The Turing Test is a soloplay puzzler from Bulkhead Interactive and Square Enix due out August 30, 2016. This game is $19.99 (currently on sale by Steam for $17.99) from Steam for PC or Xbox One. The game is approximately 5-10 hours in length. Although, this genuinely depends on how well the player adapts and solves the individual puzzles.

This game has puzzling mechanics similar to Portal and story elements reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Turing Test adds deep philosophical undertones and heavy contemplation on the nature of humanity and consciousness.

The game’s name is based on the Turing Test created by famous scientist and mathematician Alan Turing. His design was meant to differentiate artificial intelligence from the human mind. Ava is armed with an Energy Manipulation Tool, T.O.M., and tiny robots that reminded me of Wall-E. This game requires the player to carefully use these provided resources to solve puzzles in nonlinear ways.

Ava Turing is a backup scientist awoken early from cryosleep as part of a research team studying Jupiter’s moon Europa. The computer, T.O.M., is concerned because he has not heard from the ground crew following a groundbreaking scientific discovery. He alerts Ava that he needs her help. Upon arrival at the base camp on Europa, it becomes clear that there is much more going on than meets the eye.

The narrative is expertly woven throughout the puzzle series, using papers, sound recordings, and objects belonging to the crew. Each new chapter tells a story about the lives of individual members of the ground crew, the nature of human consciousness and morality, and what separates man from machine in a technologically advanced world.

I enjoyed every moment of this game. I found myself perplexed, thinking about the game long after I logged off my computer. The Turing Test is an unexpected delight with a moving narrative about what it means to be human.

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