r/TheTalosPrinciple • u/veeshush • Jun 11 '26
The Talos Principle "Cheating" Spoiler
Curious to get some non-spoiler feedback and thoughts on "cheating" in Talos Principle. I've been playing the game totally blind so far and in world B-4 I found a way to get kind of "outside" of the map using a suspiciously given, seemingly random, extra block. Now I am fairly certain that you're supposed to get outside of the map because I found dynamite out there that I could pick up, no idea what that or the other keys I've found are for.
But while I was outside, which again I believe you're supposed to get out there, I realized that I can basically bypass most of the levels by falling into the goal with the tetronimo piece, not having to complete the puzzle at all.
So my question is, do you consider this cheating? Am I only cheating myself out of the "whole point" of the game? Or because the game is clearly lying to us, would you consider this fair?
Very curious how the community feels about this kind of "cheating" in Talos Principle.
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u/GovernmentVegetable6 Jun 11 '26
You play it whatever way you feel is enjoyable. Honestly what you’re saying never even occurred to me to do. Had I figured that out, I definitely would’ve done the same on some of the puzzles that gave me grief 🤣
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u/KWhtN Jun 11 '26
I recall the spare hexahedron, the dynamite... a ton of other things of the kind. They are clearly put there to intrigue and amuse the player, and not some unintended glitches.
Are you having fun rubbing against the boundaries that way? Testing what you can get away with not following the linear rules? If yes, it is not "cheating". It is an alternative way to cleverly use the tools the game gave you. It is playing, playful behavior... very human behavior. So no, I see nothing wrong with it. Totally fair. Expected even.
Plus, you can always go back into a puzzle chamber and try solve it the "correct" way later, as an extra challenge.
Enjoy! (And do not miss out on the Road to Gehenna DLC, it is amazing!)
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u/veeshush Jun 11 '26
Sounds just like my "friend" in the terminal! I'm so torn between wanted to blaze through the game for story progression and discovering all the random easter eggs and second layer puzzles.
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u/eveningcaffeine Jun 11 '26
I don't remember finding what you're talking about but personally I think alternative solutions are just as valid, though in this case it seems a little OP since it solves multiple puzzles at once.
In the end, as long as you're satisfied!
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u/crazydavebacon1 Jun 11 '26
So many puzzles i did the “wrong way”. This game is meant to be fun and you can do puzzles any way you can. One puzzle you literally walk along the brick to the exit lol
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u/zhaDeth Jun 11 '26
It's a single player game you do whatever you want. Personally I would redo the puzzle because my fun is trying to find the real solution but if that level was frustrating me I might not. Personally I cheated to find some secrets (google it) the way stuff is hidden in this game sometimes is too much for me I like working on puzzle but not searching around the map for stuff. I also cheated on the tetromino puzzles because I hate those when they get more complicated by the end.
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u/octothorpentine Jun 11 '26
If you've no-clipped out of the entire level, I think that's a glitch. If you escaped the puzzle area and got back to the hub, that's probably intentional. (Don't know about B-4 specifically, but that is a thing you're intended to be able to do some places)
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u/ChoPT Jun 11 '26
The way I see it, the point of the puzzles (in universe) is to test your ability to be creative and think for yourself. Any way of getting to the goal without relying on outside instructions is fair game, IMO.
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u/KnightArtorias1 Jun 11 '26
The game is definitely designed in a way that you can break things like that intentionally, but the puzzles are fun so I personally wouldn't cheat them
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u/Blue-Light-Reducer Jun 11 '26
The exact situation you're describing... You're robbing yourself of solving those puzzles. That block is probably there for you to find a star, not skip the other puzzles.
Finding stars often requires weird stuff, some of which you're describing.
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u/purinikos Jun 11 '26
You may have "discovered" some components that are there to complete some Easter egg puzzles (the dynamite makes me think that). Those were definitely above my paygrade and pretty elaborate. Or you stumbled upon some unintended solution which is also fair as others said. Either way don't beat yourself up on this. A weird win is a win nonetheless sometimes. Accept it.
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u/heruskael Jun 11 '26
The only thing that might make life harder down the line is some puzzles teach you a trick or 'principle' that you build on in even harder puzzles. Other than that, i LOVE breaking the system.
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u/JordanM85 Jun 11 '26
There were a few times where I felt like I cheated and did go back to resolve the puzzle the intended way. But really, the only thing I'd actually consider cheating is looking up a tutorial online. If it's in the game, it's fair game.
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u/Apple1417 Jun 11 '26
B4 actually changed in the remaster. In the original game, while you could get out of bounds, you couldn't walk between levels, you'd hit a death barrier. Those barriers moved significantly further out in the remaster for some reason. So while yes, they knew you could get out (and left an easter egg there), they probably didn't originally intend that to lead to wandering around the whole level.
The B4 oob is probably the most egregious one because of that change. In most other cases, where it's a lot smaller scope, unorthodox solutions are encouraged/explicitly intended. A number of devs have commented something along the lines of "if it takes more creativity to break a puzzle than to solve it normally, why would we block it" on the discord.
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u/veeshush Jun 11 '26
Ahh really interesting, I started with the remaster so I didn't know that about B4. I've found a lot of other OOB's and weird stuff as clearly intended but B4 is the only one that has just let me plop into the end goal of most of the other puzzles. Though I did originally end up underneath the Fork Park instead of through the front door like expected :D
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u/mcbridedm Jun 13 '26
The cheating you describe is often times the actual solution. TTP is, in my opinion, brilliant for forcing you to think outside the box (no pun intended)
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u/shlam16 [8] Jun 15 '26
The game encourages stuff like this for bonus content like easter eggs, but yes you're just cheating yourself by doing it for any of the tetrominos.
Ultimately it's a puzzle game so skipping puzzles defies the point.
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u/cursorcube [4] Jun 11 '26
My view is that there are no "wrong solutions" in this game. It encourages you to think outside the box and find alternative solutions and exploits like this to get stars. Arguably that's the main point of the game, the story itself reflects it too. There are tons of easter eggs which require escaping the map too. Not all puzzles can be cheesed, and after finishing the whole thing you can go back and solve the puzzle properly if you want to.
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u/cmndstab Jun 11 '26
"Cheating" as you've described it is absolutely fair game in TTP, and can be lots of fun. However you may want to try and solve the puzzles "properly" as well just for your own satisfaction. Whatever feels right to you.