EP: Research - The Talos Principle

I've only just found The Talos Principle after it's been raved about as being the next game for the 'Portal crowd'. The Talos Principle is a first-person Puzzle game that takes an android (you, the player) through several worlds - set in different locations in different eras, while you're guided through them by a disembodied voice. It sounds great, I've only managed to be able to play the Demo version so far but from what I've seen it has a great hub area that has inspired me which I'm going to save for reference just in case.

The Talos Principle has been a bit different in terms of research than other the other games I've looked into so far as what I think I will focus on the most are the game mechanics rather than the environment design. However, saying that the hub world for the 1st area (seen at the end of demo version) looks great, it has a classic Gothic cathedral interior with bright daylight shining through huge tapered windows and an extremely high ceiling supported by long, stretching columns. I really love this space in particular for interior ideas on a classical-inspired piece of architecture. It's light, open and oozes history and story, like there's a deeper meaning behind the location.

My 'The Talos Principle' Inspiration Board

In terms of mechanics though, I find The Talos Principle to be much more informative and insightful. I was originally worried that, working alone, I may run into time issues of not being able to model, rig and animate a full character along with the rest of development that will take place in order to create my game. I am also very aware that if I wanted a combat system, with the style that I'm aiming for, I'd have to create equally detailed enemies with an AI system and then implement a combat system for the player to go with it. This might prove to be too time consuming, therefore making my game a first-person puzzle game could be a suitable alternative style of gameplay.

The Talos Principle has snippets of the aesthetic I want with the medieval, classical buildings mixed in with a sense of exploration in an abandoned, barren, far-off land. obviously The Talos Principle has some advanced puzzle mechanics that I may not be  able to replicate efficiently and the lighting of the game generally seems to be much more realistic and 'light'. Some parts don't fit into what I'm looking to create but The Talos Principle has really reaffirmed that I can put my ideas into a tangible format and it not be too ambitious of a project.