The Talos Principle

The Talos Principle is a first-personpuzzle video game created by the Croatian developer Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It was simultaneously released on Linux, OS X and Windows on 11 December 2014. It was released for the Android platform on 28 May 2015, and was released on PlayStation 4 on 13 October 2015.

The game features a philosophical storyline; it takes its name from Talos of the Greek mythology, a giant mechanical man who protected Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders.

Gameplay

The Talos Principle is a narrative-device puzzle game, played from a first-person perspective, although the Serious Engine also includes the option to switch to a third-person perspective. The player takes the role of a robot with a seemingly human consciousness as they explore a number of environments that include over 120 puzzles. These environments interlock greenery and stone ruins with futuristic technology.

Talos

In Greek mythology, Talos (/ˈteɪlɒs/;Greek: Τάλως, Talōs) or Talon (/ˈteɪlɒn, ən/; Greek: Τάλων, Talōn) was a giant automaton made of bronze to protect Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders. He circled the island's shores three times daily.

Alternatively Talos could be figured as a sacred bull. His bronze nature suggested to the author of Bibliothēkē that he may have been a survivor from the Age of Bronze, a descendant of the brazen race that sprang from meliae "ash-tree nymphs" according to Argonautica 4. The conception that Hesiod's men of the Age of Bronze were actually made of bronze is extended to men of the age of gold by Lucian for humorous effect.

The pseudo-Platonic dialogue Minos rationalized the myth, thrice yearly showing at each village in turn the laws of Minos inscribed on brass tablets.

History

According to Brian A. Sparkes, "The most detailed treatment in literature is to be found in the Argonautica ... however, we have detailed images of the episode, 150 years earlier, dated to around 400 BC."