#macintrosh

The Talos Principle

After Serious Sam 3 released, Croteam put out a short little experiment with various mechanics they were toying with for a possible Serious Sam 4. People liked what they had, but they also didn’t feel like these were gameplay elements that belonged in an explosive mob shooter. The team ended up making complicated puzzles with these new development toys, so the team decided to make a new IP that would allow them to go all out with this, putting Serious Sam 4 on the back burner awhile longer. Croteam even brought on two new writers, Tom Jubert (who was the narrative designer for Driver: San Francisco) and Jonas Kyratzes, a German indie game developer and writer. The latter did such a great job with this new game that he landed lead writer for Serious Sam 4, and he more than earned it. 

The game that resulted was The Talos Principle, the most critically acclaimed game Croteam have ever put out, and a steady seller for years due to the shift to puzzles giving it a completely different audience appeal from Serious Sam, something that wasn’t just an event to front load but something unique that caught tons of word of mouth over time. This is kind of funny because there’s a ridiculous amount of Serious Sam DNA left over, ranging from the near exact level of movement from Serious Sam 3 to reused graphical assets and even sound effects, including the iconic kamikaze yell. Even the minigun laser turrets from SS3 make a return. In play and narrative, however, it is indeed a completely different beast and arguably one of the best puzzle games made in the past decade.