And all the while, a 'snake' inside these computer terminals continues to ask you questions - Who are you? How do you know you're human? What does that even mean? - to get you to doubt your own, deeply rooted beliefs. The puzzles you're solving are actually tests created by the institute to instill a sense of cognitive reasoning and logical deduction in the artificial intelligence they created. You learn that the human race died off a long time ago thanks to a terrible plague - Was it hundreds of years ago? Thousands? - and an institute of scientists were working to preserve humanity by researching a way to transfer consciousness and knowledge into a robotic body. These terminals, you learn, house an immense wealth of human knowledge and experience, from news reports, to the writings of philosophers like Immanuel Kant, to blogs, forum posts, and Jeff Goldblum jokes. But as you play and interact with other terminals that you find, you discover more clues that start to piece together the mystery of where you are, what your purpose is. In fact, you don't even discover you’re a robot until you access the first computer terminal and see your metal hands clacking away at the keyboard. It's also one of the most mature games I've ever played. Maybe there's a swear word or two in there somewhere. It's rated "Everyone 10+" by the ESRB for "mild violence" - basically, there are a few obstacles you'll come across in your puzzle solving that will 'kill' your robot body, sending you back to the start of the puzzle. It's written by Tom Jubert and Jonas Kyratzes, writers known for their work on contemplative games like The Swapper and The Infinite Ocean, respectively. Meanwhile, Croteam's latest game, The Talos Principle, is essentially a 180-degree turn. They're the posterchild for the term 'mindless shooter'. These games are rated "M for Mature" in North America by the ESRB for their cartoonishly ludicrous levels of hyperviolence. Croteam is a small, independent studio best known for a series of games called Serious Sam first-person shooters that harken back to a simpler era of games, where all you needed were big guns, bigger explosions, and headless goons that charge screaming at you full bore while holding two Looney Tunes-sized bombs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |