The Talos Principle 2

Enjoyed the megastructure and brutalist architecture a lot in this game. Difficulty in puzzles felt random instead ramping up over time. Had to resort to guides on multiple occasions. Overall enjoyed.

After finishing the first game, I put it in my top 10 favorite games without a second thought. Naturally, my expectations for the sequel to a game I loved so much were pretty high. The Talos Principle 2 certainly is a amazing game but I guess I was hoping for a bit more. Almost all the mechanics from the first game make a return and they've added a ton of new ones on top of that. Normally, this sounds like a great thing but the game is actually quite stingy when it comes to using them. There are 12 areas in total and we are introduced to a new mechanic in every single one except the last. For some reason, whenever you finish an area and move on to the next, the game completely tosses the previous mechanics in the trash and focuses entirely on the new one. This loop continues throughout the whole game and it annoyed me quite a bit. Since they didn't fully utilize the potential of these mechanics, I got the impression they were added just for the sake of variety. Additionally, there's a serious drop in puzzle difficulty. The first game wasn't incredibly hard either but it wasn't this easy. Another criticism I have is the distance between the levels. They placed the puzzles in massive maps but since there is absolutely nothing interesting going on in these areas, all you end up doing is walking from one puzzle to the next. It's not a dealbreaker flaw but I still wanted to point it out because it bothered me a bit in the beginning. If there's one thing that is a step up from the first game, it's that the map themes are completely distinct. It really helps keep the game feeling fresh. I can't think of much else to say. Aside from the issues I mentioned above, I thoroughly enjoyed playing it. I'm thinking of writing a separate review for the DLC too. In my opinion, the first game is still better. I definitely recommend giving this one a try too if you enjoyed first game or like any other puzzle game.