Ancient, vine-draped monuments and towering obelisks protrude from the forest floor, connected by a maze of stone paths and one hyper-speed transit capsule. Statues loom among the monoliths: hooded human figures and mythological beasts surrounded by saintly geometry in gold and turquoise. I'm running down an overgrown platform by the water, sun radiating off the side of my face, trying to find the next puzzle. I take a sharp turn, the shadows shift and my silhouette is suddenly projected in front of me: waist on a slim pivot, hip joints jutting out, sticklike arms. I remember I'm made of metal and wires, and for a brief moment, I'm surprised.

"What are we willing to fight for? What do we deserve, morally speaking? What is our place, our relationship with the universe, with nature?" During a preview of The Talos Principle 2 in August, series writer Jonas Kyratzes posed 19 questions about the essence of humanity in just 90 seconds. Between explanations of new mechanics and puzzle systems, he rattled off deep musings about society and the natural world as easily as if he were reading his weekly grocery list. It felt like these questions were constantly on his mind, poised at the tip of his tongue.

This week's gaming news is only suitable for the comically rich. Preorder tickets to the Assassin's Creed film for 1,200, preorder OmniBus and get a real bus, and Croteam announced Talos Principle 2. Okay, that last one is fine for not-so-rich people too, as long as pondering philosophy won't throw you into an existential crisis. It's time for another iteration of "Raise money for The International," with Valve's special guest: The Compendium. For the unaware: The International is Valve's big annual Dota 2 tournament, and The Compendium is a Dota 2 item that ties into viewing the tournament in a few major ways, gives players some items, and--key to the whole thing--helps fund the prize pool for the winning teams. Last year's prize pool topped 18 million.