Recent reviews by dmantacos

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ they did it again. This game takes the reputation of one of the most celebrated games in the puzzle genre and somehow elevates it even further. If they add community map support this could very easily compete with the portal series for best game in the genre. Here's hoping.

9/10. needs more shadowheart

Really interesting and fun game, breathes completely new life and new gameplay into a classic. I hope they add community map creation support. The 25 maps are really good and well thought out but i can see myself playing a lot more.

Most of the negative reviews mention the tedium of portals in the past affecting portals in the future. That seems like more of a gripe with the human experience of time than the developers of the game, but i do think there was a bit of a missed opportunity for mechanics in that regard. no puzzles required you to change a future portal in the past, you mostly only worked with portals in either the past or the future at any given moment. I also would have liked a few more momentum based puzzles, but overall really great game and I think community map support would open so many doors for some crazy puzzles.

Pros:
- Graphics are great
- Movement is surprisingly seamless and engaging
- Seems like everything can be done 1000 different ways
- Voice acting is great
Cons:
- Driving and gunplay are lackluster
- Can be taxing on even a good computer
- Can get a bit repetitive

If this was Talos Principle 2, I'd probably buy it. It doesn't have much to do with the main game, which allows it to develop a super detailed and fun individual experience. The puzzles are more challenging, the story is just as good, and there are tons of details. I can't stress how detailed this expansion is. You can play zork-type games, in the game.. gameception? NPCs write stories and post to a forum while you progress through the levels. Your actions have consequences and affect how NPCs talk to or about you on the forum. It takes the same premise of the main game (biblical allusion re-imagined) and translates it perfectly into a great stand alone experience. The fact that this is a DLC is pretty insane, this is a must buy for sure.

Story is ass. Plain and simple, its ass. Your decisions mean jack and the ending is more or less the exact same. The enemy A.I. is also garbage. Enemies act as if they can see you the whole time (looking directly at you through walls) and dont start shooting until they see you. This makes stealth seem fabricated and inconsistent. The only saving grace to this game is arcade mode. The community made maps and experiences (my favorite is bounty hunter) are a very refreshing take on tackling the replayability issue that has plauged the franchise for so long. Hopefully they keep this mode in the next game and expand on map customization. I sincerely hope they fix the A.I. I recommend this game on sale, DO NOT buy for 60 USD.

The Turing Test attempts to create a unique puzzle experience while simultaneously engaging the user in a story of good and evil. The story is perpetuated entirely through voice over audio Almost every one of the 70 levels has an interaction between Ava (the main character) and T.O.M the A.I. that controls the facility. This progression system completely disconnects the player from the story as some levels take 30 seconds (prompting another dialogue exchange) and some take 5 minutes. Longer puzzles allow you time to completely forget what the last exchange was about and leave you confused at the beginning of the next dialogue. Some puzzles are so short that they literally cut off the last room’s dialogue upon triggering the next exchange. This quota of assigning dialogue to each room leaves exchanges uninspired and repetitive. The last 10 or so levels are essentially the exact same conversation had in 10 different ways.
Some rooms have ways of becoming non-completable and forcing a restart to the area. I didn’t particularly see this as much of an issue as these rooms were few and far between, and each room is rather small in the first place. But this does bring up another issue, the simplicity of each room. The game frequently introduces new gameplay mechanics without elaborating or creatively using the previous ones. Take games like Portal and The Talos Principle where the player is given very basic tools to start with. As these games progress the rooms get more difficult but still use the same tools. This allows the creativity of the game’s creators to show. I consider myself a decently intelligent human, but I still found myself struggling with the latter stages of The Talos Principle. Not once did I find myself truly struggling with a room in The Turing Test. In my opinion, if I never have to look up a hint to a puzzle room, its not a good puzzle game. By the time this game has given you all the tools it offers, the game is over, there is no elaboration on previous mechanics, there is no complexity to latter stages, there is no creativity or inspiration to the levels.
More Technical issues:
This game, content aside, had some technical issues that could only be chocked up to laziness. There were points where a voice actor would repeat their lines (and both would be played), as well as points where a voice actor would deliver a line in a tone inconsistent with the progression of the story, as if they had been told to read it in a different way. I must add that, T.O.M.’s voice actor did an incredible job and I really bought his character the whole way through the story.
The MOTION SICKNESS. This game really wants you to know that it’s a first-person game. You cannot disable head bobbing and your P.O.V Is zoomed uncomfortably. That being said, the game frequently takes control of your point of view without warning to “drive story elements” (look directly at something you probably wouldn’t miss anyways). It also introduces a mechanic allowing you to switch P.O.V.s to other “entities”. How do I develop an uncomfortable headache? Flashing lights? Quickly moving P.O.V. shifts? Motion Blur? Well if an uncomfortable headache is what you’re looking for then this is the game for you! It uses all 3 of these simultaneously when it switches P.O.V. (which is required rather frequently in latter stages). I had to beat this game in 3 sessions because I would get a headache after each session. This makes it very easy to lose interest in the story, especially since it’s uninspired anyways.

There are “pictures” of the crew scattered through the playable area. Sarah, the only physical character you interact with, is animated in each of these pictures. Every other crew member is an actual picture of a real person. Why the inconsistency? Didn’t want to go to the trouble of animating side characters just for pictures? Why even add the pictures in the first place then? It just showcases the corners you cut making this game and makes me wonder why I payed money for it.

SUMMARY:
This game has many issues with the core gameplay as well as the story. The game seems to become more and more uninspired as you work your way through, as if the developers lose steam in the creation process. This lack of an engaging story and meaningful dialogue is certainly not helped by the plethora of technical issues such as inconsistent gameplay mechanics and motion sickness inducing camera usage. The puzzles are easy to get through, the workshop is nonexistent, and the story is background audio at best. This eliminates replayability and ultimately makes The Turing test: not worth.

Seriously one of the best games I've ever played. Having played (and loved) the Serious sam games and the portal games, I was still hesitant to see how Croteam could make a good puzzle game. I ate my words and a surprisingly compelling story at the same time. No reason not to get this game.

wow, for a 99 cent game damnn. get dis ♥♥♥♥

woah crazy game. totally different than when i first played it blah blah all that jazz download it whatever