“What differentiates a story from the real world, or a simulation?” ask developer Croteam in a very Baudrillardy way in their announcement post for The Talos Principle 3. “The real world goes on and on, but a story must have a clear beginning, middle, and end. And so the Talos Principle, a story we have worked on for more than a decade, must also come to an end.” Sad! But they’re right, all things must end.
The reveal trailer for the puzzle game threequel (and “final chapter” of the series) presents exactly what you might expect of it. Strange, hyper-realisticly detailed, futuristic and ancient looking locals filled with iRobot-esque automatons wandering around. Its Steam page explains things a bit further: “As if awakening from a troubled sleep, you find yourself in a strange, contradictory world of crumbling temples and abandoned science outposts: the Anomaly, the only place in the universe where the laws of physics don’t work as they should. Your memories are fragmented, but you know you came here for a reason.” I did say only a bit.
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In the handful of screenshots available on Steam the game also looks quite beautiful too, its Mystian lineage fully on display here with vibrant, otherworldly landscapes. I don’t always love games that lean realistic in their aesthetic, though I think I can make an exception here with a vibe that looks like the ultimate realisation of classic FMV adventure games of old. Couldn’t tell you the first thing about how good the puzzles are, we’ll have to wait a while longer on that front.
Croteam also note in their announcement post that, like how the second game wasn’t the same as the first, “this last game in the series will be unique in its own ways. But we’ve poured all the same love and consideration into this chapter as we have into the others, building the future world humanity created for itself after the events of Talos II, the mysterious place called the Anomaly, and of course the ingenious new puzzles you’ll have to solve, featuring a host of new mechanics.”
No release date attached to this one just yet outside of sometime “next year,” but you can wishlist it on Steam in the meantime.
