10 Hidden Gem Video Games Of 2023
7. The Talos Principle 2
A quick glance at the Steam charts shows not enough people are buying this game, so let's rectify that immediately.
Buy. This. Game.
(Please).
In what has been an astonishing year for puzzlers (Coccoon, Viewfinder, Chants of Sennaar), The Talos Principle 2 still stands out as as 2023's best option for galaxy-brained gamers. A good puzzle game makes you feel like a genius for solving its conundrums, and cracking open the riddles present in Croteam's latest is enough to make you feel like the lovechild of Sir Isaac Newton and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. ("We've got a badass over here", indeed).
Not only that, but The Talos Principle 2 also continues the good work of its predecessor by wrapping the puzzles in one of the most thought-provoking narratives of the year.
Whereas the original game pondered what it meant to be an individual, the sequel asks you to think what it means to be part of society. That sounds a little dry, but the well-written characters and surprisingly excellent sense of humour turn what could have been a po-faced philosophical circle-jerk into one of the best stories of the year.