PS5

Published on July 6th, 2024 | by Brent Thomas

Talos Principle 2 Road to Elysium DLC Review (PS5) @Croteam @devolverdigital

Intro

Croteam’s Talos Principle series holds a special place in my heart. Playing through the first game, its DLC and Talos Principle 2 are up there as an introspective and philosophical experience for me. The series has a unique ability to combine cerebral puzzle solving and craft an immersive world that helps ponder many of humanity’s questions and themes around consciousness, sentience, and relationships.

If you are a fan of games such as the Portal series, Outer Wilds and the Witness, then the whole Talos Principle series and its DLC is a must play. Talos Principle 1 tells the story of a simulation created by humans attempting to carry on their consciousness after a virus wiped out humanity. Very relevant to current real-world advances and ethical discussions around AI. Solving puzzles to demonstrate your sentience and problem solving ability are key elements throughout the first game and its much harder DLC. Talos Principle 2 then explores themes relating to companionship, civilisation sized debates and where society fits amongst the vast cosmos.

I was hopeful for this extra DLC challenge to continue in the Road to Elysium after completing everything the Talos Principle 2 had to offer. I thoroughly enjoyed the sequel, so was hopeful for a bigger challenge and further expansion of the story. The Road to Elysium absolutely delivers this and more!

Overview and Gameplay

The Road to Elysium picks up where the Talos Principle 2 left off with 3 separate sections. Since it’s release in November 2023, the game has also been updated with further Easter Eggs and a fantastic photo mode to showcase the meticulously crafted environments and atmosphere.

On PS5 the game’s performance mode performs to a largely locked 60fps in stunning HDR. This enables the player vast exploration of the world’s detailed environment between solving more puzzles. Existing tools and mechanics from the base game are expanded upon greatly and to mind bending effect.

Croteam’s ability to create an immersive atmosphere continues with excellent ambience, an emotional soundtrack and voice acting that perfectly evokes a sense of wonder, awe and immersion.

Orpheus Ascending

We play as 1k to solve harder laser puzzles in a new way, with a great throwback to Talos Principle 1’s Egyptian theme and ancient ruins amongst a luscious tropical desert. To complete many of these puzzles requires an understanding of the laser’s logic and exploiting signal strength or connections. Some puzzles I was able to solve immediately and a few other required me to question and test my understanding of how lasers work.

The story of Hypatia and Sarabhai explores love and death. To fully unpack the story required enjoyable exploration between puzzles to find each terminal and document, social media post, QR code optional dialogue between 1K and the other characters. The final world puzzle Heart of Anubis was a great payoff for completing the initial 16 puzzles and then further challenge of the final 3 gold puzzles!

Isle of the Blessed

We play as Yaqut on a rich and vibrant beach environment. The structure of this part of the DLC closely mimics the base game, is set in the “real world.” It includes return of Sphynx monument puzzles and Prometheus flames. The difficulty gradually ramps up as you complete each of the red, blue and green areas to light their prospective towers.

Again, I took my time to explore every piece of story and optional dialogue in the gorgeous Isle theme, the kind of area you don’t want to finish exploring! The puzzles gradually ramp up in difficulty putting known tools such as wormholes, fans and jammers to interesting and creative uses. Overall, the balance of difficulty, puzzle design and mechanics are top tier. The final world Hexahedron puzzle was a fantastic payoff of epic scale and size.

Into The Abyss

I certainly got what I wished for in the base game for harder puzzles. The final of 3 DLC areas turns the difficulty up to 10 as we play as Byron. I had a lot of fun working through it’s intricate world that explored what happened to Byron during his disappearance in the base game. I would definitely recommend playing through each DLC area in order, saving Into the Abyss for Last! Certain puzzles were deceptively hard (NB: simplicity is the ultimate sophistication) and the Eureka or “aha” moment when you finally solve a puzzle previously stumped on is so rewarding! Multiple puzzles required me to take a break, thinking I had no idea how to solve them- only to return the next day and somehow attack them from a different angle, resulting in a satisfying solution.

The world’s atmosphere and memorable, moody music shine to help Byron explore Athena’s mind. The narrative and character’s dialogue are presented so well that it often gets you to question your own beliefs and biases- very difficult to do in any type of media.

Overall Conclusion

The Road to Elysim is exactly what you want in a DLC. More mind bending puzzles and challenges, a deep story and fantastic, varied world building and atmosphere. The stunningly detailed environment and solid 60fps performance help create an immersive and extremely enjoyable world to explore between puzzles. I would have loved to see a return of the mines and recorder mechanic, but maybe we could have this in a 3^rd Talos Principle game?  I can only hope for the series to continue!

There is a massive amount of content and Croteam could have easily charged double the price for the DLC and it would still be excellent value.

If you are reading this review and haven’t played the Talos Principle series, do yourself a favour and play all the way through this incredible series. The Road to Elysium is a must purchase DLC for those who have finished the Talos Principle 2’s base game. More puzzles, more storey and much more difficulty.

Pros

Further expansion of core puzzle gameplay

Stunning graphics

Incredible world, lore and environment

Immersive atmosphere, sound and voice acting

Fantastic value

Cons

Some puzzles are extremely hard (but this is also a pro for veterans of the series)

(All screenshots captured using photo mode on PS5 during my playthrough)

About the Author

Brent Thomas Brent loves the competitive aspect aspect of video games whether its first person shooters, esports games or improving runs in roguelikes and soulslikes. Outside of tech he can be found training for running events and watching Formula 1.

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