The Talos Principle 2

Цифровой монастырь из первой части разожрался до постчеловеческой цивилизации: город роботов, совет мудрецов, общественные дискуссии, экспедиции по островам, древние машины и гигантские e6aные сооружения посреди прекрасного нигде. Игра выглядит как красивая научно-фантастическая прогулка по руинам исчезнувшего человечества, а потом превращается в философский консилиум железных людей, которые спорят о смысле жизни так, будто им завтра сдавать квартальный отчет перед Богом, Ньютоном и отделом экзистенциальной безопасности. Самый подлый фокус Talos Principle 2 в масштабе: первая игра давила камерной стерильностью, а тут тебя засовывают в целую цивилизацию, где роботы построили новый мир, axyeли от собственного разума и позвали тебя таскать кубы ради будущего вида. Ты снова бедная лабораторная тварь на службе у пазлов: соединяешь лазеры, управляешь клонами, меняешь тела местами, открываешь двери и делаешь вид, что пришел за истиной, хотя на практике тебя просто оформили стажером в постчеловеческий отдел смысла жизни.

im gonna go against the grain here and say this game is a dissapointement. talos 1 is one of the best games ever made with an amazing atmosphere and story. and then we get the millenial writters making this game with just awful dialogue and non sensical story. some stuff legit make 0 sense how it could be possible and never gets answered! now the puzzles were 90% way too easy! and the rest confusngly hard wich makes again no sense. by the 70% mark i thought about stopping because i wasnt really enjoying it anymore it was a drag to finish and will porbably not play the 3rd game. they shouldnt have made a 2nd game and stopped at 1 it didnt need anything more added the tower ending was perfect and left you wanting more wich doesnt mean you should make a sequel qhen i guarantee you there were no plans for one when making the first game. anyway my rating 6/10

its rare that i venture out on a limb and say a game experience is transcendent of the medium, but the exploration of philosophy in this game is so much greater than a simple theme for a puzzle game. there is an unexpectedly superb and sophisticated player choice/morality/personality system with an in-universe explanation and a cast of an entire society based on it. on top of that these puzzles are fantastic, easily portal tier but theres more of them. if you've never heard of this series you honestly dont know what you're missing here, truly an outstanding work in the artform of video games.

解密游戏的部分我就不谈了，这边主要聊一下作品剧情中的哲学讨论。 剧情上还挺好的承接了上一部，并且故事无疑不像第一部那么抽象，基本能看懂在说什么了。 先说一下涉及到最主要的一个普罗米修斯的神话故事。泰坦普罗米修斯的名字意为“先知”，而其弟弟厄毗米修斯意为“后觉”。普罗米修斯给人类带来了火种这件事触怒了宙斯，一方面把普罗米修斯绑到高山上永世让鹰啄食内脏，另一方面，为了惩罚人类，命令火神赫菲斯托斯制造出第一个女人“潘多拉”，并被众神（雅典娜也干了）赋予各种属性（潘多拉即具有一切天赋之意）。作为礼物，潘多拉被送给了厄毗米修斯。尽管普罗米修斯告诫过弟弟不要收宙斯的礼物，但还是被潘多拉的美貌诱惑收下了。潘多拉随身携带一个陶罐，尽管宙斯假装提醒过她不要打开，但是由于众神赋予她的好奇心还是打开了，于是从陶罐中飞出疾病、瘟疫、痛苦、嫉妒、贪婪、仇恨、战争，使得原本太平的人世间出现各种灾难。当她反应过来关上陶罐时，里面唯独只剩下希望。 先说一句，古代的神话故事经常被现代心理学家，比如荣格，看作是研究人类集体无意识的素材。你可以说神话都是那时人类编造出来的故事，但这种编造过程是对人类自身的一种客观反映。 结合游戏内容，普罗米修斯盗火实际上暗喻着人类从懵懂的无意识到诞生出自我意识的过程。从名字可以看出来普罗米修斯兄弟俩象征着人类自身意识一体两面，一边是有计划有预测能力的理性，另一方面是后知后觉的感性。一个很有意思的说法是，一些学者考究像在荷马史诗中，看不到描述人类心理活动的描写，同时有的是神直接与对话。于是有了一种猜想，在那个时代，人类的自我意识还未萌芽，人并不认为一些决策是自己想出来的，而是“听到神的指示”，这实际上是一种与自身无意识的对话。而随着时间推移，人们才逐渐开始意识到自己在思考，与此同时伴随着的是众神的沉默。 而众神的愤怒并不来自于众神，反而是当众神沉默，人类第一次要自己思考自身的未来时所面临的迷惘，恐惧，以及犯下的种种错误。可以说火种与潘多拉魔盒也是一体两面的。结合游戏中的各种文本，人类常常会对自然有一种没有理由的倾向，什么自然的都是好的，相应的，人类的科技进步与社会变革总被认为是邪恶的，伴随着各种恐慌。这也对应着游戏中主动的乐观主义与消极的悲观主义者之辩。可以看出来这种依恋自然的背景下觉醒自我意识是一件阻力重重的事，即便现如今绝大多数人也没有独立思考的能力，人类的自我觉醒还有漫长的道路。（第一部游戏也是讲的自我觉醒的故事）而道路的终点是什么我们不得而知，这种未知也是恐惧的来源。唯物史观把社会发展看做客观规律可以说淡化了人的主观能动性，相反的把客观规律升格为人类意志的体现一方面要求我们积极主动的思考自身未来，另一方面也讲这个沉重的包袱背在了身上。 在游戏中，通过引入Theory of Everything进一步暴露这个问题的张力。（翻译成万物论我觉得很难受，应该叫终极理论。而且游戏显然是夸大了幻想。现实中即便理论物理实现了什么大统一理论之类的，在人类寿命的范围内恐怕也可不可能赋予人类在工程学天翻地覆的能力）在现如今的世界，人类还总是需要为了生存做这个做那个，生存繁衍就为回答人应该做什么提供了一种自然的目标。（当然这种目标也不是无可非议的，不过选择另一种的也不存在于世界了，可以说是一种类似我思故我在的论证。）但是当人类的力量达到了可以任意操控外界时，人类意志前所未有的可以压倒一切自然条件之时，原本就存在的“人应该做什么”的真空被无限放大。另一方面，由于人类意志的比重增加，所能产生的破坏性后果也越发严重，米兰达的事故就是一个例子。这个问题也就是雅典娜所迷惘的点。 对于“人应该做什么”，游戏中给出了各种回答，比如让世界更美丽（按照人类自身的标准），为所有动物乃至生物谋求福利，为荒诞的没有意志的宇宙赋予意义，或者仅仅是存在。当然游戏中的Theory of Everything是一种理想模型，实际的情况是人类大概永远也不会有theory of everything，而是一种西西弗斯式无穷无尽的过程。那么认识世界（也包括自我）本身也可以作为人类的一个终极目标。 游戏名所说的塔罗斯法则，说实话我其实一直没太懂。似乎是说当物质系统拥有一定复杂结构之后，就可以从中涌现出意识，其行为服务于其目的。这一点不光局限于人类或机器人，也拓展为城市，整个人类社会乃至宇宙都可以涌现出意识。另一方面提到自然界本身是没有意志的，天灾的出现并不是什么神明的惩罚或者恶，仅仅是客观规律如此，而人类试图用自身的意志来理解自然界变诞生了荒诞。一种调和的方法是尽管talos法则可以延拓到自然界，其所涌现的意志远远和人类意志不在一个维度。又或许，这就是赋予宇宙意义的出发点。

As a puzzle game I do not find Talos the Second to be particularly enjoyable, rather it comes across as.. tiresome. Tiresome to get from puzzle to puzzle, tiresome to walk about the puzzles themselves. While puzzle difficulty is going to be different for everyone, most puzzles don't seem to go much beyond their initial tutorial premise - and there is a mechanic to bypass them if they do get in your way. Overall too.. simple. Too formulaic. "We need twelve sectors, and twelve puzzles in each one. Fill 'er up." The gall to even consider following a floating orb across the landscape a puzzle or an activity worth doing. Talos II seems to be more about everything surrounding the puzzles. Wonderful environments, arguably excessively large environments, to emphasise considering the beauty of nature and force time to consider what the characters are discussing. The entire premise of what you are. Including and building upon the considerations of the first game. All the world building around the puzzles is enrapturing. The philosophy aspect can be difficult to encapsulate. Sometimes it feels like it goes beyond a simple 'is the thinking and feeling robot in front of you a person' level, other times for all its words and presentation, is it really? Some aspects are brushed on without trying to prompt any further discussion, or sometimes you might just be internally exhausted by the accusations of hubris by a certain pink robot. The point could be to go through the motions, to go through the discussions, and feel whatever you feel. At least your options of response are -usually- not just binary extremes. ..If only it was more fun.

前作是我最喜欢的解谜游戏，没想到续作开发成了真正的剧情游戏。 依然很喜欢本系列令人心情平静而充满哲思的氛围，文本中很多对人类文明及人性的思辨都相当好。 解谜难度较一代有所上升。 剧情方面，故事的重点在于“是否要因为上一个文明的毁灭而限制新文明的发展”，以及“神化缔造者与自我成长”。虽然情节难免落入“爱与真相能拯救一切”的老生常谈，但过程中还是有不少有价值的讨论。而且本作的人物塑造非常惊喜，个性十足的新人类时刻进行着观点碰撞，却又共同维护着一个理性、包容的环境。（真令人怀念很多年前的网络环境。） 还有谁来懂一下拜伦/阿尔卡特兹这对……

I really enjoyed the first The Talos Principle, and this sequel impressed me even more. The semi-open zone structure adds a welcome sense of exploration that I really appreciated. The environments are varied, often beautiful, and each area brings its own atmosphere, keeping the experience fresh throughout. At its core, the game is still about puzzles. I found them well balanced overall: not too easy, but rarely overly difficult. The “gold puzzles” provide a more serious challenge for those looking for it. The game flows smoothly, making it very enjoyable to play. Narrative plays a major role, with plenty of dialogue and choices. The game continues its philosophical approach, exploring themes like society, consciousness, and existence through ideas inspired by various philosophical and mythological influences. It’s a real highlight. Overall, an excellent sequel that I would easily recommend to anyone who enjoys puzzle games and narrative-driven experiences.

A lobotomized gorilla could solve these puzzles.