20 February 2026

The Hidden 90 OpenCritic Game with Mind-Bending Mechanics (That Will Make You Rethink Portal)

By newsgame

Portal is still one of the greatest puzzle platformers of the 2000s. Not only was it revolutionary at the time, but it’s still just as fun today. It’s been nearly 20 years since Portal was released, and its mind-bending approach to puzzles and world exploration has been incredibly influential. Games like Portal are hard to come by, but titles like Antichamber, The Turing Test, Superliminal, and The Stanley Parable all have a hint of the groundbreaking puzzle game in them.

As great as those games are, the best one to take Portal‘s general puzzle concept and make it its own is The Talos Principle. When it comes to environmental puzzles, The Talos Principle wears its Portal influence on its sleeve. However, the puzzles are almost secondary to the deep and philosophical story that turns The Talos Principle into a thought-provoking exercise focused on what it actually means to be human.

The Talos Principle Asks Players to Question Humanity and Consciousness Itself

I love a good puzzle platformer, but what originally drew me to The Talos Principle was its philosophical questions and religious references. The game came out in 2014, but I played it a few years after its initial launch. By that time, I was deep in college and had finally decided on a major: Philosophy and Religious Studies. Therefore, The Talos Principle seemed like the perfect game to play at the time, and it turns out that I was right. To this day, The Talos Principle is a game unlike any other that I’m grateful to have picked up when I did. Not only is The Talos Principle one of the best puzzle games around, it can completely change how a player views life.

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A Thought Exercise That Evolves Into Deep Existentialism

Players start the game as an unnamed android that wakes up in a Garden of Eden-like environment. A disembodied voice called Elohim serves as a guide throughout the game. Elohim has created a variety of worlds for the android to explore with only one rule: don’t enter the large tower at the center. The Talos Principle‘s references to the Genesis story from the Abrahamic religions are immediately made clear. There’s a powerful, all-knowing creator, a new creation left to its own devices, and a forbidden area. There are some good games that deal with religion, but The Talos Principle is one of the most layered approaches.

Every God Needs Its Satan

Elohim isn’t the only character that tries to guide The Talos Principle‘s robot protagonist in a certain direction, though. The Milton Library Assistant is a computer program that can have conversations with players. It’s quickly obvious that The Milton Library Assistant serves as the “Satan” to Elohim’s god-like role. The computer program encourages the android to always question Elohim. Over the course of the game, The Talos Principle deals with deep questions regarding free will, the potential existence of a soul, and the nature of humanity. Obeying and trusting authority or breaking away and carving a new path is the central decision, and it can lead to different endings.

Even Without Its Heavy Philosophical Questions, The Talos Principle’s Puzzles Are In a League of Their Own

Philosophical and religious questions aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. Thankfully, The Talo Principle‘s puzzles stand out as some of the best in the genre. These puzzles aren’t just challenging. They’re inventive, encourage experimentation, and are deeply rewarding once figured out. Even though The Talos Principle is incredibly reminiscent of Portal with this feature, it doesn’t feel like a copycat approach.

At first, the puzzles may feel very Portal-like, mostly because of the use of lasers, but The Talos Principle takes these mechanics and makes them its own. That’s a lot easier said than done, but this philosophically-charged puzzle game achieves this, carving out a unique identity that doesn’t just make it feel like a Portal clone. There are over 120 puzzles just in the base game, and they can be approached however a player likes. Since The Talos Principle explores the concept of free will, it’s a non-linear game that lets the player decide which puzzle is approached next.

The Talos Principle has one DLC called Road to Gehenna that is harder than the base game. Its sequel, The Talos Principle 2, was released in 2023 and also has one DLC; Road to Elysium.

The Talos Principle is a Brilliant Reminder That Video Games Are a Great Platform to Tell Deep Stories

When it was first released, The Talos Principle just seemed like an interesting new puzzle game. However, the developers at Croteam saw this genre as an opportunity to confront players with some of life’s biggest questions. It’s a wild way to bring up subjects like faith and free will, but that’s also what makes it so endearing. In recent years, some of the most thought-provoking stories have been found in video games. Video games with deep stories help showcase that this medium isn’t just a fun pastime. It’s a fantastic art form that can teach people the complexities of life.

Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last of Us, and God of War all deal with heavy themes. What’s so impressive about The Talos Principle is that it doesn’t just raise existential questions; it makes it fun and engaging. As much as I love philosophy, there are even times when my eyes glaze over when trying to learn new concepts. Balancing fun gameplay with heavy themes is not simple, but The Talos Principle absolutely nails it. Yes, the puzzles are pretty complex and often require significant brain power, but it’s not so hard that the fun is sucked out of the experience. The Talos Principle turns existential questions into something participatory instead of feeling like a lecture. Portal is a groundbreaking puzzle game, but gamers who are searching for a title that boasts greater difficulty and is more logic-based may find The Talos Principle to be a more worthwhile experience. Portal is a thrilling fast-paced approach to puzzles, but The Talos Principles makes players sit and think about both the obstacles and what it means to be human.