The Talos Principle: Reawakened news & patch notes

Hey folks, its that time of the month where we tell you what you should play from the workshop! Today we are highlighting another mod by Shlam which is called Escape From The Pit Reawakened

If you've been craving a narrative-driven experience that ties directly into the expanded lore of the Talos universe, this campaign is an absolute must-play.

You take on the role of Azrael, one of nine "demons" condemned to the darkest, most hidden code of the system. Set in the aftermath of Uriel's famous rescue mission in Road to Gehenna, Elohim is offering you one final chance at redemption. The catch? You must first rescue your fallen comrades who are locked in a realm completely beyond His reach.

To achieve full completion and uncover the highly thematic ending, you'll need to hunt down a staggering 90 sigils.

It's also a beautiful example of community collaboration. With custom mechanics by Nazario92, aesthetic design by Chamdresser, fresh assets by DarkyPL, and rigorous testing from a whole squad of Workshop veterans (including Elyon, Dayo, HardyP, Mr Pipicz, and Kleinba), this project is a true team effort.

And now we are welcoming back to the basement chat Shlam to share few comments about the campaign!

BASEMENT CHAT WITH YASEN

⚪Hey Shlam, welcome back to the basement chat. First of all... 90 sigils! What were you thinking? That is a massive undertaking. How did you approach the pacing and difficulty curve for a campaign of this size to keep players hooked from the first puzzle all the way to the thematic ending?

Shlam: Hey Yasen, thanks so much for having me, it's great to be here! What can I say, I'm just hooked on Talos and love making puzzles! In some of my older work I set out to make puzzles that were as hard as possible, but with this campaign instead I really tried to keep the difficulty somewhere in the ballpark of Road To Gehenna. Some are a little easier, some are a little harder, but for the most part they should be accessible to everyone and not just the diehard lovers of hard puzzles.

As far as pacing and progression goes, the only part of the campaign I locked behind progression was the ending itself (consisting of 8 final puzzles). All of the rest are accessible at any time. Throughout the 6 open worlds, each puzzle's reward is coloured based on its relative difficulty: Green for easy and growing progressively more challenging through Gold > Red > and finally White. One thing I'm very big on with community creations is providing guides so that players aren't left guessing, so there are walkthroughs for the whole campaign if anyone gets stuck up at any given point! ⚪Out of those 90 sigils, which specific puzzle or area are you most proud of? Which one do you think is going to give players the biggest "lightbulb" moment?

Shlam: I think I'd have to say the first world, Connected Dreams, is my favourite. All of the puzzles in this world are Connector themed (hence the name!) and I think they should appeal to Talos veterens very much. In fact the very first puzzle you encounter in this world (Spiral) is a riff on my favourite puzzle from Road To Gehenna: Small Space, Big Solution.

There are also a couple of puzzles in this world using a really neat mechanic called "echoes", influenced by the 2nd place winning map of the first Puzzle Jam. In these ones there is a recorder, but its sole purpose is in creating a single pause point to duplicate items - it puts a really fun twist on the mechanic!

Lastly, I think the final star in this world is something very special! Using the precedent set by some of the awesome stars in the base game and Road To Gehenna, it uses elements of almost every other puzzle to intertwine into a world-spanning puzzle. It's a lot of fun! ⚪The Talos Principle has a very specific way of telling stories, usually through terminals, audio logs, and QR codes. What was your approach to writing and delivering the story of the Pit so it felt authentic to the base game?

Shlam: Escape From The Pit has a brief "cutscene" at the beginning where Elohim talks to the player and lays out the lore of the episode. Similar to the beginning of both the base game with Athena and Road To Gehenna with Uriel. After this, the player enters the hub where they can see their eight comrades locked in cages, each requiring a hefty amount of sigils to release. I guess to answer the question, I took more of a "show, don't tell" approach after the initial introduction. The vibe I was going for was kind of like how isolated the player was in the base game. Just you on your own with a large hurdle to overcome to save your friends. ⚪Between Nazario92's custom mechanics and the new assets mined by KabanFriends and DarkyPL, what is the one feature or visual element you are most excited for players to interact with? Shlam: There are a lot of really cool mechanics in the levels in this pack, including porting mechanics from Talos 2 into the game. The Player Clone (Mind Transfer) mechanic from Talos 2 is definitely my favourite, mined by KabanFriends as far back as the Demo days! But there are a lot of other really cool contraptions such as recreations of the Accumulator, Swapper, Driller, Dual Receiver (like in Utopia/Dystopia from Talos 2), and also an entirely new contraption - the Bounce Pad which acts as a trampoline.

Underpinning all of this though is the technical wizardry of Nazario92 himself. Something that goes unseen in most maps is the logic required to make various elements work. To peek behind the curtain a little, there are often gadgets hidden deep underground to do this kind of thing, and it's no easy task to make them robust and safe against rewind. This is where Nazario excels and both his testing and gadgetry is something that allows not only mine, but many other peoples' maps to work as well as they do. ⚪Thank you for joining us back in the basement chat, Shlam, it's always a pleasure to have you! To wrap things up, the floor is yours. Are there any final words you want to leave with the community, or anyone you'd like to give a shout-out to before players dive into the Pit?

Shlam: I just want to give a huge thanks to several groups of awesome people in the community!

The creators: You guys at Croteam - Talos rocks and I can't wait for the T2 editor and of course the newly announced T3!

The testers: Nazario92, Elyon, Dayo, HardyP, Chamdresser, Sarge, DarkyPL, Mr_Pipicz, Kleinba (almost all of these guys are puzzle creators too, so be sure to check out their great work also!)

The technicians: Nazario92, Rocket

The hackers: KabanFriends, DarkyPL, Nazario92

The players: You guys are awesome and I love chatting with you! If at any point you want a hint rather than going straight to the guide I'm always happy to provide one either in the Steam comments or on Discord!

Hey folks! The Workshop is overflowing with creativity once again. We’ve picked out six standout campaigns to showcase today, featuring both nostalgic favorites and fresh new challenges. Let’s get to it!

Castle of The Red Dragon

Astonishing overall visuals, with hand-crafted architecture, landscaping and especially lush vegetation & sculpted dragon skeleton of quality on par with the best creations in the workshop. Fresh multi-faceted puzzles tied into the story of the red dragoness are a treat to all types of puzzle enthusiasts. Collectables: 7 sigils & 12 stars Difficulty: intermediate

Valley of the Lost Puzzles

Another instalment in a series focused on tricky puzzle solving with inter-connected star puzzles in an adequately decorated package. It's a treat for experienced puzzle solvers that are not afraid of a challenge which will test your wits. Collectables: 6 sigils & 7 stars Difficulty: Intermediate to the most advanced players

Castle in the Air

A fresh take on puzzle design built around a populated castle with it's inhabitants requiring your help and a marketplace where all devices are sold to aid in puzzle solving. Puzzles are formed in a style of side quests and main quests with environmental puzzles all of which unlock access to more areas as you progress to reach the culmination in the castle itself. |

Collectables: 7 sigils & 12 stars Difficulty: intermediate

Nitra Castle

Unique idea to recreate a national treasure with real-life areas and structures, to serve the simulation with fresh puzzles built into the courtyards of the castle, and an overarching star puzzle Nitra Castle is located in the Old Town of Nitra, Slovakia. It was built in the 11th century on the place of an earlier palisade fort. It dominates the city and is a national cultural monument, and the seat of the Diocese of Nitra. Collectables: 5 sigils & 1 star Difficulty: intermediate

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Down The Well

A narrative-driven unorthodox episode with environmental puzzles built to serve the story about unravelling the mystery of The Well. You have to conquer the challenges thrown along the way and be perceptive of the maleficent gargoyles lurking in the shadows to earn your freedom with aid from helpful Dingy and an unknown benevolent spirit. Collectables: 7 sigils Difficulty: intermediate

Enter the Void – Desert Necropolis Appetizer

Beauteous landscaping sculpted with precision and artfulness using the most inconspicuous Egyptian debris rocks, creating vast open spaces, natural vertical structures, rocky ranges, caves, and tombs. First time ever use of two main islands on different levels exceeding previous worlds in scale with stars earned for exploration and a very elegant entry puzzle. Sand™ included for FREE! Collectables: 2 sigils & 10 stars Difficulty: exploration and intermediate

Today, we celebrate exactly one year since we went back into the simulation with The Talos Principle: Reawakened.

Reawakened allowed you to experience the simulation from its absolute genesis. You walked through the challenges Alexandra had to overcome, witnessed the creation of Elohim as the player’s guide, and even uncovered the real-world stories of the game’s development through audio logs narrated by our own developers.

But most importantly, Reawakened put the tools of creation directly into your hands. Through the Reawakened Workshop, you were given the materials to architect your own worlds and design puzzles to share with us and the rest of the player base.

Today, we are incredibly proud to say that the Workshop now hosts over 500 community creations, featuring more than 2,000 custom puzzles for everyone to explore.

As we mark this first year of Reawakened, we want to give a massive shout-out and a heartfelt thank you to you, our community. Your ongoing support and the incredible creations you continue to gift us are what make this universe thrive.

Thank you, and remember - there is much more to come! P.S. The Talos Principle: Reawakened is currently 50% off! If you haven't entered the simulation yet, now is the perfect time to begin your journey

Heya folks, last few episodes have been a combination of workshop creations but recently the workshop got a massive campaign that released so today we are putting the spotlight exclusively on it and we are talking about "Fragmentation - A Talos Story" Fragmentation - A Talos Story is a massive, story-driven workshop campaign featuring over 90 puzzles and collectibles. Taking place alongside the events of The Talos Principle, it tells the tale of a player who falls through a literal crack in a familiar simulation, only to find themselves in uncharted, crumbling territory. There is a mystery waiting to be uncovered and a looming threat that will soon consume the entire system. Can you stop it? Will you?

This campaign truly offers something for every type of player, blending an elegant difficulty curve with a massive variety of content. The journey begins with fresh, accessible gimmicks that eventually ramp up to unapologetically challenging late-game trials for the puzzle purists. Lore hunters will find a fully fleshed-out story with multiple characters and terminal entries, while explorers are rewarded with hidden sigils, secrets, and breathtaking vistas perfect for photo mode. From Talos 2 inspired mechanics like Accumulators to completely unique, never-before-seen power-overload puzzles and riddles, Fragmentation is a masterclass in workshop creativity. So what are you waiting for? Grab the campaign and immerse yourself in this incredible world NOW!

We sat down with the creator, Dayo, to talk about how this project grew from a single puzzle into a community-polished masterpiece.

BASEMENT CHATS WITH YASEN

⚪Hey Dayo, glad to have you here in the basement! While we often see a lot of veteran creators in these spotlights, we love highlighting new faces, and you’ve already made a massive impact with such an ambitious project. Could you tell us a bit about when you joined the community and how you first got started with modding?

Dayo: Hi, thanks for featuring me! I first got into making maps for Talos Remastered in April 2025, where I spent the time making a single puzzle for some mates who also really enjoy playing all the Talos games and DLCs. When I finished making the puzzle in late April, I uploaded it to the workshop, and we spent the evening playing through it together. I woke up the next day to see that it had 15 other people subscribed to it, and multiple comments on the workshop page. For some reason, I didn’t think anyone else would play it – I thought they would be too busy playing everyone else’s quality maps!

I spent the next few days fixing up exploits and implementing suggestions people were giving me. By the end of this period, I think the map totalled 40ish subscribers. Whilst not a big number by any means, I was still rather surprised, overwhelmed and proud that there were 40 other people out there who had played and enjoyed something that I had made. This puzzle that started everything was called ‘Smooth Criminal’ and is my only other workshop contribution other than ‘Fragmentation’.

After leaving ‘Smooth Criminal’ in a state that I was proud of, I then moved on to creating puzzles for the Croteam Connectorless Puzzle Jam competition that started and finished in March of 2025. For this competition, I had made the puzzles ‘Inversion’, ‘Family Reunion’, ‘Reflection’ and ‘Repetition’, but decided against submitting them because I wasn’t fully happy with how they turned out and thought people would not enjoy them.

Whilst I missed the deadline on this competition, I did have 4 new puzzles sitting unreleased. It was here that I decided to combine them and the already released ‘Smooth Criminal’ into the one world. This process saw me run into many various problems which I was able to solve by joining the Croteam Discord and being a fly on the wall for the next few months, seeing how other workshop creators fixed these same problems I was having.

I hadn’t had any workshop/modding experience before this, and it was only because of how my first map ‘Smooth Criminal’ was received that I kept making more maps. The community really helped me find my feet early and helped me solve all these problems that I was having when starting out, even if none of them knew it yet!

⚪How did the idea for Fragmentation come about? It’s really interesting that the story takes place right in the middle of the main Talos Principle campaign. Did you map out all the lore first and build the puzzles around it, or did you design the puzzles first and then weave the narrative into them?

Dayo: The idea for Fragmentation came about when I was on holiday in England in June last year. Before travelling, I had completed my first full world (which is now the Medieval world in Fragmentation, called The Forgotten Keep). On this trip, I had found a couple of beautiful places and sections of architecture that absolutely fascinated me and served as foundational points for which my imagination could run free. I used the small windows of downtime I had on this holiday to construct the layout of the Rome world of Fragmentation (The Crumbled Forum) on a notepad and then started drafting a mystery that could be uncovered within the Medieval level I had created and the Rome world I had conceptualized.

For the rest of the trip, I worked on drafting the story, as I wanted this campaign to feel as Talos-like as possible. This would mean I’d need a proper fleshed out story with multiple characters with differing personalities, satisfying and challenging puzzles and worlds that feel beautiful and mysterious and the same time. It was also during this conceptualizing phase that I decided to plan on making worlds that use the Egyptian, Wooden and Metal architectures that are available in the editor.

So, the Medieval world came first, then the Roman one, then the story, and then all the rest.

⚪Beyond using the "Useful Shenanigans" assets, it sounds like you really utilized the community to bring this project to life. Between the heavy testing and feedback from players like Darky, Shlam, and Nazario, and using the community-testing channel to proof the puzzles. How did that collaborative environment change your approach to building and finalizing the game?

Dayo: I had everything completed, except the 3 ending levels, when I finally worked up the courage to put my passion project up onto the Croteam discord for community testing one November evening. I woke up too many screenshots of people climbing up on every wall and reaching places I didn’t think were possible! Fragmentation stayed here for community testing for two months, while these early pioneers explored and helped me improve all aspects of this campaign. When I finally uploaded Fragmentation publicly, it was with multiple hundreds of quality-of-life improvements and major changes to some particularly problematic puzzles. And honestly, multiple hundreds of changes that people suggested is likely underselling the number and effect it had on the Campaign. Having so many different perspectives play through Fragmentation meant that everyone was finding silly little things that were possible that only they could find with their unique playstyles.

Community testing didn’t just help with small quality-of-life improvements or constructive feedback regarding frustrating puzzles or sections of each level though. It also helped me make sure my goal of creating a campaign that was just pure Talos. From this testing, it was obvious that Fragmentation lacked a motivation to explore. There were no easter eggs, rewards or motivation for reaching the top of that massive mountain in front of you, or running around the outskirts of each level, looking for a hidden passageway or anything on the ground. Fragmentation was missing that.

It was only through utilizing the collaborative environment that the Croteam discord provides that I was able to get this feedback (that I never would have thought of otherwise). Now in Fragmentation, there are almost 20 easter eggs to find (some of them being assets from Talos and others being completely new and unique creations), as well as special white sigils that are extra sneaky and tricky to find. This was done to reward the people who aren’t just there for puzzles, but to appreciate and explore the foreign environments they find themselves in.

Probably the most unique way that collaboration occurred in Fragmentation is with the help I got with the ‘Power Overload’ mechanic, a type of puzzle unique to Fragmentation! This mechanic seems simple when you play the puzzles but has some complex logic operating in the background and is very taxing on the 200-device limit for each level. Nazario took the logic I did for this mechanic and was able to simplify, optimise and make it more stable so that rewinding wouldn’t break it. This took him weeks, and the result was a contraption that acts as a ‘counter’ with pressure plate memory. It can be used by anyone and can be seen in the ‘Useful Shenanigans’ pack that many workshop creators use.

⚪As someone overseeing this community, it makes me incredibly proud to hear how helpful and collaborative everyone has been, it really speaks to the fantastic spirit our creators have built here! Looking ahead, what’s next for you? Are you already dreaming up another massive campaign, or are you thinking of tackling some smaller-scale projects for a change of pace?

Dayo: I’ve still got some stuff to finish off with Fragmentation – mainly a few bonus areas and easter eggs to reward the most dedicated of explorers. I’ve already got some ideas for my next project though. It will be smaller in scale and will have a much larger focus on the environment and overall layout, with the puzzles being designed to fit the surrounding scenery. My goal for this new campaign is to place the player in scenarios and worlds so unique and foreign that they’ve never even considered what they are seeing was possible. Current lines of inspiration can already be seen in the worlds of Fragmentation, such as the Clockwork Citadel or any of the 3 ending levels within Fragmentation. I also want to make the puzzles much easier than Fragmentation but still satisfying to complete. This would be to allow more people to play through all the puzzles and see all the amazing worlds that will soon be created. This project is still in its early days, but I am very excited to start chipping away at it!

⚪Thank you so much for joining us in the basement and sharing all that fantastic behind the scenes info! It’s been wonderful to highlight just how supportive this community can be, and hopefully, your story inspires even more people to jump in and start creating. For the finale, the floor is yours, feel free to give a shout-out to anyone who helped you along the way or share anything about Fragmentation that we might have missed!

Dayo: Thank you for taking the time to interview me! I absolutely must first take the time to shout out Darky, Shlam and Nazario. These three have had their contributions mentioned and featured in many other Community spotlights, but for good reason. Their assistance and playtesting through the last few months have been invaluable. Others that have taken time out of their days to help make Fragmentation even better include Mr _Pipicz, Chamdresser, inZka, Joost and HardyP. Also a shoutout to Sarge, HicalebiH, Porphyrios as well as all the others who helped play test Fragmentation once was sent to the workshop. Massive thank you to all these people (and all the others who had a hand in the playtests). Many of these community members all have quality maps that they themselves have made, and I’d recommending checking out their catalogues and giving those Campaigns a go as well.

Lastly, I’d like to give a shoutout to Spoot, Lomma and Emily. These were the people that I made my first puzzle for, and the reason that this journey started in the first place.

If anyone reading this is thinking about making their own puzzles, but is hesitant for whatever reason...just go for it! Making these puzzles has been an absolute blast and very rewarding for me. I'm sure this process will be as satisfying for you future puzzle makers as it was for me.

Howdy everyone!

This month we’re back with another Community Puzzle Spotlight for Talos Reawakened, highlighting a selection of Workshop creations that showcase the creativity and variety our community continues to bring to the game.

From mechanically focused design pillars and large-scale exploration campaigns to pure logic experiments and lovingly curated collections. So, let’s get started!

Jammed Reality

A direct sequel to Connected Dreams, Jammed Reality continues its spiritual lineage with a richly decorated world inspired by Road to Gehenna. The campaign features 7 puzzles, 4 bonus stars, and 4 purple sigils, all centered around the creative use of Jammers. The stars are intricately interconnected, encouraging layered thinking, while the sigils reward exploration across a beautifully crafted environment.

Difficulty: Intermediate to advanced players

AREA 51

No, it’s not about aliens… or is it? This compact episode delivers two easy puzzles, two stars, and a bonus star wrapped in an environment full of high grass, bushes, and hidden easter eggs. A light, exploratory experience perfect for a relaxed session.

Difficulty: Beginner to intermediate players

The Puzzle Archives

Made entirely on Steam Deck, this ambitious collection offers 6 areas packed with 42 sigils, 12 gold stars, 6 blue stars, 5 red stars, and 3 mastery sigils. A celebration of classic puzzle variety, it blends different mechanics and difficulties into one expansive archive suitable for all skill levels.

Difficulty: Beginner to advanced players

The Chixen Collection

A year in the making, this collection brings together 13 recreated puzzles into a single cohesive pack. Ranging from approachable challenges to extremely demanding brain-benders, this is a true test for those seeking high-difficulty experiences.

Difficulty: Mostly advanced players

Logic Puzzles

An experimental port of two classic logic puzzles into the Talos framework. While simple on the surface, these hybrid-style setups explore how traditional logic structures can integrate into the game’s systems, a refreshing change of pace for the more casual players.

Difficulty: Relaxed players

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Bridge of Time

Explore four large worlds connected by a massive bridge spanning Egypt, Rome, and Medieval settings. With over 18 puzzles woven into a thoughtful exploration-driven structure, this mini-campaign invites players to reflect on the meaning of time while navigating its grand environments.

Difficulty: Intermediate players

If you haven’t checked these out yet, now’s the perfect time to revisit the Workshop and rediscover some timeless creativity.

As always, huge thanks to all the creators for keeping the community constantly evolving!

Hey folks! In today’s Community Highlight, we’d like to shine the spotlight on not just one, but a couple of workshop creations!

At the end of 2025 and into the first month of 2026, the Workshop saw the release of some truly exciting campaigns, featuring vastly varied puzzle designs, difficulty curves, and beautifully crafted worlds. The campaigns we’re highlighting today offer the perfect dose of challenge for those seeking experiences on par with the main Talos titles, or even greater on the level of the “In The Beginning” episode.

Here are the creations we are highlighting today.

Connected Dreams

Connected Dreams is a visually striking campaign that draws inspiration from Road to Gehenna. Featuring 7 core puzzles alongside 4 bonus stars and 4 purple sigils, the experience revolves entirely around the creative use of Connectors as its central design pillar. Exploration plays a key role as well, the stars are designed as layered, interlinked challenges, while the purple sigils are hidden throughout the environment, rewarding curiosity and attention to the details of its richly crafted world.

Created by Shlam

Multiplexer

This campaign features three easy to medium difficulty laser-based puzzles, one medium difficulty star puzzle, and three sigils to collect, offering a compact but satisfying challenge set with a clear mechanical focus.

Created by Hardy P

Leshy

Rooted in Slavic folklore, Leshy draws on the myth of the forest guardian to deliver a quiet, story-driven experience. The campaign guides players through an abandoned village, where the narrative unfolds through intimate, personal stories that reflect shared human flaws and tragedy. The puzzle design is intentionally accessible, focusing on atmosphere and storytelling instead of complex mechanics with no mines, recorders, or turrets involved. Across the episode.

Created by YASCHFYI

REMNANTS

After your boat capsizes, you find yourself washed ashore on an unknown land. Ahead of you lie the remains of a lost civilization. Silent trials, forgotten paths, and the remnants of a world shaped by those who came before. As you move forward, the campaign invites you to follow the path of the ancestors and uncover the mysteries buried by time, weaving exploration and discovery into the core of the journey.

Created by EVILLOL

Abducted Sigils

Something is wrong, puzzles are malfunctioning, tetrominoes have gone missing, and the system itself feels unstable. You’re sent in to investigate the source of the disturbance and uncover what’s behind the growing anomalies. This mini-campaign features 15 main puzzles of average difficulty (2–4), spread across four distinct worlds. It also introduces star-based quest objectives.

Created by inZka

Hey everyone and welcome to the newest Community Spotlight. Today we are featuring Enter the Void, a custom story-driven campaign for The Talos Principle: Reawakened that delivers the full Talos experience offering compact puzzles with fresh ideas, immersive worlds, narrative hooks, Easter eggs, and plenty of humor.

What began with a solo puzzle jam entry in May 2025, gradually evolved into a full-fledged campaign effort, and with time into a collaborative project, involving Elyon and Nazario92 as original testers, and later Darky, the “lead goater” and data-miner, whose discoveries provided new design possibilities, or even enabled completely new puzzle mechanics. Creator Mr_Pipicz first released Stronghold Jam for the Connectorless PuzzleJam, then gradually built upon it, leading to the first release of Enter the Void. As of now, the project comprises Hub World: Desolate Lighthouse, World A: Island Stronghold, World B: Coastal Villa, and a recent addition, World C: Mountain Fortress.

Mr_Pipicz is the project’s sole puzzle designer and world creator, always carefully planning the world layout and sketching puzzles on paper to achieve a natural flow before building everything directly in the editor. Each world concludes with a terminal progressing the story and containing entries that share behind-the-scenes insights into puzzle concepts and development.

The campaign currently offers 24 sigils, 9 stars, and countless secrets across four richly crafted worlds. Puzzles are snappy and focused, echoing the design philosophy of the puzzles from the original games, as well as custom old-school TTP campaigns such as Rebirth or Outfall. They emphasize compact ideas, thoughtful use of verticality, and do not necessarily rely on strict grid layouts.

Aesthetics and atmosphere are major focal points of Enter the Void. Through patient world building and meticulous detail, the worlds offer plenty of opportunities for exploration and are filled with handcrafted environmental set pieces – e.g., a raft, a trebuchet, a guillotine, various custom statues, a ski jump, or a large Christmas tree that can be activated as part of a meta puzzle.

If you are looking for the perfect Christmas puzzle experience, this is the campaign for you. Subscribe, take your time exploring, and be sure to stay a while and read the basement chat with Yasen.

BASEMENT CHATS WITH YASEN

⚪Hey folks, I’m really happy to have you both in the basement today, welcome! So, the story of Enter the Void began with a puzzle jam entry. At what point did you realize it could grow into a full campaign rather than remain a small standalone project?

Mr_Pipicz: Hello there, thanks for having us! I guess this is a question for me. :-) I think I realized this about halfway into the creation process of Stronghold Jam.

I've always loved The Talos Principle, and I've always loved creating maps for games – the most important one being the classic Doom. Although I had never tried the Serious Editor in the olden days, I had been carrying some puzzle ideas in my head for a long time. And then, when I opened the editor in Reawakened, very soon I realized that I will not stop at this puzzle jam entry. When I get enthusiastic about something, I tend to take it... rather seriously. :-)

I poured a lot of time, effort, and love into Stronghold Jam, and the result got way bigger than I had originally expected – and besides the five main puzzles, it already contained plenty of cool features and world-building. So it was a great stepping stone to build upon.

⚪After Stronghold Jam’s success, how did early testers like Elyon and Nazario92 become involved through Discord playthroughs, and how did Darky’s technical discoveries help shape later expansions such as the snowy World C?

Mr_Pipicz: Elyon reached out to me after the release of Stronghold Jam, and very soon, I also got acquainted with his brother, Nazario92. The brothers' shared love for Talos, their puzzle-solving skills, and knowledge of the game mechanics were unparalleled. We started a chat room on Discord and discussed everything Talos-related, and as I was working on the Hub World and World B, I started sharing screenshots of my creative endeavors with them. Quite naturally, they became testers of early iterations of Enter the Void. What a pleasure it was to hop on a voice chat on Discord and watch their streams as they were going through my worlds and my puzzles. :-)

Getting in touch with Darky was quite similar, only it happened later, after I released the initial version of Enter the Void. I was amazed by appreciation and dedication of some community members, and among those, Darky was the most enthusiastic one. He started flooding the comment section of Enter the Void on Steam with waves of comments about exploring the worlds, how he managed to cheese which puzzle, and of course about "mountain goats".

Darky and I started talking, and thus, our cooperation began. Seeing his ardor was very uplifting, and soon we started consulting various adjustments and improvements to gameplay and World B environment. Sometimes Darky's overly enthusiastic nagging was a little bothersome, but I humbly admit that a lot of his suggestions turned out to be pretty good – for example, the World B's via ferrata leading from the coastline behind B2: Carousel to the "Pantheon of Goats" at the mountaintop.

During these discussions, we realized we shared common acquaintances in Elyon and Nazario92. We soon all talked together, and not long after, Darky invited Shlam as well, and then dubbed our little chat group "Expedition Crew" as a homage to The Talos Principle 2.

As time went by, I was slowly building World C, and Darky was digging in the game files in search of additional actors and meshes that could be used in this emergent world. Darky learned how to data-mine the game assets, which significantly expanded the palette of available decoration items that I could use. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to extract snowy cliffs, which would have been amazing for World C, but I managed with the single snowy mesh available in the editor, the almighty Tundra Rock.

And later, something even better happened – Darky got a brilliant idea how he might be able to scale various non-mesh actors. And lo and behold, it worked! This discovery led to resized burning torches, switches, sigils, and even resized clones. This was a complete gamechanger for the Expedition Crew as it enabled some previously unseen puzzle mechanics, such as World C's purple sigil puzzle featuring Sl1ms0 and F4ts0. Darky was delighted to see how I used his resized assets, and even though it is optional, I myself consider that puzzle (and the whole concept and the environmental storytelling) one of the highlights of World C – and it cracks me up to this day. :-)

⚪Darky, from your perspective as a player, what drew you so strongly to Enter the Void that you ended up getting involved behind the scenes?

DarkyPL: Thanks for having me, Yasen, and greetings to all friends I've made during my community shenanigans!

I've always been an avid Serious Sam and The Talos Principle player since the very first releases, so after finishing In the Beginning DLC, I was craving for more. So I looked at community puzzles, and among vast amounts of boxy ones, a few stood out that had this balanced mixture of aesthetics, puzzles, and lore. I started with Cliffside, Raphael's Dominion, and my beloved Let's Break Talos Principle 2: Your Turn, which showed me what the community is capable of! It gave me more skills and pushed me to be active with feedback in comments as a reward for the time spent by the creators. That way, I became involved as a tester and goater to various authors such as Nazario92, Shlam's Shlam Packed, Rezonance, and Belbeb's The Islands saga.

I noticed Enter the Void on the release date due to the use of neon purple and blue title in the thumbnail. After launching it, I was amazed by the intro, which reminded me of BioShock – that was also my first comment about EtV. Upon seeing those cliffs in Hub World, I just had to start goating about exploring the levels for about 5 hours before getting to breaking the puzzles, leaving feedback along the way. It struck me with numerous Easter eggs, handcrafted Talos QTs, funny QRs, the trebucket \, and the architecture. In return, Mr_Pipicz created statues of goats for me and my dottis, yay! Then we started calls on Discord to talk about cheese-proofing the puzzles, but I consider nudging Mr_Pipicz to design the via ferrata in World B to be the turning point in this collaboration.

I'm not a mapper but I've got a background in IT, old-school programming, and system integrations, so I wanted to apply my skills to provide Mr_Pipicz with other assets from the game, especially destructible wooden planks and dunes, which I found but couldn't import. It took me quite some time but I've managed to gather all blueprint assets, found a way to scale every type of actor, and posted them as Useful Shenanigans - Creator Assets in the Workshop along with a self-titled guide for other creators. Of course, we kept some findings to ourselves (e.g. scaled clones) to be first used in Enter the Void (Sl1mS0/F4tS0 puzzle) and in Shlam's The Fantabulous Matter Resizer.

We also started having design brainstorming sessions about World C: Mountain Fortress almost everyday and I came up with a lot of goating opportunities, which Mr_Pipicz implemented, adapting them to the snowy World C – and those are also loved by my goating daughters!

For me the collaboration is quite similar to how the expedition crew in Talos 2 had to work together to achieve something greater.

⚪Is there anything about Enter the Void or the collaboration around it that you want to highlight that we haven’t covered yet?

Mr_Pipicz: Considering how ambitious a project Enter the Void has grown into, everything simply cannot be handled by just one person. Darky, Elyon, Nazario92 – each of them has a unique skillset and perspective, which has contributed significantly to what Enter the Void is today.

DarkyPL: We're also eagerly awaiting further updates to the editor so that the upcoming World D could receive proper mesh treatment. :-)

Be brave, create, and collaborate!

Check out other works of The Expedition Crew

Demo Reawakened series

The Islands series

Shlam Packed

⚪For the finale, as always, feel free to give a shout out to anyone who helped along the way or share any final thoughts.

DarkyPL: I would like to thank community members who were very supportive during the entire process, every one of them helped in some way, shout out to: Shlam, Nazario92, Qoqqi, Belbeb, Elyon, TonyRacoon, Benzolamps, inZKa, VIKtor, Neiser, Luraman, Ragnarock, Dayo, MA, KabanFriends, Resonλnce, Kleinba, v0rtex2002, and Kirena-Kaya!

Mr_Pipicz: Well, I think Darky has already managed to thank everyone. :-D But just in case, if you are curious, feel free to take a look at the very first terminal you encounter in Enter the Void Hub World: Desolate Lighthouse.

To conclude, it’s been a long journey so far, and it is still far from over. World D is currently in the making, and later, there will also be the fabled World E – and perhaps, you will finally get to meet the mysterious individual known as Luc1f3r. There is yet more to come, so stay tuned!

Both: Thank you for having the chat with us, Yasen, and thank you all for enjoying Enter the Void. And finally, on behalf of the whole Expedition Crew, we would like to wish everyone Happy Holidays. See you in 2026! :-)

Hey everyone and welcome to the newest Community Spotlight, today we are featuring one of the bigger community collaboration projects Accumulated Problems!

What began as a small side project evolved into one of the most ambitious Talos Principle Reawakened community collaborations yet. Shlam, Chamdresser, Nazario, and Elyon teamed up to create Accumulated Problems. A richly interconnected set of puzzles linked through a custom-built hub world.

The project features 8 puzzles, 6 bonus Stars, 10 extra Purple Sigils, and countless Easter eggs waiting to be uncovered. Originally planned as a quick two-week effort, it grew through continuous iteration, testing, and shared creativity. Players can even explore an extra world containing the original puzzle prototypes, accessible by solving the mysterious Museum riddle.

A true testament to collaborative design, Accumulated Problems blends unique ideas from each creator into a cohesive and rewarding puzzle experience. Make sure to subscribe to the campaign and read through the Basement chat with the team members!

BASEMENT CHATS WITH YASEN

We’re welcoming Chamdresser, the creative director behind Accumulated Problems, to The Basement today. ⚪To start off, how did this collaboration come together? What sparked the idea for the team to join forces on Accumulated Problems?

Chamdresser: Hey, awesome to talk! I've always been a fan of collaborative work when it comes to creative projects, and saw the Editor for the Reawakened edition of The Talos Principle as a great opportunity to branch into modding.

At the end of March, during the Demo Days, I established an initiative with a specific goal in mind, converting classic Talos Principle 1 Workshop campaigns,  and that’s where I met Elyon and Nazario. During the first few months, we, among many others, were able to support original authors such as M.A. (Purgatory) and Benzolamps (Schrödinger’s Cat: Reawakened) in their efforts to reawaken their beloved creations.

In that process, the NOEMA Archives Initiative also became a home for work-in-progress maps, and that’s how I got in touch with Shlam. A few weeks later, he presented an unreleased version of Three’s a Crowd, which I loved from the start, so I offered to extend my support beyond the usual round of testing and a few visual suggestions.

It all went really smoothly, which encouraged us to collaborate on another map called I Dream of Jammie, inspired by the infamous Daydream from In the Beginning. Accumulated Problems ended up as our third collaboration.

Nazario: This project was started by Shlam. He had many ideas regarding accumulators, a mechanism made by Rocket, reproducing the accumulator device from The Talos Principle 2 as best as possible and created many good puzzles with it.

There has always been a kind of collaboration between Shlam, myself, and Elyon in terms of playtesting levels and occasionally adding extras. At the same time, Chamdresser had already collaborated with Shlam on decorating two of his puzzles.

This became the perfect opportunity to expand that collaboration and offer players something more substantial, beautiful, and complete.

Shlam: I originally posted a single level to the Workshop called Accumulating Problems (kudos to Nazario for the name, which came up during beta testing). This level was later re-incorporated into AP and renamed to Inseparable.

Right away, I began creating several more puzzles with the goal of releasing a mini-campaign. However, a timely message from Chamdresser led to full collaboration.

⚪Originally this was meant to be a short two-week project - at what point did it start growing into something bigger?

Nazario: As we worked on the project, we quickly realized it was going to become something bigger. The design saw major improvements, and we collectively decided to add more extras, some purely for fun, others evolving into entirely new puzzles.

Chamdresser: The “breaking point” happened when I showed the first two previews of the decorated puzzles around the two-week mark. We all agreed that the extra work would greatly elevate the future player experience.

Going from a few prototypes to a fully fledged campaign is no easy task. Thinking back on release day, it felt like crossing a marathon finish line, about 80 days with constant daily updates.

⚪Each of you contributed to different parts of the design process. How did you divide the work between puzzle creation, world design, testing, and iteration?

Chamdresser: I was responsible for the overall structure that tied everything together. The base of A-1 was reused from another, currently unreleased project and received an abandoned, overgrown makeover, which,  combined with the limbo area,  created a strong intro sequence.

The separated puzzle islands were only slightly adjusted with new paths and fences, but designing and decorating the Starting Island and Main Hub was the real challenge. Thankfully, plenty of Easter eggs (a staple of the franchise) helped fill the gaps.

Iteration was especially interesting, as Shlam’s prototypes evolved into the Sigil + Star + Purple scheme. He carefully oversaw their integrity throughout the process, resulting in some of the best-designed puzzles in the workshop.

Shlam: Chamdresser’s sense of design and aesthetics elevated the project dramatically; the final product would look very different without his time and efforts.

Nazario and Elyon have long been two of the pillars of the community when it comes to testing and providing feedback. They’re both incredibly skilled at solving puzzles and understanding the technical nuances behind them. Their contributions to testing and refining these levels were second to none.

Nazario: The project wasn’t rigidly planned in advance, the division of work came naturally, with everyone focusing mainly on their strengths.

Shlam: As the project grew, both Nazario and Chamdresser created puzzles of their own, which were added to the collection, with testing and polishing handled by all team members.

⚪Collaboration can be tricky, especially with creative ideas bouncing around. How did you handle feedback, disagreements, or puzzle revisions as a team?

Shlam: For such a big project, there really weren’t many creative differences. The few that popped up were fairly minor and easily resolved through quick group calls. The core designs of the puzzles never really changed only small tweaks to make them more robust and to block unintended solutions were added along the way.

Nazario: That’s true - a few things didn’t go smoothly at first, but we always made an effort to talk through differences and find common ground. Once we identified what mattered most for design, gameplay, and personal preferences, everything fell into place naturally.

⚪What was the most challenging part of the development process for each of you?

Nazario: I wouldn’t say there were any major obstacles, apart from the usual ingredients: ideas, time, and energy. With those three plus a genuine will to collaborate, projects like this are definitely possible!

Elyon: As mainly a tester, I had the privilege of doing the most entertaining part of the work while leaving the stress to others! 😄

Still, tweaking a puzzle while enforcing its core ideas, and preserving elegance and readability - is no small feat. There’s a lot more “behind-the-scenes” work than players might imagine. At times, it becomes a race for the most creative and “out of the box” solutions, which for me (and my brother, Nazario) has been one of the most entertaining experiences in The Talos Principle: Reawakened, and in gaming as a whole.

⚪Do you have any future plans for more collaborative projects - or perhaps something solo in the works?

Shlam: I’ve got a megapack called Shlam Packed, compiling all of my levels into one place,  all 166 of them!

Nazario: I’m personally planning to release several new puzzles. For most of them, I already have the key idea, but they still need a bigger structure. Some of them, however, are almost ready. I wouldn’t mind collaborating again whenever the opportunity arises!

Elyon: Absolutely! While experimenting with the editor and puzzle creation, I realized my workflow becomes more free and creative when I have some pre-existing structures laid down, so collaborations are a great way to capitalize on that.

One idea for the future, with permission from the original authors, would be to release a compilation of unexpected twists on already existing puzzles. But who knows - maybe in the not-so-distant future, you’ll see me release something completely new with Chamdresser… 

Chamdresser: You can definitely count on that! As for my closest upcoming release (which conveniently Elyon helped test): the conversion of Ranamo Puzzles 2, originally released in 2018 for Talos 1 by RanamoBoy, coming to the Workshop later this week!

⚪Thank you all for joining us in The Basement! Wishing you the best in your future projects - and for the finale, feel free to give a shoutout to anyone you’d like!

Accumulated Problems Team: We’d like to once again thank everyone who made this release possible, from the earliest Accumulator prototype by Rocket to the later experiments by Will_gamerboi. Special thanks to M.A. for kindly allowing us to reuse the technical wiring scheme, and to both Qoqqi (.level Editor) and Benzolamps (SteamWorkshopKit) for their invaluable software contributions.

Last but not least, thanks to Croteam for Reawakening The Talos Principle 1, which brought us this easy-to use yet powerful editor. We really appreciate you having us here for the interview, and we wish all the best to everyone jumping into Accumulated Problems right after reading this!

Hey folks,

We’re excited to share that Patch 1.02 is now out of open beta and officially live!

A huge thank you to our community for all the support, feedback, and testing along the way. Your help has been invaluable and we appreciate it greatly. Now, back to solving puzzles!

Full Changelog

Changes

• Updated AMD FSR, NVIDIA DLSS, and Intel XeSS upscalers and frame generation.

• Improved performance auto-detect algorithms to achieve a better quality/performance balance across different hardware.

• Added support for setting a custom image as the episode preview in the Community Puzzles menu. This custom image will also be used as the Workshop item preview.

  • If no custom image is used, episode previews will continue showing multiple level screenshots, and Workshop uploads will use the first level screenshot as the preview image.

• Refined the design of publish options in the Community Puzzles menu.

• Choosing not to upload an episode image in the Community Puzzles menu now also prevents level preview images from being uploaded.

• Improved controller navigation in the Community Puzzles menu.

• Optimized episode and thumbnail loading in the Community Puzzles menu.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where using auto-detect in the video options menu would reset the upscaling method/preset.

• Fixed a softlock that could occur during a specific terminal conversation in Gehenna.

• Fixed an issue where QR codes could still be painted on certain secret signs that should not support painting.

• Fixed missing translations in several places, including Journal entries, the Message Selection screen, and Tombstone epitaphs.

• Fixed an issue where the Plasma Wall hit sound could be spammed at an uncomfortable rate.

• Fixed an issue where Messengers would wake up lying displaced from the center.

• Fixed an issue where “Hold X to Reset” could be triggered during cutscenes.

• Fixed an issue where NPCs could glitch out when Photomode was opened.

• Fixed an issue where destroyable objects allowed laser beams to pass through before being destroyed.

• Fixed a bug where a specific Roman-style wall could sometimes let a laser beam pass through.

• Fixed an issue where picking up a fan cover while inside a fan stream could lock the player in place.

• Fixed an issue in Gehenna 3 – BFF where a mine-carrying cube could get stuck beneath an arch when entering a fan.

• Fixed an issue where the Axe/Crowbar could be dropped through certain fences and become unretrievable.

• Fixed various bugs with floating objects and missing collisions across multiple levels.

• Improved physics stability for puzzle items and resolved related bugs.

• Fixed an issue where pressing the default Back key in the “Stop Game” prompt would trigger Exit to Desktop instead of Cancel.

• Fixed an issue where the “Left Hand” gamepad control preset caused conflicting key bindings, leading to gameplay issues.

• Fixed various controller navigation issues (missing stick deadzones, double inputs).

• Fixed an issue where the Rewind key sometimes failed to work on gamepad after dying to a Mine or Turret.

• Fixed an issue where the gamepad’s Left Trigger could stop working after exiting a Terminal.

• Fixed an issue where the Reset Value button in Photomode stopped working on most options after closing and reopening Photomode.

• Fixed an issue where a Switch in Community Puzzles would not refresh its visual state after using Gameplay Rewind.

• Fixed an issue in the Puzzle Editor where Receivers/Emitters placed on walls had sideways dirt decals instead of flowing downward.

Hey everyone. In today's featured mod article, we're highlighting the first Joint Talos project to be showcased here: The Last Prisoner . This campaign comes from two familiar faces in the community — RFC and Phoenix, who previously worked on puzzles for the "In The Beginning" episode of The Talos Principle: Reawakened.

The Last Prisoner features 10 puzzles, carefully balanced to match the difficulty of the main Talos campaign, making them accessible to most players. The mod also weaves in a compelling narrative: the simulation has ended, but you remain — a soul trapped in a fragment of reality that’s slowly disintegrating. Your only chance is to solve all the puzzles before the final piece of the simulation disappears… along with your very existence. Don't forget to subscribe to the campaign and also read the basement chat!

BASEMENT CHATS WITH YASEN

Hey there, folks!

Great to have you both down here in the basement. You’re both long-time veterans of the Croteam modding community, having worked on projects for Serious Sam as well as The Talos Principle.

⚪To kick things off: when did you each join the community, and what inspired the shift from creating action-packed Serious Sam mods to contributing to this excellent Puzzle Pack for Talos Reawakened?

RFC: We've been following Croteam's games since 2014, but only became active in the community around 2020, during the pandemic. That’s when we joined Croteam’s Discord server to get more info about the launch of Serious Sam 4. At the time, we had no plans to make mods for the game, until we discovered the Serious Editor. From there, we started "messing around" with it and ended up creating a custom campaign for Serious Sam 4.

Phoenix: Even though it was a lot of fun, that campaign was made purely out of dedication and a desire to learn, since we had zero technical knowledge about game development back then. It was only after releasing the campaign that we really started to study the tools more seriously. I took a 3D modeling course, and RFC kept diving deeper into the Serious Editor.

RFC: A few years later, we began working on a sequel to that campaign, this time set in Egypt, and much bigger and ambitious. But due to the busyness of everyday life (and the fact that we're moving because we're getting married, Yay!), we had to put the development on hold for now. During that time, we got the chance to test The Talos Principle 2, and let’s just say we “got the hang” of puzzle design. Not long after, we were able to put that experience to good use by creating 6 puzzles for the new DLC “In the Beginning”. We still used the Serious Editor to prototype them, since the Talos editor wasn’t available yet.

Phoenix: Not long after, once we got our hands on the new editor, we realized it was way simpler and more user-friendly than the Serious Editor. So we decided to make a mini campaign for the game, since it wouldn’t take nearly as much time as our other project, mostly thanks to how much easier the new tools are to work with. And here we are!

⚪Working as a team on a puzzle-focused project like this — would you say it made the process easier or more challenging? How did you divide the work between the two of you, and would you recommend that other modders consider teaming up for similar projects?

Phoenix: I prefer working as a team, since we can split tasks and playtest each other’s puzzles. That really helps us get a better sense of the difficulty and pick out the best ones.

in “The Last Prisoner”, I designed a few puzzles and focused on the level design, while RFC handled other puzzles and did the prototyping.

For anyone looking to create a bigger campaign, teamwork really makes a difference, not just for the internal feedback, but also for the support during development. And of course, community testers are still a key part of the final polish.

RFC: In the end, you start to notice that everyone has their own “puzzle style”, and mixing those styles in a campaign makes it feel much richer, with a wider variety of challenges, since each person has their own way of thinking. So yeah, in my opinion, working as a team is definitely the way to go.

⚪Did you use any community testers for your map? If so, how did their feedback help shape or improve your puzzles?

Phoenix: Yeah, and it really helped. Even though we did a lot of internal testing, there was always something that slipped through, either a puzzle was too boring (or totally broken). With proper feedback, we were able to improve the overall experience for the community, cutting down bugs and making the campaign a lot more fun.

⚪What advice would you give to someone just starting out with puzzle design in Talos Reawakened?

Phoenix: I’d say the most important thing is to focus on how fun your puzzles are. Just try to make puzzles that are genuinely enjoyable. And maybe throw in a creative or out-of-the-box idea, that kind of thing can really stand out.

RFC: My advice is to think about your “target audience” and try to keep things simple and fun. We tend to design our puzzles with more casual players in mind, so we usually avoid mechanics that punish players for making the wrong move. Some people might prefer the opposite, and that’s totally fine, it’s hard to please everyone. But having a clear audience in mind is a good starting point to figure out what kind of puzzles you want to make.

⚪Thanks again for taking the time to join me here in the basement. To wrap things up — feel free to give a shoutout to anyone you'd like!

Phoenix: I want to thank all the testers who helped out and gave us great feedback, and everyone who’s been enjoying our mini campaign for Talos Reawakened. Thank you so much!

RFC: Thanks for having us here in the basement! And about that Siberian Mayhem mod we’ve had on the shelf.. we still hope to finish it one day, so hopefully we’ll have news on that in the future!

Hey folks, welcome to this week's puzzle spotlight! This time, we’re turning the spotlight on Arpeggiator, a puzzle pack by community creator Rocket. Originally put together during the Talos Principle demo days, If you haven’t played it yet, now’s the perfect time to dive in. Arpeggiator comes with 8 unique puzzles and 2 stars to collect, all set in some really beautiful and thoughtfully built environments. The puzzles range from chill and approachable to ones that’ll definitely make you stop and think. But when it clicks? That satisfaction hits hard. Rocket put a lot of care into this one, and it shows. From clever mechanics to smooth pacing. It’s a solid mix of fun and challenge for puzzle fans of all kinds. Also, don’t miss our little basement chat with Rocket, where we talked about how this pack came together and what it was like designing puzzles all the way back during the demo era.

BASEMENT CHATS WITH YASEN

⚪ Hey Rocket, welcome to the basement! Your Arpeggiator pack is really fascinating, having puzzles for everyone from casual to more hardcore players. Have you had any prior experience with puzzle creation, from classic The Talos Principle or perhaps other puzzle games? I haven't had much puzzle creation experience. I've made a few puzzles for Portal 2, but they weren't good as I was young and wasn't considering puzzle design when creating them. That said, I enjoy puzzle games and will sometimes analyze a puzzle that stood out to identify what elements made it enjoyable. ⚪ That's quite interesting. How did you decide to pick up and make puzzles for The Talos Principle: Reawakened? The Talos Principle has been one of my favorite puzzle games since I first played it in 2019, and I've been following the series since. While I never touched it, I knew about the Serious Editor, which allowed for the creation of custom Talos puzzles, as I had played many of the Workshop releases. When the Talos Principle: Reawakened demo was released, I tried out the editor. The puzzle jam gave me enough motivation to make a few puzzles that I was happy with, using some puzzle ideas I hadn't seen elsewhere. ⚪ So you started pretty recently with The Talos Principle. We're happy to hear the puzzle jams have been motivating for you. Any advice you can give to players who still haven't tried the editor, maybe because they feel it's too hard or they're not confident in their skills? Give the editor a try—you'll never get better at using it if you don't. Recreating some of the puzzles from the official game can be a good way to learn the tools. Designing interesting puzzles is the hard part, but you only get better at that by actually creating puzzles. ⚪Good advice! And for yourself, do you have any future plans for creating more puzzles for The Talos Principle? I have a few puzzle ideas that I will turn into complete puzzles at some point, and I’ll contribute to any future puzzle jams. A long-term idea I have is to create a full DLC-length episode by combining smaller puzzle worlds and connecting each of them together with a hub—something to give a sense of exploration and discovery as new levels are unlocked. ⚪Sounds ambitious! Good luck with this—we’ll be keeping an eye on your work with anticipation! For the finale, feel free to shout out anyone or share anything you’d like with the audience! Shout-out to T3rm1n4l for names—the hardest thing in puzzle design. I appreciate all the work Croteam has done in creating The Talos Principle and hosting the puzzle jams. I'm looking forward to the next Talos-related content they release.

The Talos Principle franchise is part of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, and all titles are currently on sale!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest episode of our Community Puzzle Spotlights!

BASEMENT CHATS WITH YASEN

What’s the challenge?

• You can use laser beams.
• You can't use any connectors. No moveable ones, no static ones, nada!
• You can use any object that's not a connector (Hexahedron, Recorder, etc)

Deadline

• Jam starts: May 1st, 2025
• Jam ends: May 12th at 2025, 23:00 CET

Submissions

• Upload your puzzle to Steam.
• In the puzzle description, make sure to include: "#ConnectorlessPuzzleJam" to participate in the jam
• There is no need to add "Puzzle Jam" to your puzzle name.
• Also, drop your submission in the Puzzle Jam tag channel on our Discord submissions forum.

Winners

Changelog

• Fixed an issue where the hand holding the Paint Bucket would sometimes remain in the “holding” state after painting a message.
• Fixed a bug that allowed messages to be painted on surfaces where it should not be possible.
• Fixed an issue where certain dialogue with administrators in Gehenna would not progress under specific conditions.
• Fixed a graphical bug that caused flashing polygons on water surfaces when using certain AMD graphics cards.
• Fixed various issues with gamepad key icons appearing incorrectly in input prompts.
• Fixed several sensitivity issues when navigating menus and settings using a gamepad.
• Fixed multiple issues related to Chinese, Japanese and Korean font rendering.

Changes

• Updated DLSS to the latest version and added an option to select the upscaling model (CNN/Transformer).
• The key for stopping a developer comment must now be held for 1 second, rather than just pressed once.
• Fixed a bug where the “Press the Serpent” achievement would not be awarded. If you have already met the conditions to obtain it, it will now be retroactively granted upon loading your save game.
• Fixed a bug where the music would start glitching after spending a long time in a single level.
• Fixed a bug where NPC robot names would often not appear when looking at them.
• Fixed a bug where the ItB intro cutscene would not progress if the text language was set to Japanese.
• Improved the sequence for collecting the B7 purple sigil.
• Fixed a bug where a mine that was already jammed could not be jammed by another jammer if a Plasma Door was behind it.
• Fixed a bug where avatars on tombstones would sometimes not appear.
• Fixed a bug where dev comments were not being stopped when the player reached the game’s ending.
• Fixed an issue where the terminal cursor sound was audible during the credits sequences.
• Fixed a bug where a certain credits sequence after a specific ending was not functioning properly.
• Fixed a bug where already collected Messenger Tokens would continue to produce sounds.
• Fixed a bug where skipping the “In the Beginning” intro cutscene behaved differently from how intro cutscenes for other game types are skipped.
• Fixed various visual and collision bugs across levels.
• Fixed various localization bugs.

Puzzle Editor

• Added the “Terminal Swapper” actor, which allows creators to swap the contents of two terminals upon activation.
• Added an “Enable Sun” checkbox.
• Added the ability to place Purple Sigils and use them in Arrangers.
• Disabled the redundant auto-rotation of wire tips.
• Fixed a bug where the Jammer could jam items through the ground.
• Fixed a bug where the “Draw Plasma Door” tool sometimes created gaps between the Plasma Door and nearby walls or columns.
• Fixed a conflict between the “Toggle Grid” and “Toggle Group” hotkeys.

Let’s kick off this series with a look at Back To Reality.

BASEMENT CHATS WITH YASEN

Limited Time Loyalty Offerings

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• You need to own the full game on Steam
• You need to have created at least one episode in the demo (doesn't have to be published)

Migrating your puzzles

Mauritsio

Renan "RFC" Cavalieri & Ana "Phoenix" Messina

Innocentive

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The rules are very simple

Changes

• Added Wire Markers. No more steel tubes/plasma door wiring!
• Lights Control – Lights can now be toggled on/off by activating devices.
• New Decorative Meshes – Decorative ladders have been added.
• Unread Terminal Indicator – Introduced a blinking eye animation for unread terminals.
• Mine Customization – Added an option to specify the initial wait time.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where dying while using a terminal would cause the game to crash.
• Fixed a bug where anti-stuck mechanisms teleported the player to an incorrect location in custom puzzles.
• Fixed a bug where dying inside a Tetromino Arranger left the mouse cursor on screen.
• Fixed a bug where items launched by fans onto a player carrying a platform did not snap onto the platform.
• Fixed an issue where the terminal reprinted the content of the current page before displaying the selected document.
• Fixed a bug where fan streams were not being blocked by plasma doors.
• Fixed a bug where cubes did not fully fall after a player dropped a platform carrying them.
• Adjusted collision on the Window Frame mesh to close gaps that allowed mines to kill players through a window.
• Fixed an issue where the End Game message appeared on level startup due to stars with the "End Game" option already being picked.
• Fixed a bug where collision on meshes was sometimes missing after stopping a playtest.
• Fixed a bug where random models would occasionally receive unusual coloring in editing mode.
• Fixed an issue where actor indices incremented when loading a level.
• Fixed a bug where spacebar navigation broke after using the "Focus view" command.
• Fixed missing actor links after redoing the "Clone" command.

POPULAR VOTE WINNERS

CROTEAM'S CHOICE WINNERS

🥇 1st Place - The Three Kingdoms by Liennie.sh.

🥈 2nd Place - Echoes by affordable_fun.

🥉 3rd Place Life's A Glitch And Then You Die by Beattie.

Full Changelog

Changes

Puzzle Editor

• Added the ability to add documents to the terminals.
• Added an “Invisible Wall” actor.
• Added a “Death Area” actor.
• Added a “Water” actor.
• Added a “Guided Jump” actor. Link guided jump areas together to set up custom guided jumps.
• Added the “End Game” option to the portal actor.
• Various editor input fields now remember their values after stopping a playtest.

Bug Fixes

General

• Fixed a bug that prevented standing on top of a platform held by a recorder clone when entering a vertical fan stream.
• Fixed a bug where the fan could push objects through various barriers when stacking cubes in the fan stream.

Puzzle Editor

• Fixed a bug where allowing a Mine to enter a fan stream would cause the game to crash.
• Fixed a bug where random models in Community Puzzles would sometimes receive unusual coloring.
• Fixed a bug where passing through a Plasma Barrier would sometimes cause the item the player was carrying to drop onto a roof above the barrier.