IMHO.

The Talos Principle vs The Talos Principle 2

The Talos Principle and The Talos Principle 2 both land in Action, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Adventure on Steam. The Talos Principle (2014) is 9 years older than The Talos Principle 2 (2023). Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (The Talos Principle: 16,978 reviews, The Talos Principle 2: 8,242). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.

Which should you pick?

Choose The Talos Principle

Choose The Talos Principle if you want an Indie experience. 16,978 Steam reviews back the pick.

Choose The Talos Principle 2

Choose The Talos Principle 2 if you want the HDR available side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 8,242 Steam reviews back the pick.

Both The Talos Principle and The Talos Principle 2 sit in Action and Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.5% vs 94.7% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.

Side-by-side comparison

The Talos Principle vs The Talos Principle 2 — Steam metadata comparison
The Talos Principle — Steam game coverThe Talos PrincipleThe Talos Principle 2 — Steam game coverThe Talos Principle 2
Released20142023
GenresAction, Indie, AdventureAction, Adventure
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWindows
Steam DeckDeck PlayableDeck Verified
Price29.99 USD29.99 USD
Steam reviews95.5% positive (16,978 reviews)94.7% positive (8,242 reviews)
MultiplayerSingle-player onlySingle-player only
DevelopersCroteamCroteam

Side by side

The Talos Principle vs The Talos Principle 2 — FAQ

Which is better, The Talos Principle or The Talos Principle 2?
On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: The Talos Principle sits at 95.5% positive (16,978 reviews), The Talos Principle 2 at 94.7% (8,242). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
Should I play The Talos Principle or The Talos Principle 2 first?
If you want chronology, The Talos Principle (2014) came out before The Talos Principle 2 (2023). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
Are The Talos Principle and The Talos Principle 2 similar?
They overlap on Action, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
The Talos Principle vs The Talos Principle 2 (2026) · imho.run