Is this a good game or not? It’s definitely an enigma…
The Turing Test is a first person puzzler that combines the look of Portal with another creepy AI like GLaDOS called T.O.M, but with puzzles that feel more like The Talos Principle. You play as Ava, a woman awoken from Cryosleep on a Space Station to discover the crew is gone and the only one to accompany you is the presence of an AI who talks you through the puzzle rooms.
T.O.M sounds like a creepier version of Jeremy Irons, I was actually convinced it was him until I saw the credits to my disappointment. He’s creepy, but classy at the same time…making the player unsettled throughout, not knowing wherever to trust him or not. The puzzles focus on powering up doors with light orbs or battery packs, either by carrying them across, using your gun that can hold up to 3 light orbs, as well as taking control of robots and cameras that can flick energy switches.
As you carry on through the abandoned space station on Jupiter’s moon’s surface, you will come across audio logs and documents that shed light on what happened to the crew and yourself, as well as T.O.M. It poses a lot of good questions about man, machine and ultimately philosophical questions that will fry most brains.
The game will take you a few hours to get through, depending on how much you decide to use a guide or YouTube video walkthrough. I personally only used a few solutions towards the end as they were real head scratchers. There are a few visual hiccups now and then, as well as long load times between the different chapters…but other than that, it’s a genuinely great looking game.
The Verdict
The Turing Test may not be the longest game out there, but it’s just as memorable as the likes of Portal and The Talos Principle. The story is gripping, the puzzles are smart and T.O.M’s voice is truly brilliant, combining both class and creepy at the same time. I’d love for a sequel or spiritual successor to emerge, because this is truly something special.