DECEMBER 2020 PCWorld 109free from the rigid mainline puzzles and
applying some outside-the-box thinking.
And like Portal, it’s impossible to talk
about The Talos Principle without mentioning
its story—even though the two are very
different. Portal’s best moments were
humorous. The Talos Principle is a solemn
treatise on philosophy and myth, asking the
player to engage with a pseudo-biblical story
about creation and morality and autonomy.
It’s a stunning science fiction wrapper for an
already excellent puzzle game, and a great
experience in virtual reality as well.
- HITMAN 2
Hitman 2 (go.pcworld.com/hit2) is arguably
a very old type of game. What IO Interactive
did with Agent 47 this generation is basically
roll back a decade, pretend 2012’s action-
packed Hitman: Absolution didn’t happen,
and make a sequel to fan favorite Hitman:
Blood Money instead.
It paid off. Both 2016’s Hitman (go.
pcworld.com/htmn) and 2018’s follow-up are
top-tier stealth games (go.pcworld.com/
h2rv), with IO able to build larger and more
elaborate environments than anything in
Blood Money. Massive crowds, multiple
buildings and vantage points, dozens (if not
hundreds) of improvised weapons and
costumes—there are endless possibilities for
the resourceful hitman.
The level of detail means Hitman ends up
feeling like an intricate puzzle box where the
goal is the perfect murder. Hitman 2 seems
fairly straightforward, but IO’s time-limited18.