil

Would I recommend it as experience? Probably. But this game being in VR makes it so much harder to play.

Wildcat
Wildcat

Super fun puzzle game and the graphics are really good too. There's tons of game play value here as well! Worth the money if you enjoy puzzles. The ambiance on the maps are nice too!

PH1LT3R_NZ
PH1LT3R_NZ

The locations are gorgeous in VR.

Glidos
Glidos

This game is just awesome. The puzzles can be extremely difficult but also so satisfying. Besides that, there is enjoyment in simply spending time in the environments. I played the non-VR version, but have no regrets in paying for this. Replaying, after sufficient time to forget a little, I find actually more enjoyable than the first time around.

gary
gary

I think it'd be a lot better to just play the original version - VR doesn't really add anything, and the implementation is a bit rough, leading to some minor motion-sickness and annoyances.

Still a very interesting game though and original is a recommend.

Hævneren
Hævneren

My wife spent almost 30 hours on completing this in VR seated. She had a great experiece and she told me that the game is beautiful with a lot of great puzzles. I have not played it yet myself. But I will, in the future and then I will update the review afterwards.

Drizzt
Drizzt

Great puzzle game, looks amazing in VR

Imagopher
Imagopher

I bought this as an alternative to the normal edition, wanting to experience it in VR instead of pancake. Unfortunately, the game quickly induced a headache.

UR Dead
UR Dead

I like the varied puzzle/logic portion of the game.

beyondthestars
beyondthestars

It has elements that remind me of Myst, The Witness, and Fez. I wasn't intrigued at the start but I'm glad that I stuck with it.

Syndicus
Syndicus

If you like puzzle games you will love this game. If you have VR then get this version. I already owned this game far before it came out for VR and I bought it again, its worth it. It takes an already amazing game and fully immerses you in its beautiful world. The music is absolutely gorgeous and the story that unfolds while you play will keep you wanting more. One of my favorite games.

PointR
PointR

This game is absolutely outstanding. The desktop version of this game was already amazing, but experiencing it in VR was something else. The game looks good - nothing incredible though - and the puzzles are still challenging and satisfying to go through.

This easily makes it to my "Must-buy" list of VR games.

RatRunner30
RatRunner30

This has been our favorite VR game so far. It was relaxing to play, a great story with awesome views. Can't recommend it enough.

Vinny_L
Vinny_L

Played on Index:

Bought it because of the VR version. And as a puzzle game it has a interesting story to tell.

Positives: It has a story! The graphics and sound are fine. Control is o.k. apart from a few levels where you need have very precise (almost pixel perfect) placement/timing. And in VR that is sometimes a challenge

Regarding the level of the puzzles I did need a guide to get past a few of the puzzles.

Negatives: The end felt somewhat stretched.

Verdict: Good game!

dreamer
dreamer

This game gives Portal a run for its money

Keenan
Keenan

Loved the game. The puzzle solving and controls for the HTC Vive were perfect and then I got a Valve Index. Now I'm constantly fighting with the controls to do what I want. I keep teleporting when I want to grab the item in front of me. Not sure why they made the grip controls have two completely different behaviours, but the game has become too frustrating to play. I don't want to go back to using my Vive controllers just for this game so I'll likely just stop playing it.

clarkworthley
clarkworthley

I was expecting something that was visually rich but was disappointed. Maybe it gets better the deeper you get into the game but I don't have the patience to find out. I much prefer XING: THE LAND BEYOND

AKBear
AKBear

AWESOME AND WILD IN VR!!
The original was an amazing and fun game but in VR it takes it to a whole new level. CroTeam did an excellent job with the port to VR with the exception of grabbing and placement although that could be my crap Oculus Rift-S headset. (I review that pos headset elsewhere so no sense rehashing here)
Puzzles are just as much fun as they were in pancake game. The world looks amazing and really captures that sense of what the heck happened to everyone.
If you want another fun VR game get their Serious Sam VR one. Its just runnning around blasting stuff but omg the worlds look so amazing.!

Awesome Job CroTeam!!!

eigenman
eigenman

This "game" touched me deeply.

Muncjack
Muncjack

Excellent, atmospheric VR (Valve Index) puzzle game that has transferred well from the "pancake" version. Rendering of individual game worlds works well and each has a distinctive "look & feel"..... VR gameplay is functional, though object gripping & then dropping required strict controller accuracy (especially in action / mine / machine gun related sequences). Overall brilliant entertainment ...... now must go back to the Talos Garden and sort out that Serpent for those last few Achievements ....

invaderzim48
invaderzim48

I so wish I could give a neutral review. It's good, but it's ultimately frustrating. The Talos Principle was not made for VR, Croteam did a good job porting it, but the fine placement of items in levels, as well as just the controls in general make it a frustrating experience for me. The first 2 worlds are enjoyable though, but it just drags on too long to be an enjoyable VR experience for me.

Morasique
Morasique

The original game is great; the VR version is not, at least not on the Valve Index that it claims to support. Controls are very janky. Even after disabling the control that causes you to teleport when you grip the controller, which I can only assume was a mistake because nobody has ever wanted that behavior, it's still a huge pain to actually teleport where you want. I will regularly have the teleport circle in the right place, let go of the button to teleport, and jump to a completely different location. I don't know why this would be Index-specific, but people with other headsets seem to be happy so you might be ok with those. And as far as I can tell there is no way to rotate the teleport circle, which is a pretty bad omission, so get ready to constantly teleport and then rotate, over and over. Ultimately the game just doesn't adapt well to VR, too much of the game is moving around instead of interacting with the world.

4Rhin
4Rhin

Bought this game, its excellent and well suited to VR , thoroughly recommend, do yourself a favour and buy it!

Doomer
Doomer

It feels like a dream
Go for it

Panda in VR
Panda in VR

I strongly recommend this game if you ever were into puzzle games, they are so much better in VR!

The cool thing about this game is that even if you're stuck you just leave the puzzle and go on and on the next day you always smash it. Very satisfying.

The game has three endings, however one is boring and one is reachable only for (what I think) hardcore players since it's extremely hard without passtroughs.

CrazyHarry
CrazyHarry

Fantastic game in VR. Playing with Pimax 5K+ and RTX 3090. I'm there. I keep coming back to this title and all the wonderful puzzles.

Anonymous
Anonymous

One of the best puzzle games for VR! Very clever and challenging puzzles, great atmosphere, beautiful meditative landscapes and relaxing sound, deep, thought provoking philosophical context. Often found myself just wandering around, enjoying nature, waterfalls, listening birds, viewing murals and statues, swimming and enjoying sunshine, especially in all this lockdown situation. Must play !!!

trapezoidpitch
trapezoidpitch

This is ridiculous. A blatant cash grab. The developers copy pasted the original game, and added VR support. Almost no effort required.
What if you wanted to try this game without VR? You would have to pay for the same game AGAIN to get the original game. The developers should have just added VR support to the original game.

Cruti
Cruti

Valve Index Controllers dont work properly....

pixelfairy
pixelfairy

Nice game, but belongs on a cell phone. Not vr.

Roasted1982
Roasted1982

I have not played the regular version but I thoroughly enjoyed the VR version. Great story, very well done VR implementation that doesn’t feel like a port, decent graphics, and fun puzzles. The puzzles range from easy to a few head scratchers but I was never stuck too long or frustrated. I happily spent 25 hours + in VR. I felt very slight discomfort if I cranked the movement speed to max and even then it was playable. At the default setting I had no issues.

lava loogie
lava loogie

great game! it's a little buggy I can glitch cubes through the wall but other than that it's a great game

zero
zero

The best game ever made, but now in VR :)
Minor issues:
- Maybe could have made a ladder climbing animation.
- probably should be classic movement by default.
- random glitches that are annoying, but manageable and nothing game breaking.

LadyZoe
LadyZoe

I was going to try this out as a fun VR experience as I really wanted something puzzle-like to just wander around in VR to get a handle of it. I have decided playing this game on VR as my first playthru would be a bad idea with how difficult it is JUST to get the game to look right. The flashing green problem is a common visual glitch on the VR edition, and while there are fixes for it, and I was able to fix it, I came upon new and more frustrating graphical glitches that have existed since this games VR release. Everything has this red and brown muted tinge to it. And there are solutions to this problem that work for people. I have tried these solutions and the problems persist for me. I cannot fix it. Graphics are not everything but when you're in a VR helmet and you want to get immersed into something and youre very aware of how the game doesn't look as its supposed to..it kind of ruins the fun.

I will be playing this on my PS4 instead. A real shame. I do not recommend this game unless they finally address these graphical problems.

kyran64
kyran64

DO. NOT. BUY. THIS. GAME.

This game is absolutely beautiful! I love the puzzles and the little bits of story I've uncovered are fascinating!

A bug in the game prevents moving beyond the first area. You reach an elevator, push the button and it just *buzzes* but never moves the elevator.

I've found multiple forums talking about it (including the community board here on steam). Croteam has known about it and apparently not bothered to fix it since 2019. The advice I've found is to just try pushing the button from different angles until it registers. I've tried pretty much every angle, depth of push, and quickness of push imaginable with zero luck. I emailed them for support 10 days ago with no response at all. Steam refuses to even consider a refund because I've played for more than two hours (most of that time spent backtracking thinking I must have missed something to unlock the elevator and they immediately close every ticket I send them asking them to communicate with me about WHY I'm asking for a refund.

Do. Not. Buy. This. Game.
At least, not for VR.
If you want to play it, look at the standard PC version instead (the two versions, VR and flatscreen are sold as completely separate products unlike almost every single other VR/flatscreen game available on Steam)

marcshepard
marcshepard

Fun puzzles, nice scenery - what's not to like?

Anghus McLeod
Anghus McLeod

The controls on the Valve Index are nigh unusable for how finicky, sensitive and unstable they are - its incredibly easy to find yourself flying across the map and facing a wall, or in range of a sphere or cannon. No amount of options tuning makes it comfortable to play.

Purplefizz
Purplefizz

Played on Valve Index

Wow. This game has really been amazing so far but this port to VR is simply revolting. Walking, picking up items, entering the gate-puzzles, interacting with ladders, all of it takes twice as long in VR than if you were to just play the original version of the game. This just feels a like a cash-grab with none of the attention to detail put into the original. This is not meant to be a fun experience, just to cash in on VR-Gimmicks.

Here is a solid piece of evidence for how bad the Port is based on the Steam achievements Global stats:
54% of players actually beat the first 1/4 of the standard game (The Land of Death Achievement)
9% of players actually beat the first 1/4 of the VR game (The Land of Death Achievement)
^^There is a reason that only 1/6 of the player base reaches this checkpoint in the the VR edition. Its because they get frustrated with the port and quit.

This is probably the best puzzle game I've played since Portal 2, but do yourself a favor and pick up the standard edition if you want to have a good time with it.

Zebre85
Zebre85

Great puzzles, story line, and all around feel. Definitely worth it!!

champloo
champloo

I just wanted a VR puzzle game. What I got was so much more...
It will make you think, and not just about puzzles. Highly recommended.

Ishvii
Ishvii

I never played the original game, but the VR version has made me want to try it out. For a VR game, it's pretty decent and it has everything I need; lots of graphics options, and the ability to move with teleport. Controls weren't perfect but they're ok. It's a fairly straightforward set of puzzles and translates well to VR. It's pretty, and has decent sound effects. Only get it on sale though; €35 is way too much.

Rune
Rune

As the years pass, maybe some of us including myself forget the glory of old gems. Like The Talos Principle in VR.

Recently I upgraded to a RTX 3090 and i9 10900K from a GTX 1080 and i7 7700K, and even if Talos Principle VR did work fine before, for the first time I could select Ultra settings for all graphics and res 200% - and get 90 fps.

Admitted, with those settings I'm not getting solid 90 fps - in extremely large locations I do go below 90 fps, but most places are 90 fps.

I was amazed with how awesome the graphics look - actually just played some DeMagnete, and the contrast coming to Talos VR was really great, like mind-blowingly great. Talos VR has close to Alyx graphics, and I don't state that lightly. Of course Alyx wins, but using Ultra settings in Talos VR the dynamic lights and shadows are fantastic. I guess texture quality isn't quite similar to Alyx, but Croteam adds a layer of additional details when you get close to textures - it looks amazing.

Your hands look great too - not better than Alyx with the gravity gloves, but apart from Alyx I'm not sure I can recall a game with much better VR hands :-)

In short - if you have just upgraded to a fast gpu, or if you have never tried Talos VR, this may be the best puzzle game you can get. Or close!

Ion
Ion

Like the other reviewers mention the Index controls on this game are just terrible. Why did they not offer a config option to change the grab action from grips to some other button I have no idea. Luckily I also own some Vive wands so I am using those to play it. This game was definitely designed to be played in non VR. It is still quite fun in VR but everything will be slightly harder to do in VR than non VR. That said I do still enjoy it in VR, the presence of being inside the world gives the game a new feeling. Overall I would recommend the game but if you have Index controllers be warned. They will not be an issue during the early puzzles but you will get frustrated at later points when you try and drop an object and pick it up on accident with the index sensitive grip controls.

rnlf
rnlf

The Talos Principle is a brilliant puzzle game. I'm not too comfortable with moving in VR and got quite a bit of motion sickness from it (despite it having all the typical comfort features). Sadly it's not possible to switch between regular and VR gameplay, making it hard to for me to play much in one session. Controlling is a bit fiddle in VR. Got the PS4 version instead now, which is much more to my liking.

VR version not really recommended, but the regular game is brilliant.

dudemack
dudemack

Overall I liked this game. There was some difficulty with using the Valve Index controllers as others have mentioned but I thought the game was interesting enough to plow through some of those frustrating parts where the controller configuration made it more difficult than it ought to have been. Most of the time that wasn't a problem. I've played through the game once and plan on playing through it again to see what the different endings are.

I thought it was good to see a game which included philosophical subjects. Although I was disappointed with some of the options that were given when interfacing with the computer that asks you the questions as I think there are often better answers than what was listed. I do realize though that it is a video game so they can't list everything. One of the things I thought incoherent was the games perspective is assuming philosophical naturalism. The mind doesn't even make sense in that kind of world. Would the virtual world exist if minds weren't there to create it in the first place? How would one get the mind from things that have no mind? Or math, reason, language, etc. Those things, while they have connections to the physical world, they are not subject to it. If the virtual world would not exist without human beings creating it, would not something similar apply to the universe?

laughbird
laughbird

A full puzzle game in VR.
The old ruins and Egyptian style architecture are majestic and fearsome.
Puzzle is fun.

I know as of 2021 there still are many full game in VR. This is one. If you enjoy puzzle game you would love it.

Eiggy
Eiggy

The Talos Principle is an excellent puzzle game, steeped heavily in philosophy and religion. This kind of experience is what VR should be used for. Putting yourself directly in makes all the themes hit even harder, and the visuals are beautiful.
I am quite biased, but seriously A7 is so beautiful it made me look up if there is any places like it in real life so I could hike there.

Wonderful game if you are prepared to stop and soak in the themes, and if you are like me and have already beaten this game in flat mode it's still worth having this more personal experience a second time around.

Worth full price if you have never played the game before, if you already own it in flat then I'd still recomend picking it up again once it's on sale.

Domgrief
Domgrief

This looks beautiful and the puzzle mechanics should suit VR really well. Unfortunately, the game requires a lot of (virtual) moving around, and wasn't comfortable to play in anything more than short bursts. I might finish it on a flat screen instead.

moogles
moogles

This game feels like it was made for VR. I had been considering playing it for years, but I'm glad I waited for the VR version. The puzzles are fun to solve for the first time in this immersive environment. My only complaint is that the default controls could be slightly better, I occasionally jump when trying to grab things.

ObeseCatLord
ObeseCatLord

I like this port. While VR may not add much to the actual gameplay as you can only carry one item at once, the visuals are pretty and it's very handy to freely position each item with your actual hands. If you have a VR headset I'd say that you should go for this version over the flat version.

ReBoot
ReBoot

I give up trying to fix this. Looks like it doesn't want to get fixed.

The first time I booted it up, it was pretty neat, actually. Well, the default control configuration had gripping & teleporting on the same input, but that's nothing that can't be fixed with Steam's capabilities.

Along came an update which screwed up controls royally. After that update, merely touching the sticks caused a teleport. Bad idea. Very bad idea.

So I've spent hours upon hours trying to fix that. Did you know that different 3D rendering APIs can affect input? Neither did I! Depending on the API, single-finger tracking works or doesn't. Either way, I wasn't able to get this game to control like it doesn't have a hangover.

Today, I had fresh motivation to take it upon me to tame this stubborn ass. Except it now doesn't even render in my Index. Tried to troubleshoot my system, tried a couple of other VR games, tried redownloading after deleting the local settinfs file, it's SOL all right.

Escondan
Escondan

good luck convince that nihilst brat it is not easy first try.

grant.whoville
grant.whoville

this game is a great puzzle game. it reminds me of portal 2. If you like puzzles this one is a must try.

STsung
STsung

The Talos Principle is a puzzle game with a story that asks philosophical questions about being human, life, death and eternal life.

You will wake up in a garden and hear the words of Elohim, god-like creature claiming to have created you, guiding you one of his children to a temple and telling you to pass different kind of tests.

You will learn that you should be collecting Sigils to progress. Each of these is at the end of a spatial puzzle. Each of the puzzles is taking place in a closed area that can often feel like a labyrinth. You will have to deal with forcefields, sentinels (some explode when you walk closer to them), laser guns, closed door etc. For that you can use one or more tools you will get on your journey. For example, one tool will allow you to redirect laser beams, other will disable a forcefield or stop a sentinel in its track. There is also a cube that you can use in various ways (climb, or use to put pressure on something) and a fan that allows you to get to difficult to access places for example. One of the weirdest tools is a recording device (when you need two people to solve the puzzle).

The Sigils you will be collecting have a form of a tetrimino and are used to unlock doors. You will unlock a way to other very distinct worlds. In each world there is a hub from which there are doors leading to other parts of that one world. There you have the individual puzzles rewarding you with the Sigils. The Sigils have different colors and the difficulty of the puzzles is also reflected in that. You will start with collecting Green and Yellow Sigils mostly and these puzzles are quite easy. The green ones are good introductory puzzles, yellow ones are about testing what you learned from the green ones. In the later stages of the game all you will be collecting are red tetriminos and it is where it starts to get complicated. While exploring the worlds and solving puzzles you might come across golden stars. Those you can also collect and will take you through a hidden door to other puzzles. In order to get a golden star you will have to think outside of the individual puzzles, you will often need tools from different puzzles. There are different ways how to solve these and are very fun. Actually sometimes you won't even see the star itself, you will just encounter something that's not supposed to be there and after you get there you will discover a star. All the puzzles are very satisfying to solve and the star challenges were really brilliant and often breathtaking. The names of the puzzles are something to pay attention to, especially if you get stuck because they will give you a hint.

One of the great things is also the fact that you don't need to do any of the puzzles in a certain order but you do need to collect specific tetriminos and certain amount of stars in order to open doors. It gives you freedom and also won't frustrate you if you get stuck. You can just go do different puzzles and come back (to realize how simple the solution was). All the puzzles are very well designed and while some need you to stack objects in a certain way you will mostly be thinking about how to effectively use the tools at your disposal since you've got a limited amount which is lower than the number of obstacles.

While exploring you will encounter QR messages from other children, audio logs, and (beeping) terminals. This is where the story part of the game takes places. When you hear a beeping sound and go closer you will discover a terminal on which you can read messages and articles from a corrupted archive and this way you will learn that something went terribly wrong. You will start asking yourself questions and later you will start a conversation with conscious artificial intelligence. It is here where most of the philosophical questions will be asked. This being will start questioning you and you will have to think hard how to answer. Your point of view will then be questioned and it is up to you whether you change your mind or not. The thing is, you are a robot while you think you are a human being, but are you?

You will start to think about mythology, eternal life, God, technology and (trans)humanity. Maybe you'll start pondering about your own future and the future of today's society. You will always be given a lot of time to ponder about all these questions and doing puzzles in the meantime. When you hear the next beep, you will most probably be ready for next encounter.

The conscious in the computer system will start making you doubt your creator - Elohim. You will most probably start questioning Elohim (hopefully because than the game will end prematurely) and start wondering what's at the top of the Tower which he forbid you to visit and will remind you of it whenever you start climbing up. If you decide to climb the tower you will learn even more and will still be able to decide what the outcome of the game will be.

I'm not entirely sure how to write about all that is going on in the game, I'm not that good of a writer. The experience is very unique and personal. The story is very deep, poses very important questions and everything is very well written. In all that there is even room for humor.

Even though I wanted to end the review here, I should also comment on graphics and sound. The game is very beautiful. The environments are large and I spent hours just walking around enjoying the view, the atmospherical effects and even tried to reach different places to see the environment from different point of views. This sometimes resulted in me stumbling upon a golden star. I had no problems with performance in VR and enjoyed a crystal clear and sharp textures all the time no matter how fast I moved or how close I was a wall. I was actually surprised how well the game looks on Rift because many games don't that great compared to Index. I would have never guessed this game is from 2014. Music and sound is excellent. Music is a delight and I'd just stand on the beach, watch the setting sun and listen to the music. The little voice acting there is, is impeccable - in terms of it makes you feel emotions and not many games I played achieved that.

Verdict:
I bought this game for the puzzles but very soon realized that it is not about the puzzles. While the game can be played just as a puzzle game, and very good one, you will miss a lot if you ignore the story. The story is philosophical, thought-provoking, well written. The game has a very good learning curve, is also well structured and offers even more challenging puzzles to hardcore players. The game environments are distinct, beautiful, breathtaking and simply serene. The music is soothing for the soul. In overall it is a perfect game.

carl_45671
carl_45671

pick up keys, bring keys to locked door, keys twist and dosent unlock door, cant progress since door wont open.

Anoran
Anoran

I wish I could request a refund for this, but unfortunately I left it for a while before finally trying it out. There's regret.

TLDR; I loved the original Talos Principle, but I cannot recommend this version. Read below for details.

For folks using the Valve Index controllers, the controls make the game unplayable, or at best, hugely frustrating.
In the teleport movement modes, picking up an object and teleporting are mapped to the same control (squeezing the grip). So half the time when you pick something up, you also teleport. It also happens when you drop stuff, sometimes. Cue annoyingly avoidable deaths caused by teleporting into hazards instead of picking up or putting objects down.

Tapping the touchpad will also teleport you. If you turn off "click to move" it teleports you whenever you barely touch the touchpad. There's no way to turn off teleportation from the touchpad. To be clear - you can teleport using way too many controls. Gripping either controller, both A buttons, both touchpads, both analog sticks. The trigger is completely unused.

It's really difficult to move to locations very close to you using the teleport, since it's not point-and-move. It's more like lobbing a ball high in the air and hoping it lands in the right spot.

The above is slightly offset if you use "Classic" movement mode, where you just spontaneously jump when manipulating objects. But this can make many people nauseous, and there's not even a setting to change the snap-angle for rotation (no continuous rotation either).

Graphics settings are... Glitchy. Setting GPU speed to "Ultra" and "Medium" work, but "High" and "Low" cause huge glitches (everything monochrome purple, or vanishing textures, etc). Mixed Reality settings can crash your headset entirely (even on a Windows MR headset).

There's individual finger tracking... But it doesn't actually do anything.

The list goes on...

Jivago
Jivago

Awesome puzzle game, one of the best i've ever played.

ren
ren

i feel le peace playing this game, very cool and noice

Aurien Titus
Aurien Titus

If you know people with motion sickness issues this isn't the game. Comfort settings mean nothing then barely touching any stick not perfectly right or left sends you teleporting. Nothing like teleporting every time you turn. That'll help with the motion sickness right?

dbPieter
dbPieter

As if regular Talos Principle didn't give me an existential crisis already

Shiverwarp
Shiverwarp

Enjoyed this game a lot more than I expected to. If you enjoy the puzzle aspects of Portal you'll have a great time. The mechanics of the puzzles are obviously different, but it's the same kind of thinking and enjoyment from solving them

The story is much more background, but it does a good job of setting the mood and feeling if you're reading through the texts.

The game is obviously a port for VR, so some things feel a little weird (inability to duck under objects, strange snapping when trying to set objects in certain places, and for index controls bizarrely a grabbing motion will both grab and jump and from what I can tell you can't change it)

However it's one of the VR games that I've actually spent a lot more time in than I would have thought. It's compelling, and despite some eccentricities the controls are very customizable and overall pleasant.

Very enjpyable. If you're in the mood for puzzles it's a must play

sacreo
sacreo

Excellent VR experience, and just a fantastic game in general.

Xeondeco
Xeondeco

solid vr puzzle game no bugs n such all runs very nicely n looks good. took me under 5 hours to finish with a friend tho so ide pick it up on sale

SasaFraz
SasaFraz

WARNING DO NOT BUY IF YOU USE WMR.

When i first got it it worked but updates have made it black screen straight away

and i cant get a refund so i have a dead unsupported game in my library

lovely waste of cash

Han
Han

I loved this game on flat screen and it is even better in VR. I am playing it all over again and having so much fun.

DeathCruz
DeathCruz

Portal of VR. Except there is actually No Portals. hehe

yckmciaiy
yckmciaiy

Same game, but on VR, not bad, but quite old already

Captain Casual
Captain Casual

This may be a bit -stream of consciousness-, but well, now that i'm done crying my eyes out at the "true" ending, i feel i have to let the world know about this game. Late to the party, i know, and what can i say about this game that hasn't been said? Not much, i think.

Look, here's the deal: This isn't my -favourite- game, now. It's mechanically fairly simple, and the presentation isn't gonna blow you away. Nice sound, both VA and music, but yeah.

However, in terms of it's context? In terms of the themes, the meaning, the story behind the game? I believe in my very heart that while it's not the -best- game ever made, it IS the most -important- game to be released to date, on a philosophical level.

I don't want to sound pretentious, but if you are a being with any capacity for conscious thought beyond surface level, you absolutely owe it to yourself to play this. It may be humbling, or perhaps enlightening, depending on where you stand. The world needs more people who have had experiences like this.

From what i can tell, it's identical to the non-VR version in content, so if you're not sure, perhaps go for that one. I'm reviewing this one because i only play VR games, these days. (A sequel to this might be an exception to that rule. It's been announced, but who knows if there'll be a VR version of it.)

So.... yeah. Late to this party, but still, i feel i need to sing it the highest praises possible. Buy this. Or buy the non-VR version.

Sandwich Thief
Sandwich Thief

This is one of my favorite VR-ported games as a brilliant and masterfully made puzzle game.

GarcanMTY
GarcanMTY

Hasn't worked properly for the Reverb G2 in over a year, don't buy. Threads older than a year report the same issue I have, devs are not interested in fixing.

greenunicorns
greenunicorns

It's pretty nice looking for a port, and the controls are pretty good too. The puzzles are pretty simple, but they are engaging enough. Some of the levels seem extremely easy, even toward the end. The islands are nice to look at, walking around slowly and taking it in is pretty nice. The story did not do anything for me, and I stopped interacting with the weird computer terminals, audio logs, and QR codes, none of that seemed very interesting. Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance. For me, the puzzles, atmosphere, and level of polish are enough to make it a thumbs up though.

spæcε.göat.v1.3.37
spæcε.göat.v1.3.37

This was a really good port, I never played the 2d but it was one of the first devs that I recall that really took the time to do VR controls right when back then everyone was kinda just throwing teleport as the only mode. Plus the graphics are really pretty for a game it's age

havent beaten it just cause im not a puzzle guy- I have to be in a mood for it, but when I was, it was fun
the cmd / console portions where kinda boring since you just stand there in VR but they were ok for story telling

overall i would recommend if you like puzzles, and if not maybe get on sale

Dani Filth
Dani Filth

This game has interesting puzzles (particularly in Road to Gehenna), some genuinely funny writing (again, mostly in Road to Gehenna), and potent philosophical themes and musings. Essentially, the game discusses the end of the world, immortality through memories, the nature of AI and consciousness, and what it all means.

All of this is wrapped up in a package of neat puzzles solved entirely in a 3D space from a first-person perspective, relying on interacting with the environment through perspective puzzles with lasers, basic topology-based puzzles with jammers, a time travel/parallel universe gimmick, and a bunch of other stuff. Unfortunately, most of the puzzles in the base game are mindlessly easy (coming from Stephen's Sausage Roll and The Witness, anyway) but Road to Gehenna provides some challenging and truly ingenious puzzles. Overall, the puzzle-solving is fun, and occasionally truly challenging (hence, rewarding).

So yeah, I would recommend this game to people who like waxing philosophical (like myself) and simple puzzles. The graphics and sound are pretty, and there is also some exploration with finding hidden/hard-to-reach stars, but it's not particularly interesting.

Kartopery
Kartopery

Excellent gameplay, and a piece of art with something interesting to say. Some puzzles can be a little tough to figure out (mechanics I didn't realize were available to me), but well worth the time!

небогореть
небогореть

It's a good VR port, and a fun puzzle game, the religious perspective aspect is a huge part of the game so come packing

Papa Sid
Papa Sid

Every human society in recorded history has games. We don't just solve problems out of necessity. We do it for fun. Even as adults. Leave a human being alone with a knotted rope and they will unravel it. Leave a human being alone with blocks and they will build something. Games are part of what makes us human. We see the world as a mystery, a puzzle, because we've always been a species of problem-solvers.

Decadent
Decadent

Fantastic game !!
This is how to convert a flatscreen game to VR.
Everything just works , it looks great and play great.