Not too long ago, I was able to get The Talos Principle on sale for a couple bucks.  Cary had recommended it, and I quickly saw why the game got so much praise, with its focus on philosophy, thought-provoking questions, and challenging, but interesting puzzles.  At times, the game made me really question what it means to be human.  I was not prepared, however, for the many goofy Easter eggs sprinkled throughout what initially appeared to be a rather serious and intellectual sort of experience.

The first thing I found was a blue screen of death on this random computer on some forgotten beach.  I didn’t think much of it at the time, shrugging it off as a random find that must mean something.  And then I found a very suspicious looking red door in the side of what appeared to be some massive church in C2.  Not expecting anything to come of it, I walked up to it and…instead of comically slamming my face into it, I…clipped right through it.  Lo and behold, I had walked into some hidden hallway, and what did I find at the end of it?  Why, a bald businessman sitting at a desk, talking in a weirdly high voice about money as he threw dollar bills into the air.  Looking this bizarre secret up online, this guy is apparently Fork Parker (as confirmed by the name on the desk), the fictional CFO of Devolver Digital, the company that published the game.

At this point, I realized that something was up.

A little while later, I was walking around a puzzle called Weathertop, and I headed over to the cliff.  I look down, and to my surprise, I find some sort of claw hanging onto the side of the cliff.  I hear the words, “Fly, you fools,” and then the claw lets go, and whatever was hanging on falls to its doom.  (I later got better footage of the creature, as seen in the video below.)  As I stared in flabbergasted confusion, I realized that, yes, this game is indeed messing with me.

And also, yes, that was a random Lord of the Rings reference.  For…reasons…

As intellectual as The Talos Principle appears to be on the surface, there is a definite layer of silliness just waiting for anyone willing to explore and dig a little deeper.  The next thing I found was another false wall in the building A hub, which led to an island with a bunch of androids running around with big screens for heads, which displayed various human faces.  I spent a good bit of time watching in amusement as these robots ran about and goofed off.  Assuming these represented some of the people responsible for developing this increasingly quirky game, I did another online search and discovered that these guys can even spawn during normal gameplay if you try to solve a puzzle in an unintended way.

Eager to find even more secrets, I also learned of a hidden room with a cat!  Bent on seeing this secret for myself, I followed some tips to its source and found a room with various boxes, including a Companion Cube from Portal and a block from Minecraft!  Oh, and releasing the kitty from one of the boxes influences one of the game’s endings, which is pretty cool!

I’m sure The Talos Principle has plenty of other secrets that I’ve yet to find.  And I didn’t even mention the secret floppy disks in the Road to Gehenna DLC that unlock text-based games, including one about Serious Sam, another creation by Croteam.  I love when a game doesn’t take itself too seriously, and there is no other game that will make you question your perception of the world one second, then make you laugh with its silliness the next.  Truly one of the most unique gaming experiences out there!