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Serious Sam dev Croteam details PS4 puzzler The Talos Principle

Written by FTL, The Swapper and The Sea Will Claim Everything scribes.

Just as Valve went from making a bunch of shooters to the combat-devoid Portal, Serious Sam developer Croteam is making a radical departure with its next project: a first-person puzzler called The Talos Principle.

Unlike Serious Sam, The Talos Principle is a narrative-based experience and Croteam has hired some top-notch writers to pen the title with Tom Jubert (of TFL, The Swapper, Penumbra and Driver: San Francisco fame) and Jonas Kyratzes (The Book of Living Magic, The Sea Will Claim Everything) leading the way.

As for what The Talos Principle is actually about, it puts players in the role of a robot exploring a digital recreation of an ancient world. An omniscient voice will guide you, but who this is and why you're doing what you're doing is a mystery. "We're keeping our cards close to our chest on this one, but you could say Philip K Dick's oeuvre is a close match for our general motif," said Jubert on the PlayStation Blog." We hope there's loads here to dig into and piece together if you're so minded, but equally if you're just here for the puzzles it won't get in your way."

Jubert noted that the game is being developed in Croteam's proprietary Serious engine and will be rich in secrets. "We've had to wait 13 long years to see what Croteam can do when they're not looking down the barrel of a gun, and I'm excited to be helping them deliver that," he added.

The Talos Principle is due later this year on PS4, PC, Mac and Linux.

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