I only played the witness but it made me incredibly sick every time I played [and I have never had issues with motion sickness before] so I refunded it :P So I say go for talos principle since other made me almost go to a doctor before I realized it was the game LOL

I haven't played The Witness because it seems to revolve entirely around those line puzzles, the world looks fun to explore but beyond that i'm not sure i'd enjoy it (i've spoiled the bigger stuff in the game for myself).
I purchased The Talos Principle when it came out but haven't gotten around to it yet as my backlog is several thousand games long, i like the developer and wanted to support them, but i also like first person environmental puzzle stuff and the game has a cool aesthetic. It's been a while since i've looked at it but i remember the robot protagonist, the computer interactions, questions about consciousness and of course the cute kitten on the cover art, those things are enough to make it my favorite of the two despite not playing either :P, i'll get to it some day.

Talos Principle was cool

The Witness is a game that I'm very glad that exists but that I kinda don't like, if that makes any sense. It was too sterile for me in that the world never really changed, which makes sense given how many puzzles are based on perception, but I generally want a more dynamic world. Also, the way my brain works I can usually fly through puzzles when I understand the rule, so my play pattern was a lot of quick progress followed by banging my head against the wall for hours. Not the most enjoyable experience.

Despite that, I like that the game knows what it wants to be, who it wants to appeal to and went for it. It isn't trying to reach people like me and that's OK. I can recognize that it's well made and a good game despite that. I wish more games these days had a more purist form of development, as opposed to smashing a bunch of gameplay types together to try to appeal the broadest possible audience.

Definitely Talos Principle. I really enjoyed both games, but there were a bunch of things that really annoyed me about The Witness. It felt like The Witness was in the works for what seemed like eternity, then pretty much out of nowhere Talos Principle came and ate its lunch.

BTW, if you want specific numbers, well, I can tell you: Talos Principle is my 10th favourite game of all time, The Witness is my 31st.

This is hard. I played both and both a fantastic games. I prefer the world that The Witness built but I like the puzzles in Talos Principle more. So Talos Principle.

Definitely The Witness. The puzzles are about on par (though I'd give The Witness the edge there), but the Witness has way more styyyyyyyyle.

I've played both and I significantly prefer The Talos Principle. It helped me with my dissertation, also the Road to Gehenna DLC is outstanding. Its even better than the main game and I liked the writing in it more than most books. I could start crushing The Witness into a mess by comparing it to The Talos Principle point by point, but it's unnecessary. The Witness was very decent. Portal 1 & 2 - to chime in - was entertaining. The Talos Principle is one of my favourite things. Edit: @beachthunder Woot! However, if you don't like reading A LOT of things for the story in a game, stay away from The Talos Principle.

Talos Principle, definitely.

The Witness has the issue that most puzzles feel arbitrary to me. More often than not, I was facing puzzles that didn't work despite following similar rules than the previous ones, or had rules of their own that were not explained at all. Also, while the island is cool to explore, there is very little context or narrative.

Talos Principle had a lot of (well written) narrative, the puzzles are better designed and the progression is a lot better built. At no point I felt cheated by a solution in Talos Principle (it happened a lot in The Witness). The only issue I had with that game is that it seems built on top of assets from other games for no particular reason.

Talos Principle is better by a large margin.

Special shoutout to the soundtrack and the Serious Sam DLC.

It's definitely The Witness for me, but they were each my GOTY for the year in which they came out. Talos Principle is criminally-underrated.

I also think they're kinda too dissimilar to compare, though. The Witness is more Myst-like with open environments and lack of direction, while The Talos Principle is more Portal-like with explicit succinct 'puzzle rooms.'

The Witness had better, more compelling puzzle design but TTP was a better overall product with a story and really good writing. It's hard to pick a favorite, but I think The Witness has stuck in my memory more despite its faults.

By the time that I was finished with the Witness, I was continuing on just to see the ending. I never wanted to go back. By the time I had seen all of the endings and puzzles in Talos Principle I was immensely disappointed not in the product, but in that it was over. I wanted to see more of this world, of the "character" that I was controlling, etc. The Talos Principle felt like a more fulfilling product to me.

Both games had no maps. Only one was designed orderly enough to not need one. 'Nuff said.

Talos Principle > The Witness

I think the stories in both are dumb but I like the puzzles better in The Witness.

Talos Principle, easily. I didn't really like the Witness. I admired the Witness more than I liked it. There's also plenty of puzzles in Talos, including a bunch of hidden puzzle pieces that I never found until I consulted walkthroughs post-game. DLC too, but I haven't played that yet. Play Talos.

Didn't beat the Witness. Loved The Talos Principle.

I'm not a big fan of puzzle games where the puzzle is figuring out how the mechanics work. The Talos Principle did a much better job of leading the player to understanding the "rules" of how each mechanic (Jammer, Box, Recorder etc) operated, and then provided a good deal of very challenging puzzles that let you use what you had learned. The Witness was all about figuring out the rules, but once you did you were left with the worst part of any puzzle games: when you know how to complete the puzzle, but have to go through the process of doing it.

It's not a problem if you've been trying to work out a puzzle for a while; if anything, it's almost cathartic after you've struggled for some time. In the Witness, you have that experience with the tutorial computers, but not with the procession of terminals after them. When you're following some trail of terminals through a forest and immediately recognize the solution for each one, it just gets boring. It also doesn't help if you're having trouble locating some of the tutorial stations. The few times I tried fumbling in the dark with some new puzzle type I hadn't learned about weren't good experiences. On the two occasions where I figured out the solution, I got there by accident. No Euruka moment, just a moment of minor surprise.

I didn't end up liking the Witness, but it is a undeniably impressive game. The sheer number of variations on line puzzles alone is laudable.

@thursday1977: This is pretty much exactly how I feel. I too was disappointed when I finished Talos, because I wanted more. There are so few games that have made me feel that way, I could probably count them on one hand.

With The Witness, after I platinum'ed there was still plenty to do, but I had no real desire to do it. I really, really enjoyed the time I spent with that game, but I have no desire to go back.

Witness is a better adventure. Talos Principal has more intereting story behind it if you're willing to pay attention to it. I didn't find the puzzles in Talos Principal to be rewarding at all, and the exact opposite to be true of The Witness.

The Witness has some of the best, most refined puzzle gameplay I've ever seen in a game. The Talos Principle does some incredible things with story, particularly in the way it constantly subverts your opinions/expectations. I don't think I could pick just one.