Welcome to The Talos Principle: Reawakened, the definitive edition of the acclaimed puzzle game. You'll step into the shoes of an android exploring a mysterious, simulated world filled with intricate puzzles and deep philosophical questions. Your core loop involves solving increasingly complex environmental challenges using tools like jammers, connectors, and fans to unlock new areas and uncover the secrets of the Simulation.
This guide is here to help you navigate the expanded and remastered journey. We'll cover everything you need to achieve 100% completion, including finding all the hidden collectibles, mastering the challenging puzzles in the new content, and understanding the various endings. Whether you're aiming for every achievement or just want to fully explore this breathtaking world, we've got you covered.
Keyboard Controls
Master The Talos Principle: Reawakened's keyboard controls! Learn default and suggested keybinds for movement, interaction, and advanced actions to conquer every puzzle.
Hey there! So, you're diving into The Talos Principle: Reawakened and want to get a handle on the keyboard controls? Most of them are pretty intuitive and you'll pick them up as you play, but there are a few advanced ones that aren't set by default that can really make things smoother. We'll go over all the controls here, and I'll show you some handy key mappings that aren't enabled right off the bat. You can always peek at these yourself in the game by going to Menu -> Options -> Keyboard and Mouse -> Configure Keys.
Here's a breakdown of all the controls and what they do:
| Name | Default Key | Suggested Key | Description |
| Move | W/S/A/D | --- | This is how you'll get around the world. Standard WASD movement, nothing too fancy here. |
| Look | Mouse | --- | Just move your mouse to look around. This controls your first-person camera view. |
| Jump | Space | --- | Hit the spacebar to jump. Useful for getting over small obstacles or reaching slightly higher ledges. |
| Use | Left Click | --- | This is your main interaction button. Use it to pick up objects, activate terminals, and generally interact with the puzzle elements. |
| Alternative Use | N/A | Right Click | This one's a bit more specific. If you've placed a connector and targeted some objects with it, using Right Click lets you pick up the connector *without* losing those targets. Super handy for fine-tuning your setups. |
| Sprint | Shift | --- | Hold down Shift to run faster. Great for when you need to cover ground quickly. |
| Toggle Sprint | N/A | Caps Lock | Want to sprint without holding down Shift the whole time? Map Caps Lock to this. It'll let you toggle sprinting on and off, which can save your fingers on longer treks. |
| Third Person View | H | --- | Press H to switch to a third-person camera. This lets you see your character and can sometimes give you a better sense of your surroundings or how you look running around. |
| Reset | X | --- | If you find yourself totally stuck in a puzzle, maybe you've messed up a placement or can't see a way forward, holding X will reset the puzzle to its starting state. Don't be afraid to use it! |
| Journal | Tab | --- | Press Tab to open your journal. This is where you'll find all the terminal texts you've read and any audio logs you've discovered. Essential for piecing together the story and lore. |
| Fast Forward | N/A | F | This is a real time-saver! Mapping F to Fast Forward speeds up the entire game. It's incredibly useful for those long recorder wait times, elevator rides, or just when you need to travel across a large area quickly. |
| Zoom | N/A | Z | Use Z to zoom your camera lens. This is perfect for getting a closer look at objects that are far away, maybe to check for details or just to get a better view of a distant puzzle element. |
Item Guide
Discover all items in The Talos Principle: Reawakened, including Connectors, Hexahedrons, Fans, Recorders, Axes, Platforms, and more. Learn their strategies and puzzle applications.
Below you will find a description of all the items located within The Talos Principle. Items that are utilized in puzzle solutions will have applicable strategies.
Unlockable Items
| Item | Unlock Location | Description | Strategies |
| Connector | World A | The connector is the heart and soul of so many puzzles in Talos. Quite simply, the connector is used to connect beams from a transmitter and send that beam to a receiver. Connectors can be used in long strings in order to direct a beam around complex geometry. | There is no limit (or at least any I have encountered) to the number of targets a connector can link to. Use this strategy to unlock multiple energy gates with a single connector. However, only a single color beam can go through a single connector. While targeting objects, but before placing the connectors, small icons will show up at the bottom of the HUD for each object. If the icon is gray, the connector does not have direct LoS to the target. If the icon is white, the connector does have LoS. Use these indicators to place the connector in an optimum location to reach multiple targets effectively. |
| Hexahedron | World A | The hexahedron is a box. I think that about covers it. To avoid confusion, I will refer to this item as a "box" everywhere else in the guide. The hexahedron can be used to reach shorter ledges, placed on pressure switches, or other practical uses. | Can be placed on mines and beam blockers to provide an alternate mode of transportation. When using a box to reach a higher ledge, be sure to turn around and pick the box up again. You never know if it will be needed again later in the puzzle. With three or more boxes, you can create complex staircases to reach much taller heights. |
| Fan / Fan Receiver | World B | The fan blows air around, what else needs to be said? Okay, maybe a bit more than that. The fan can be used to blow items upward to reach new heights, or even help you traverse a puzzle quicker. The fan receiver looks like a big square with a bunch of moving gears inside. Certain fans can be enabled/disabled via receivers or pressure plates. | Most fans can be picked up and used as a heavy object to weigh down a pressure switch. If you find a puzzle that seems like you don't have enough items, try using the fan as a weight. It just might be the answer to your problem. While the fan is inactive, place a box on top of the fan and place a connector on top of the box. When the fan is turned back on, it will blow the box and connector to a new height, allowing the connector a much better line of sight. |
| Recorder | World B | The recorder is used to create a duplicate copy of yourself in order to solve solutions. Hit the recorder to start the recording. At this time, you may do anything you like (pick up objects, hit switches, etc). Once complete, return to the recorder to stop. A replay will start immediately of all the things you did. You can use this replay to open doors for you, add connectors, and jump on platforms. | See Recorder Nuances to find strategies and gameplay mechanics related to the recorder. |
| Axe | World C | The axe is used on very few occasions. The most important function of the axe is used to break down the wood barriers in order to unlock the island levels in Worlds A, B, and C. | - |
| Platform | World C | The platform is used in conjunction with the recorder to provide new heights to the puzzle. While holding a platform during a recording, you allow yourself (during replay mode) to stack items, or yourself on top of the platform. Very useful for getting to hard to reach places. | - |
| Messenger | Worlds A,B,C | These are mysterious characters found within the world. By awakening a Messenger, they can provide a clue for any hard ranked puzzle. However, there are only three Messengers in the world and they can only help you once, so use them sparingly. The Messengers are located behind the wooden barricades contained within each world hub. You must first retrieve the axe in World C before reaching the Messengers. | - |
Puzzle Items
| Item | Description | Strategies |
| Beam Blocker | These look very similar to the mine, but are a light gray in color and emit small electrical bolts. These are harmless to the player (will knock you back a few feet if you bump into one), but can get in the way of puzzle solutions. If it crosses a beam along its patrol route, the beam blocker will stop the beam transmission, causing any receivers to completely reset. | Boxes may be placed on top of a beam blocker to assist in solutions. You can use beams from two different angles to target a single receiver. This way the beam blocker can't stop both beams at the same time and maintain a connection to the receiver. |
| Counsel Board | These small boards are located at the beginning of red Sigil (hard) puzzles and are used to provide hints for puzzle solutions. You must unlock Messengers before you can utilize the counsel board in a puzzle (unlocked after reaching World C). However, Messengers are limited, so use hints sparingly. | - |
| Energy Gate | These physical barriers prevent the player, beams, or items from passing through. Energy gates can be disabled by using a jammer, activating a nearby receiver, or activating a linked pressure switch. | - |
| Jammer | This item can be used to disable a wide variety of objects. Beam blockers, mines, energy gates, fans, and turrets can all be targeted to become disabled. | The jammer can be placed on a pressure switch while simultaneously jamming another item in the puzzle, effectively disabling two items at the same time. If more than two jammers are in your possession, or have a connector and a jammer, you can juggle items through the puzzle so that you don't lose anything. See Juggling for more information. |
| Keys / Locked Gate | This is pretty self explanatory. In certain puzzles, you will find a locked gate. The a |
Strategies
Discover essential strategies for The Talos Principle: Reawakened. Learn about Line-of-Sight, Juggling, Recorder Nuances, and more to solve complex puzzles.
Below you will find strategies for solving many of the puzzles and exploring the world within The Talos Principle. Some of these strategies will be redundant from various item strategies, but wanted to also lump all strategies in a single place. This section will also explain some of the nuances of the game that aren't made abundantly clear.
Alternate Use & Zoom Keys (PC Only)
These custom controls are easily missed, since they don't have key bindings by default. These two controls can be configured in the options menu. Alternate use (I set to right mouse button) allows you to pick up a connector without losing previous targets. Zoom (I set to 'z') allows you to zoom into far away objects.
Line-Of-Sight (LoS)
Like the name implies, line of sight means that you have a direct sight line to the target. This is crucial in Talos, since you need beams to go across large expanses without hitting any obstacles. The line of sight indicator in the HUD works wonderfully for placing connectors in the perfect spot. For the rest of the walkthrough, I will be abbreviating this as LoS.
Juggling
The art of juggling is essential for countless puzzles in this game. All it requires is at least two items that can interact with a single object (energy gate, turret, mine, etc). At first glance, it may seem that one item will be tied up with disabling the object, but you can use two items to "juggle" your way out of the predicament and still hold onto both items. Instead of giving tedious instructions every single time you need to juggle, I will just use this phrase and you should know what to do. Here is a visual description of the process.
STEP 1) [A] [B]< |D| Disable gate with [B]
STEP 2) [B]< |D| >[A] Bring [A] through gate and disable gate from other side
STEP 3) |D| >[A] [B] Bring [B] through gate
STEP 4) |E| [A] [B] Continue through puzzle with both [A] & [B]
LEGEND:
[A] [B] - Items A & B
< - Targetting object
|D| |E| - Object (gate, turret, etc) "D"isabled and "E"nabled
Use Third Person Mode
This is especially handy when trying to locate stars. Going into third person mode and looking down while jumping can afford you new views over walls, potentially revealing a well hidden star.
Recorder Nuances
While the recorder is a very useful tool for solving puzzles, it has quite a few quirks regarding the ghost objects and player left behind during replay. Here is a list of various nuances (feel free to send me any other additions to the list):
- Player will NOT collide with ghost objects placed during the recording.
- Player can target ghost connectors to transmit beams. This effectively doubles the available connectors in a puzzle.
- Any activated fans placed during the recording WILL blow the player around.
- Most objects in the world (fans, doors) will not impede the ghost player movement during playback. Mines and turrets CAN destroy the ghost player.
- Ghost boxes may not be interacted with in any way. You can not jump on top of ghost objects and you can't stack boxes on ghost boxes.
- Ghost platforms can be interacted with by placing items on top of it, including the player.
Box + Mine = Free Ride
While not painfully obvious, you can stack boxes on top of mines and beam blockers. With mines, you will need to approach them from above or disable them first before stacking a box (otherwise you will die, obviously). This allows you some free transportation and get you to hard to reach areas.
Pressure Plates
Any object in the world that can be picked up (aside from the paint bucket and axe) can be placed on a pressure switch to activate it. This includes fans, which are easy to overlook. There are a few puzzles that at appear to have too few objects at first glance. A detached fan just might be the answer.
Lock Yourself In
Don't ever be afraid to close an energy gate behind you to progress further into the puzzle. It may be uneasy to lock yourself in, but it might be essential to free up an extra item to solve the puzzle.
Think Vertically
It might be easy to think of the world from the ground level only. But in latter levels, especially ones with multiple beam colors, you may need to think vertically to avoid beam conflicts or obtain LoS.
Put Yourself In The Receiver's Shoes
Sometimes it can be really tricky to figure out the optimal place to put a connector. In these situations, try walking to the connector and stand in front of it. From this new vantage point, you can see all the areas that have direct LoS to the receiver. Thus allowing you to have a better idea where to place that connector.
Red Herrings
There are a few puzzles that have some nasty red herrings thrown in to distract you, particularly in the latter puzzles. There may be a beam receiver that never gets utilized or an energy gate that never gets opened. If you are stuck in a puzzle, try to take a discretionary look at all items and objects to determine whether or not they are essential to the puzzle solution. They might just be a distraction.
Jammers and Pressure Switches, Oh My!
In certain puzzles, there is a series of gates activated by pressure switches. If you have a jammer handy, you can effectively disable two gates with one item. Stand on the pressure switch with jammer in hand, aim at the next energy gate, and look down until an outlined jammer shows up on the pressure switch. Drop the jammer and, if done correctly, the jammer should have the pressure switch activated, while also disabling the next gate (or turret, or whatever).
Who Is Uriel_4?
During the course of gameplay, you may have noticed some recurring authors to the various QR Codes. One name to carefully look for is Uriel_4. Whenever you see a QR Code from him, there is a star nearby. Often times, the words that he writes are a direct hint for the steps required to obtain the star.
Block Puzzles
These Tetri
Level A-1
Solve Level A-1 puzzles in The Talos Principle: Reawakened, including A Switch Out of Reach, Outnumbered, and Striding the Beaten Path.
- 1A Switch Out of Reach (Green): Avoid the turret's path and go left to find a jammer. Use the jammer to disable the turret. Proceed left to find a switch that shuts down the turret. Hit the switch, return to the jammer, pick it up, and go right. Use the jammer to block a mine. The sigil is yours.
- 2Outnumbered (Green): Stay left to find a jammer. Use it to temporarily disable an energy gate. Once a mine passes through, remove the jammer and immediately shut down the turret. The pathway to the Sigil should now be clear.
- 3Striding the Beaten Path (Green): Proceed down the hallway and take the first right, avoiding a mine. Once you have the jammer, find a vantage point to see the second mine bumping into an energy gate. Jam the gate to let the mine pass, then pick up the jammer again to trap the mine. Target the energy gate to the left to pick up the Sigil.
- 4Only the Two of Us (Green): Go left and pick up a jammer, then jam the first energy gate. Use two jammers to juggle through two energy gates. Once through, use one jammer to shut down the turret and pick up the Sigil. Retrace your steps to return to the entrance.
- 5Poking a Sleeping Lion (Green): Stick to the far right until you find a jammer. Use it to target a disabled mine from a distance. Pick up the other freed jammer. Use this jammer to disable the turret, and the first jammer to open the energy gate, while keeping your distance from the live mine. The Sigil is yours.
- 6Peephole (Yellow): Use the first jammer to target the jammed energy gate through a narrow window. Walk through the purple gate, pick up the other jammer, and drag it out of the small room. Return to the first jammer and use it to shut down the mine traveling down the hallway. Pick up the second jammer and use it on the second mine to clear a path to the Sigil.
- 7Trio Bombasticus (Yellow): Go left and pick up a jammer. Keeping your distance, disable energy gates one by one to free the mines and reactivate the gates. Once the main path is cleared, use the jammer to disable the final energy gate to access the Sigil.
- 8Star [STRLOC]: Head back to the start. When you reach the hallway with the turret at the end, immediately head left when within the turret's range. You will find a hidden ladder to mount the wall. Once over the wall, pick up a jammer and disable a mine. Use a second jammer to disable another mine, freeing up the first jammer, which can now be used to disable the turret. Pick up the jammer targeting the mine and bring it to the main courtyard. Facing the block puzzle, enter the smaller courtyard to the right and immediately turn right. Walk through the bushes to find a hidden nook along the wall with a switch. Flip the switch to lower the gate in the small courtyard. Enter the courtyard, and you will see an energy gate guarding the star. Use the jammer to obtain the star.
- Always keep your distance when using jammers on mines or energy gates, especially when dealing with live mines.
- Utilize vantage points to effectively jam energy gates and disable threats.
- Remember to pick up and reposition jammers as needed to solve the puzzles.
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